Summary Bullets:

• As enterprise embrace hyperscale cloud platforms and networking services are more tightly integrated with cloud offerings, a diverse range of vendors are now competing for digital infrastructure services in Australia.

• Telcos are focused on evolving a network as a service approach, connecting as many clouds as possible, while systems integrators (SIs) and IT managed services providers (MSPs) are looking more at the migration towards an ongoing management of multi-cloud infrastructure.

The market for digital infrastructure services in Australia is served by a broad range of players that include both domestic and international players across telecommunications companies, IT MSPs, SIs, hyperscalers, and data center specialists. Further, many of the leading providers rely on packaging products and services from other vendors alongside their own to provide more complete set of solutions. For example, a telco offering its networking services alongside re-selling IaaS from a hyperscale cloud provider, or an SI offering managed network and managed cloud contracts from multiple vendors. As enterprise databases and applications increasingly move towards hyperscale environments led by a few players, digital infrastructure providers need to differentiate around areas like network visibility and performance, service automation, consulting and advisory, service orchestration, cost management, and managed services. As such, the covered vendors all have different strengths based on their background.

Telcos in Australia have been investing in transitioning from traditional network providers to digital technology companies. Telcos’ clear advantage are existing network assets, data centers, and broad range of partner and customer relationships. Their approach to digital infrastructure starts by addressing demand for enterprise to be dynamically connected to where digital workloads now sit. Telcos who can provide simple and secure connections into a wide range of clouds, SaaS providers, and data centers are better positioned to win digital infrastructure business. These cloud connectivity services are increasingly being offered through software-defined platforms that offer customer ability to price, provision, monitor, and manage through online-portals in a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model. Beyond networking, telcos are increasingly investing in providing cloud services beyond connectivity, such as managed public, private, and hybrid cloud platforms.

While vendors from the telco side are naturally focused on evolving a NaaS approach, SIs and IT MSPs are looking more at the migration towards and ongoing management of multi-cloud infrastructure. Enterprise and government organizations in Australia, are increasingly committed to leveraging hyperscale platforms, even for core systems. With enterprise in Australia now committing more mission-critical workloads to hyperscale cloud environments, there is demand to determine the most efficient as well as most secure ways to run these multi-cloud estates. Integrators and MSPs including telcos now focus on developing cloud advisory and planning, migration services and multi-cloud management platforms that leverage micro-services and containers to further abstract workloads from underlying hyperscale infrastructure. A typical sales cycle for digital infrastructure now involves advisory and planning, migration services, cloud management and cross-sell of related managed services. Further, these cloud-focused engagements are often tied to wider digital transformation initiatives that allow for vendors to offer additional managed services like network management, managed cloud, and network security, or depending on the vendor, managed application services. To differentiate in this space, many MSPs and SIs are taking a vertical approach to cloud infrastructure.

While vendors from different backgrounds have different approaches, the lines are increasingly blurred. Telcos are investing in developing cloud practices and adding certifications in hyperscale infrastructure. MSPs and SIs are developing partnerships with a growing list of NaaS providers to white label cloud-networking services as part of their wider digital transformation services. Vendors may be competitors as often as they are partners when targeting enterprises for their digital infrastructure deals.

GlobalData covers this growing market for digital infrastructure services in detail in the recent Digital Infrastructure (Australia): Competitive Landscape Assessment report. This report covers the market in more detail, providing a detailed analysis of the market landscape of six key competitors, Datacom, Fujitsu, Orro Group, NTT Global, Optus/Singtel, and Telstra, based on their strengths and limitations. The report provides top-level drivers for digital infrastructure trends, the common buying criteria for enterprise IT buyers consider, and recommendations to vendors competing in this market.