U.S. Hybrid Cloud Plans Move Forward Under Tight Budgets

Companies seek security and control with private and hybrid clouds while exploring GenAI’s potential benefits, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

Cost concerns continue to guide U.S. enterprise investments in private and hybrid cloud services, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services report for the U.S. finds that many organizations facing IT budget constraints caused by economic uncertainty are looking to reduce their reliance on public clouds. Private and hybrid cloud services often deliver the scalability and agility they need while providing greater control over costs.

“Maximizing the return on IT investments is top of mind for U.S. enterprises this year,” said Anay Nawathe, ISG cloud delivery lead for the Americas. “This is shaping their private and hybrid cloud strategies, including exploring how GenAI may improve operations.”

In some parts of the U.S. cloud services market, enterprises are signing more provider contracts but with smaller average contract value, suggesting a continued cautious approach to outsourcing, the report says. However, many companies are still transitioning to private and hybrid clouds due to ongoing concerns about security, performance, compliance, data residency and control over IT resources.

Facing these issues, many enterprises are closely studying potential investments in generative AI (GenAI) for cloud management, ISG says. They are weighing the costs and benefits of the technology with an eye toward insights, predictive analytics and more intelligent automation, possibly enabling new revenue models. However, this requires measuring the distance between current high expectations for GenAI and future tangible outcomes.

Private/hybrid cloud service providers continue to implement other AI and ML features, which clients are seizing upon for significant benefits, the report says. AI-based cognitive capabilities and ML tools are helping to speed up service delivery, improve IT efficiency and deliver improved user experience. By gathering data from various sources to predict downtime and initiate self-healing measures, AI and ML can minimize the impacts of system failures.

Many enterprises seeking to shrink the footprints of their own data centers are turning to colocation providers, which are responding by expanding their facilities, especially in tech-centric areas such as Seattle and Dallas, ISG says. Demand is rising for high-density computing at nearby sites for low-latency applications.

“Colocation facilities play a growing role in enterprise computing capabilities,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Companies need reliable, secure, and scalable infrastructure to meet changing IT needs.”

The report also explores other trends affecting private and hybrid cloud services in the U.S., including the growing cost and scarcity of AI processing resources and the impact of changes in VMware licensing terms for enterprises and providers.

For more insights into challenges related to private and hybrid clouds in the U.S., including potential repercussions from GenAI and growing pressure to update or phase out legacy infrastructure, plus ISG’s advice on these issues, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 67 providers across four quadrants: Managed Services — Large Accounts, Managed Services — Midmarket, Managed Hosting and Colocation Services.

The report names Accenture (Navisite), DXC Technology, Ensono, Kyndryl, and Rackspace Technology as Leaders in two quadrants each. Capgemini, Cognizant, CoreSite, CyrusOne, DataBank, Digital Realty, Equinix, Evoque (Cyxtera), Flexential, HCLTech, Hexaware, Infosys, Mphasis, NTT DATA, NTT GDC, QTS, TCS, Unisys, UnitedLayer, Wipro and Zensar Technologies are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Microland and NTT DATA are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

In the area of customer experience, Green is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2024 among private/hybrid cloud service providers. Green earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.

A customized version of the report is available from Park Place Technologies

The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI and automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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