Digital Lifescapes

For years, the cloud computing sector operated on an elegant premise: compute and storage were borderless commodities, and scale wins. The hyperscalers built empires on that assumption.  But a confluence of geopolitical friction, data nationalism, and hard-learned lessons about digital dependency is now rewriting that traditional rulebook. Gartner's latest market study found worldwide sovereign cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) spending will reach $80 billion in 2026 — that's a 35.6 percent surge from 2025 — climbing further to $110 billion by 2027. This is a structural shift in how governments, enterprises, and critical infrastructure operators think about where their data lives, who controls it, and what national interests it serves. Sovereign Cloud Market Development The regional breakdown is where the real strategic intelligence lies. China leads all markets at an estimated $47 billion in 2026, underscoring that state-driven infrastructure investment is a long-establ...

The global manufacturing sector stands at the cusp of a significant information technology (IT) transformation. The sector is experiencing a data explosion, driven by the use of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Generative AI (GenAI). These intelligent systems process huge volumes of data, presenting challenges and opportunities for manufacturer CIOs worldwide. AI Cloud Data Market Development Many manufacturers need help implementing AI and GenAI solutions due to data availability and quality. This gap between data generation and effective utilization represents a strategic opportunity for cloud data management providers to offer differentiated solutions. According to ABI Research , the manufacturing data management market is forecast to create $225 billion in opportunities globally. This figure underscores the importance of data management in modern manufacturing and highlights the potential for substantial growth. As manufacturer...

If you want to thrive and prosper, then encouraging 'remote work' must be part of your organization's digital transformation agenda and knowledge worker culture. Each individual 'branch of one' person must be supported at the edge of an organization's secure network infrastructure. Edge Computing refers to the facilities and services between centralized enterprise data centers and intelligent endpoints -- either a branch location or more recently an employee home office. Moreover, an endpoint can be a mobile device, such as a smartphone or media tablet. It could also be a sensor. Proliferating devices benefit from a digitally transformed IT world through cloud edge capabilities. Regardless of how that edge is being defined, the compute, storage and networking cornerstones gird data creation, analysis, and management outside of the centralized core. Edge Computing Market Development A future scenario is unfolding where extraordinary value and opportunity for esse...

The original concept of 'Hybrid Cloud' service deployment now seems outdated. In practice, few enterprise IT organizations have embraced private cloud models. And, even fewer will modernize their legacy non-cloud IT applications or the systems where they reside in the corporate data center. That said, new IT infrastructure investment continues to shift as more leaders execute their digital transformation plans. Many enterprise CIOs and CTOs prefer to develop customer-facing applications within public cloud environments, and then connect those Web services to apps and data that reside on legacy systems within their on-premises data center. The vendor impact is apparent. Vendor revenue from sales of IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage, and Ethernet switch) for cloud environments -- including public and private cloud -- increased 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20) while investments in traditional, non-cloud, infrastructure declined 16.3 percent ...

Advances in semiconductor technology enable apps at the edge of networks, creating new uses cases. The global edge computing market was valued at $1.47 billion in 2018 and is forecast to reach $28.84 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 54 percent, according to the latest worldwide market study by Grand View Research . The growing need to process large volumes of data generated from the Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications that are closer to the end-user will drive demand for these solutions. Increasing emphasis on cost reduction and process automation will also motivate more adoptors. Edge Computing Market Development Organizations are already applying edge computing technology to enhance operations and gain real-time insights from their IoT data. Thus, the continued transition toward edge computing is expected to influence the IT strategies of more CIOs and CTOs at forward-thinking companies. Continued adoption of edge computing for data center applications is also expected to prope...

Global demand for enterprise data center server and storage infrastructure tends to fluctuate. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide converged systems market revenue increased 3.5 percent year-over-year to $3.75 billion during the third quarter of 2019 (3Q19). "The converged systems market continues to grow despite a challenging overall data center infrastructure environment," said Sebastian Lagana, research manager at IDC . Converged Systems Market Development In particular, hyperconverged solutions remain in demand as vendors position the solutions as an ideal framework for hybrid, multi-cloud environments due to their software-defined nature and ease of integration into premises-agnostic environments. The IDC converged systems market view offers three segments: certified reference systems & integrated infrastructure, integrated platforms, and hyperconverged systems. The certified reference systems & int...

The pace of cloud computing adoption will accelerate as more organizations explore hybrid IT strategies. CIOs and CTOs will fine-tune the mix of on-premises and managed cloud services for their user's varied applications and workloads. Worldwide spending on public cloud services and infrastructure will more than double over the 2019-2023 forecast period, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.3 percent, public cloud spending is forecast to grow from $229 billion in 2019 to reach nearly $500 billion in 2023. Public Cloud Service Market Development "Adoption of public (shared) cloud services continues to grow rapidly as enterprises, especially in professional services, telecommunications, and retail, continue to shift from traditional application software to software as a service (SaaS) and from traditional infrastructure to infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to empower custo...

Demand for cloud computing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is expected to drive the current $45.6 billion market toward $150.7 billion by 2023 -- that's a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent, according to the latest worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan. Enterprises are using cloud services for strategic benefits such as supporting digital transformation efforts rather than for tactical ones, like reducing IT infrastructure costs and the hardware or software maintenance burden. This market shift has changed the way enterprises choose and manage their IT infrastructure, and led them to deploy applications across multiple infrastructures, from on-premises private cloud to public cloud (multi- and single-tenant), resulting in higher demand for IaaS offerings. Hybrid Multi-Cloud Market Development "As the mix of deployment models and best-of-breed cloud IaaS vendors becomes increasingly diverse, single-tenant IaaS will gain revenue share over multi-tenant...

The pace of change from a traditional capital-intensive IT infrastructure model to a more flexible hybrid multi-cloud services model is influencing enterprise spending trends across the globe. Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $3.79 trillion in 2019 -- that's an increase of just 1.1 percent from 2018, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. IT Infrastructure Market Development "Currency headwinds fueled by the strengthening U.S. dollar have caused us to revise our 2019 IT spending forecast down from the previous quarter," said John-David Lovelock, vice president at Gartner . "Through the remainder of 2019, the U.S. dollar is expected to trend stronger, while enduring tremendous volatility due to uncertain economic and political environments and trade wars." In 2019, technology product managers will have to get more strategic with their portfolio mix by balancing products and services that will post growth in 2019 with those large...

Leading hyperscale cloud service providers continue to disrupt the traditional IT infrastructure vendor landscape, as more enterprise CIOs and CTOs expand their adoption of multi-cloud strategies that marginalize the remaining applications for on-premises data centers. Legacy IT vendors that were reluctant to evolve their business model will now seek niche cloud market segments where they can differentiate their offerings. There's no viable growth path that's based upon hardware or software market status-quo assumptions. However, distinctive professional services are still a source of new opportunities. Cloud Computing Market Development The worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 17.5 percent in 2019 to total $214.3 billion -- that's up from $182.4 billion in 2018, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. The fastest-growing market segment will be cloud system infrastructure services, or infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which i...

As more enterprise CIOs and CTOs embrace hybrid multi-cloud deployment strategies, business technology vendors and cloud service providers must continue to evolve their go-to-market approach -- in recognition of the prevailing IT infrastructure investment trends. Vendor revenue from sales of IT infrastructure products for cloud environments, including public and private cloud, grew 47.2 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), reaching $16.8 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Cloud IT Infrastructure Market Development IDC also raised its forecast for total spending (vendor revenue plus channel mark-up) on cloud IT infrastructure in 2018 to $65.2 billion, with year-over-year growth of 37.2 percent. Quarterly spending on public cloud IT infrastructure has more than doubled in the past two years reaching $12.1 billion in 3Q18 and growing 56.1 percent year-over-year, while spending on private cloud inf...

Why do most internet of things (IoT) analytics operations occur in the cloud? The public cloud offers a centralized location for large amounts of affordable storage and computing power. But there are many instances in which it makes more sense to perform analytics closer to the thing or activity that is generating or collecting data ­– equipment deployed at customer sites. This is particularly true in industrial and manufacturing environments, which are familiar with the challenges of managing massive amounts of unstructured data, but may lag when it comes to the virtualization of IT infrastructure. Industrial Cloud Market Development Advances in intelligent process manufacturing, factory automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning models all benefit from edge analytics implementations, yet will likely become islands of automation without a cohesive industrial cloud computing platform. The industrial cloud covers everything from the factory floor to the industrial ...

Vendor revenue from sales of infrastructure products -- server, storage, and Ethernet switch -- for cloud IT grew by 45.5 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18), reaching $12.9 billion according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC also raised its forecast for total spending on cloud IT infrastructure in 2018 to $57.2 billion with year-over-year growth of 21.3 percent. Let's consider the key trends that are driving this phenomena. What really matters most, going forward? Cloud Infrastructure Market Development Public cloud infrastructure quarterly revenue has more than doubled in the past three years to $9 billion in 1Q18, growing 55.8 percent year-over -year. Private cloud revenue reached $3.9 billion for an annual increase of 26.5 percent. The combined public and private cloud revenues now represent 46.1 percent of the total worldwide IT infrastructure spending, up from 41.8 percent a year ago. Traditional (...

Around the globe, CIOs and CTOs continue to transition to a hybrid multi-cloud service delivery model, supported by on- and off-premises IT infrastructure. Meanwhile, the worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 21.4 percent in 2018 to reach $186.4 billion -- that's up from $153.5 billion in 2017. The fastest-growing segment of the market is cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which is forecast to grow 35.9 percent in 2018 to reach $40.8 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Public Cloud Market Development Moreover, Gartner expects the top ten cloud service providers to account for nearly 70 percent of the IaaS market by 2021 -- that's up from 50 percent in 2016. "The increasing dominance of the hyperscale IaaS providers creates both enormous opportunities and challenges for end-users and other market participants," said Sid Nag, research director at Gartner . According to the Gartner assessment, while p...

Why are savvy CIOs and CTOs so focused on Hybrid IT infrastructure solutions? More enterprises are moving to hybrid and multi-cloud environments. According to the latest worldwide market study by 451 Research, the cloud services market will reach $53.3 billion in 2021, that up from $28.1 billion this year. The latest global survey found that cloud service adoption is now mainstream, with 90 percent of organizations surveyed using some type of cloud service. Moreover, analysts expect 60 percent of workloads to be running in some form of hosted cloud service by 2019 -- that's up from 45 percent today. Cloud Services Market Development This represents an ongoing pivot from DIY owned and operated on-premises IT, to a combination that includes cloud or hosted third-party IT services. 451 Research finds that the future of IT is multi-cloud and hybrid with 69 percent of survey respondents planning to have some type of diverse environment by 2019. That being said, the growth in mul...

The rush to move IT applications from on-premises enterprise data centers to public cloud service providers, primarily on the basis of the promise of a low-cost, has once again been challenged by recent market research findings. In fact, savvy CIOs and CTOs are seeking comprehensive solutions that meet all their expectations, rather than merely a limited subset. Even if it costs more to achieve that goal, the demand for superior hybrid cloud services is gaining momentum across the globe. As an example, seventy-five percent of respondents to the latest worldwide market study by 451 Research indicate that enterprise IT leaders are willing to pay a premium for enhancements to their server hosting and cloud services. Cloud Services Market Development The most desired improvements are guarantees of security (48.7 percent of respondents) and service performance (43.3 percent) with less interest in paying service providers to take on the operational management burden (27.9 percent). ...

More CIOs and CTOs are choosing to architect and deploy hybrid multi-cloud computing environments in 2017. The trend is being driven by growing demand to support digital transformation projects that are led by the C-suite. Newly released results from the CloudView Survey 2017 reveal the top drivers of cloud adoption -- include improving agility and security, as well as standardizing IT infrastructure. Cloud Computing Market Development As multi-cloud environments and hybrid cloud become more prevalent, the survey revealed that 87 percent of cloud users have adopted some capabilities for a hybrid cloud strategy -- that's an increase of 17 percent compared to 2016, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "Beyond adoption and maturity, a series of questions on 'why are' or 'why aren't' respondents moving more workloads to the cloud makes up a key part of the study," said Benjamin McGrath, senior research analy...

As enterprise CIOs and CTOs rebalance their IT budgets to accommodate new digital business transformation projects, the shift in infrastructure investment continues to evolve. Demand for hybrid cloud scenarios are apparently driving much of the new IT investment. IT vendor revenue from sales of infrastructure products -- such as server, storage, and Ethernet switch -- for cloud computing, including public and private cloud, grew 14.9 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) reaching $8 billion, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Cloud IT infrastructure sales as a share of overall worldwide IT spending climbed to 39 percent in 1Q17 -- that's considered a significant increase from the 33.9 percent a year ago. Cloud IT Infrastructure Market Development Revenue from infrastructure sales to private cloud grew by 6 percent to $3.1 billion, and to public cloud by 21.7 percent to $4.8 billion. In comparison, rev...

Cloud computing services continue to grow, as more organizations discover the benefits of hybrid cloud solutions. The worldwide cloud infrastructure services market grew significantly in the first quarter of 2017, up by 42 percent year-on-year to reach $11.4 billion, according to the latest market study by Canalys. Once again, Amazon AWS maintained its dominance in the sector, holding a stable global market share of 31 percent. It was followed by its strongest hyperscale rivals - Microsoft, Google and IBM. Microsoft grew 93 percent and Google was up 74 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. These growth rates were faster than those of AWS and IBM, which grew 43 percent and 38 percent respectively. Public Cloud Service Market Development "Competition for enterprise customers is intensifying among leading cloud service providers, which are investing heavily to secure key national and global accounts," said Daniel Liu, research analyst at Canalys . Timing is ...

High growth continues within the public cloud sector. CIOs report that growth in their hosting and cloud computing services spending will outpace growth in their overall IT spending, according to the latest worldwide market study by by 451 Research. This growth trend applies across almost every vertical market and company size category, but is most pronounced among very large businesses, which expect an average of 33.3 percent growth in hosting and cloud services spending this year. Among survey respondents, 88 percent will increase their hosting or cloud budgets in 2017 vs. 2016 -- that's compared to 70 percent that expect to increase total IT budgets year-over-year. In contrast, just 9.5 percent expect a decrease in hosting or cloud spending -- that's compared to 22.3 percent that expect a decrease in their total IT spending. Public Cloud Service Market Development "We see the pace of investment in hosting and cloud services exceeding investment in IT overall, me...