Hyperscale, cloud exits, Google Cloud, global strategic developments
A busy week saw some interesting developments in cloud as the market continues its transition to hyperscale and managed third party cloud. There were also some important strategic developments, activity in Spanish-speaking Europe and shuffling in executive circles.
The shift to a hyperscale cloud world has been swift and undeniable. And the competitive landscape has reacted. Telcos, MSPs and service providers alike began to shutter cloud infrastructure services and even business units. Not too long after, the likes of Dell, Cisco, HP and others joined in. This transition is still playing out and Fujitsu became the latest to start de-emphasizing cloud on a retail level, exiting in all markets except Japan.
Cloud adoption is always front and centre. In Asia, there has been a lot of activity lately and the latest logo win saw Microsoft bring on ride sharing service Grab in a very comprehensive cloud and infrastructure deal. Moving to cloud remains tricky and another managed third party cloud deal was confirmed recently. Ensono will help move Guinness World Records to AWS.
The shift to a multi-cloud world continues and while it is going to take time, it is very conceivable that this world is moving from a one-horse race. We recently got some great insights into the pulse at Google and it has important implications for how this is all going to play out.
On the strategic side, there were interesting moves. The market in south America continues to pick up and CyrusOne entered the market with an investment in data centre operator ODATA. Just last month, of course, Digital Realty completed its acquisition of Ascenty. Meanwhile, cloud and hyperscale is developing fast in Spanish-speaking Europe. We have some details from the recent Interxion analyst day and speak to an interesting independent provider called gigas – showing that while the world is increasingly hyperscale there is always room for alternatives and differentiation. It is about finding it.
Finally, there were also move movement in executive circles. Infomart Data Centers brought in a new CEO, an industry veteran joined Faction as president, eStruxture added a CFO and Digital Ocean brought in a SVP of strategy and corporate development.
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