We recently wrote about systems integration in a multi-cloud world and argued that IT services vendors should position themselves as cloud integrators and orchestrators to continue to play an important role for their customers.
But there are more players in the value chain that will reposition themselves. The graph below provides a snapshot:
Carriers – Through the impact of SDN and NFV carriers will increasingly be delivering automated network services from carrier clouds rather than providing scheduled physical connections. Check out the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) and its Third Network Vision to find out more.
Data centres – As the center of IT is shifting to the cloud and providing access to cloud resources has become the primary role of the enterprise WAN, data centre providers are actively positioning themselves as central hubs in the cloud, content and connectivity game. They are linking up global with local clouds and establishing content hubs for vertical markets.
Infrastructure hosters – Local cloud and hosting providers that have been busy building out their local infrastructure either will remain distinctly local and provide their own private, hybrid and public cloud offerings, or forge alliances with global cloud providers to complement their own offering.
Application hosters – Providers of SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and other application hosting services will increasingly deliver these services from hybrid multi-clouds rather than from their own infrastructure. They will forge alliances with global and local cloud providers and become “infrastructure light”.
Software providers – Software providers are transitioning from providing on-premise solutions to providing hosted, multi-tenant and/or self-service software-as-a-service solutions.
Outsourcers – Outsourcers are transitioning from providing human skills and labour services to providing automated services sourced from the cloud and operated within a shared multi-tenant infrastructure.
Check out the presentation below that we delivered at the Dutch Hosting Provider Association network meeting.
