Hybrid cloud is the next evolution in cloud architecture, with adoption among enterprises expected to more than double by 2015, a research report said.
Infonetics Research added that among enterprise survey respondents, the top drivers for cloud adoption are performance, agility, scalability, and cost reduction. Enterprises’ mix of cloud services is changing, and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and cloud-as-a-service (CaaS) have the largest increases in adoption between 2013 and 2015.
Cliff Grossner, directing analyst for data center and cloud at Infonetics Research, said “The transformation to the cloud is spelling disruption and opportunity for network equipment vendors, who would be wise to demonstrate how their offerings can be part of a hybrid cloud environment where interoperability between network management, server virtualization, and data center orchestration platforms are critical factors for success.”
Just over half of respondents believe that shifting to the cloud will make it necessary to consider alternate network vendors and some 83% of enterprises surveyed rate service and support a very important criterion for choosing a cloud service provider, followed closely by experience and pricing structure.
Cloud adoption is impacting enterprise IT investments, with not only the WAN—but also the LAN—high on the list for upgrades, the research further said.