Enterprises are getting more comfortable with cloud services and with using different clouds for different applications, putting more emphasis on the ability to both connect and deliver cloud services, according to the latest Verizon study of enterprise cloud usage.
The 2014 Verizon State of the Enterprise Cloud report, which can be viewed here, points to new opportunities for companies like Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), that offer both cloud services and the network that interconnects them, says Siki Giunta, senior VP-Cloud and Connected Solutions at Verizon Enterprise Solutions .
The same report is being widely covered for revealing a corporate IT "take-back" of cloud services, as it shows IT managers now control more than half of the enterprise spending on cloud. That is driving Verizon to focus on the corporate IT segment as "customer one" for cloud, Giunta says.
She also points to the declining worries about security in the cloud -- even a year ago, that was among the top concerns for those considering moving corporate apps and data into this new service approach. Now there is more focus on portability and being able to get the "best-of-breed" cloud service for each application or service, she notes.
"We see an evolution of enterprise IT becoming cloud brokers," Giunta says. "They are much more empowered with their processes that are focused on how to acquire cloud, how to evaluate cloud -- their sourcing is much more evolved. We have seen enterprise IT departments have started very seriously to do portfolio analysis" that looks at the best provider for a specific app or workload.
Our 'OSS & BSS in the Era of SDN and NFV' event looks closely at this key transition. You can check it out here on Light Reading.
Not surprisingly, Giunta thinks this shift favors companies such as Verizon because the networks that connect the diverse clouds become more important and, along with other major telecom players, Verizon has been developing more advanced services for the hybrid cloud world. (See Tata Tackles Hybrid Cloud Connections, AT&T NetBond Getting Amazon Ties, Verizon Puts Cloud Customers in Control and CenturyLink Launches Private Cloud Services in 57 Data Centers.)
But she also notes that the return of corporate IT to the process means tighter budgetary discipline and this is also an area where Verizon believes it has an edge.
"IT is rationalizing their portfolio," Giunta says. Instead of agreeing to support every version of every app, enterprises are looking for economies and pushing standardization, especially as greater mobility enters the picture and requires changes to the way apps are developed. "We can help them all the time to understand which workloads are easiest to migrate to the cloud and which ones are not," she comments.
— Carol Wilson, Editor-at-Large, Light Reading