Gartner’s recent analysis indicates a strong transition towards hybrid infrastructure, predicting that by 2020, a significant majority of organisations will adopt such systems.
Emerging trends show a combination of cloud, hosting, and traditional services set to balance out in expenditure, ushering in a new era of hybrid infrastructure.
According to Gartner, the demand for hybrid infrastructure management capabilities is set to surge, with an expected 90% of organisations adopting these skills by 2020.
This shift is propelled by the growth of cloud services coupled with the decline in traditional data centre outsourcing, marking an evolution in IT infrastructure preferences.
The financial landscape of IT services is undergoing a transformation. Spending on cloud, hosting, and traditional infrastructure is approaching parity, reflecting a strategic shift in organisational preferences.
By opting for more industrialised and less tailored solutions, companies stand to optimise costs and enhance efficiency.
In 2016, a Gartner survey illustrated the changing market dynamics; 20% of respondents had embraced hybrid services.
Another 20% indicated plans to transition within a year, highlighting the momentum towards hybridisation.
Traditional data centre outsourcing is experiencing a decline, with projected spending dropping from $55.1 billion in 2016 to a predicted $45.2 billion by 2020.
Cloud compute services are expected to witness substantial growth, with revenue anticipated to rise from $23.3 billion in 2016 to $68.4 billion by 2020.
Likewise, colocation and hosting services are also on an upward trajectory, increasing from $53.9 billion to an estimated $74.5 billion over the same period.
There is a marked increase in infrastructure utility services (IUS), projected to grow from $21.3 billion in 2016 to $37 billion in 2020.
Concurrent growth in ‘as a service’ models reflects changing IT consumption patterns.
Storage as a service is also expected to rise from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $2.7 billion in 2020, showing a shift in how storage solutions are being sourced.
Combined, traditional DCO and IUS services constituted 49% of the $154 billion data centre services market in 2016.
A trend towards cloud IaaS and hosting indicates significant changes, with an expected reduction to 35% market share by 2020.
Traditional service providers are under pressure, pushing them either to adapt or exit the market due to pricing competition.
Gartner anticipates continued price decreases in data centre and ‘as a service’ offerings by about 10% annually through 2020.
This pricing trend has encouraged competitive dynamics, compelling traditional vendors to innovate or face market exit.
The shift towards hybrid infrastructure services indicates a broader move towards efficient, cost-effective IT solutions.
As companies adapt, the landscape of IT services will likely see continued evolution, with hybrid systems becoming a standard for future operations.