Category: Cloud Enable

Cloud Enable examines the options available to IT departments considering adopting or managing cloud-based architectures in their business environment.

Enterprises’ Most Advanced UX Is Enabled in 2019 via New Microservices Innovations

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • New PaaS offerings from IBM, Red Hat, and Pivotal will include reactive programming in coming months.
  • Reactive microservices will play a key role in furthering migration from monolithic to microservices in 2019.

Open source software bodies have turned up the heat on important microservices technologies, grabbing the attention of startups in recent years and larger cloud service providers more recently. IBM, Red Hat, and Pivotal are readying reactive microservices technologies for the coming months, innovations which add real-time streaming and machine learning to cloud-based applications and support a critical component for enterprises migrating from monolithic to microservices-based apps. Continue reading “Enterprises’ Most Advanced UX Is Enabled in 2019 via New Microservices Innovations” →

Alibaba Cloud Looks for Growth Outside of China, and Indonesia Is a Good Target

by siowmeng, posted in Cloud Enable, Network, Secure
S. Soh

Summary Bullets:

  • Alibaba Cloud is gaining a stronger foothold in Indonesia with its second data centre, a growing partnership ecosystem and an initiative to support start-ups to develop their business through a cloud-native approach.
  • Alibaba needs to grow its international presence, and it is establishing an early presence in markets such as Indonesia where competitors do not yet have a local presence.

Alibaba Cloud has launched a second data centre in Indonesia after launching the first data centre 10 months earlier. The second data centre enables Alibaba Cloud to increase capacity, provide higher availability and improve disaster recovery capabilities. The company also launched the Internet Champion Global Accelerator Program to support the growth of start-ups and local talents. The program will provide training, mentorship and venture capital opportunities to enterprises and professional services. The program is launching in Jakarta, and it will be extended to Bali in January 2019, as well as other global markets in the future. This is a strategic move since start-ups and SMEs in general are more ready to adopt a cloud-native approach and can become heavy cloud users as they scale up. Continue reading “Alibaba Cloud Looks for Growth Outside of China, and Indonesia Is a Good Target” →

Reactive Microservices Breed Compelling New Reactive Networking Protocol RSocket

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Mobilize, Network
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • Reactive microservices will play a key role in furthering adoption of microservices in 2019.
  • Important OSS technologies will further this mission, including RSocket.

GlobalData’s recent report on application platforms predictions for 2019 anticipates a two- to three-year delay for microservices application adoption among enterprise DevOps teams (please see: “Microservices, Serverless Apps Won’t Take Off in 2019, but Kubernetes Importance Is Elevated,” December 18, 2018). Delays are expected for the emerging app development architecture aimed at helping companies fulfill business transformations and move apps and systems to the cloud, due to complex networking implications around cloud-native architectures. Despite delays, there are promising open source software (OSS) technologies coming to light this year which offer the most likely scenario for microservices adoption among enterprise DevOps groups. Continue reading “Reactive Microservices Breed Compelling New Reactive Networking Protocol RSocket” →

What to Expect in Data Center and Cloud Services Next Year

by John Marcus, posted in Cloud Enable
J. Marcus

Summary Bullets:

• Global hyperscale IaaS providers will build capacity in new regions around the world, often leveraging colocation providers that can support their scale

• Multi-cloud requirements will drive new interoperability from major providers, more choice in multi-cloud connectivity, and more demand for cloud-native managed services

GlobalData expects core cloud market segments like infrastructure (IaaS), platform (PaaS), and software (SaaS) as a service to maintain their strong momentum of growth in 2019. For the enterprise seeking solutions, we expect to see more specialist assistance available in the form of cloud enablement solutions directly in response to the reality of a multi-cloud world. Globally, the major cloud service providers will extend their reach farther around the globe, often partnering with colocation players to speed time to market rather than buying or building their own sites. They will also need to respond along with the rest of the overall ecosystem to hybrid and multi-cloud imperatives, trading improved interoperability for continued customer loyalty. Specifically, we expect to see:

• Expansion in Middle East/Africa and Asia among global cloud IaaS providers: with China-based players now expanding beyond Asia, we expect western cloud service providers to build more capacity in the Middle East, Africa, and the APAC region. Local and regional hosting has become an imperative for some use cases, but these regions also offer the highest rate of near term growth. Continue reading “What to Expect in Data Center and Cloud Services Next Year” →

Microservices, Serverless Apps Won’t Take Off in 2019, but Kubernetes’ Importance Is Elevated

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • Kubernetes holds the key to integration with important OSS technologies such as Istio and Knative and for easing ongoing complexity around microservices and serverless apps.
  • Blockchain will continue to rise in importance as the digital ledger to modernize business processes, shifting in 2019 from PoCs to the early stages of moving blockchain apps into production.

As GlobalData reflects on what has been a whirlwind year in the application platforms and DevOps space, including mega multi-billion dollar acquisitions, the growing importance of OSS technologies, and a fast growing competitive landscape, we’ve determined Kubernetes will be at the forefront of importance. No other technology in this space maintains the same clout as Kubernetes for its ability to address the most pressing needs of DevOps teams which are looking to refactor apps into new development architectures. Whether operations is deploying monolithic or microservices-based applications into production, Kubernetes container orchestration technology has become the most viable element in the application platform toolkit. Continue reading “Microservices, Serverless Apps Won’t Take Off in 2019, but Kubernetes’ Importance Is Elevated” →

AWS re:Invent Highlights Bold Serverless Strategy, Prompting a Swift Microsoft Response

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable
Charlotte Dunlap – Principal Analyst, Application Platforms

Summary Bullets:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) augments leading serverless LAMBDA solution with an innovative operational solution, Firecracker

• AWS announcement prompts Microsoft Azure to respond with numerous portfolio updates

At last week’s developer conference, re:Invent, AWS made the case for why the time is ripe for enterprises to take a serverless computing architectural approach to application development. The cloud giant rolled out new technologies that promise to make DevOps teams more operationally prepared for the heavy lifting needed to deploy emerging serverless and microservices apps. Continue reading “AWS re:Invent Highlights Bold Serverless Strategy, Prompting a Swift Microsoft Response” →

CEO Diane Greene Prepares to Exit Google with Its Enterprise Cloud Play Still Incomplete

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
A. DeCarlo
A. DeCarlo

Summary Bullets:

  • Diane Greene led the Google Cloud enterprise charge, helping the provider make up lost ground with an ambitious agenda that included significant acquisitions, investments in AI, and new strategic partnerships.
  • But, for all of Google’s forward momentum, the provider still hasn’t closed the gap with IaaS leaders AWS and Microsoft Azure.

As Google Cloud chief Diane Green gets ready to hand over the reins to her successor, former Oracle exec Thomas Kurian, the industry is taking a moment to reflect on the progress and conflicts that marked her term. When Greene joined Google in 2015, despite the company’s status as an Internet titan, the organization was an underwhelming performer in the enterprise cloud. Continue reading “CEO Diane Greene Prepares to Exit Google with Its Enterprise Cloud Play Still Incomplete” →

TM Forum Digital Transformation Asia 2018: CenturyLink Strengthens Asia-Pacific Business

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Network, Secure
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • CenturyLink expands and enhances its portfolio in Asia-Pacific to challenge other carriers and grab the growing opportunity.
  • However, there are still gaps with its competitors, especially in portfolio and presence in the region.

At the TM Forum Digital Transformation Asia 2018 in Malaysia earlier this month, CenturyLink shared its direction to strengthen its presence and expand the business in Asia-Pacific. The move is in line with its global expansion strategy announced this year at its annual Analyst Forum. In Asia-Pacific, CenturyLink has over 2,000 employees, on-net presence in 12 countries and sales presence in six key markets (i.e., Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore). With the existing resources in the region, the carrier plays to its strength by focusing on inbound MNCs as well as Asian-based enterprises expanding beyond the region. It focuses in certain verticals, including OTT/content, media, entertainment, financial services, energy and utilities, retail and manufacturing sectors. Continue reading “TM Forum Digital Transformation Asia 2018: CenturyLink Strengthens Asia-Pacific Business” →

Enterprise Developer Takeaways from Salesforce Dreamforce

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable
Charlotte Dunlap – Principal Analyst, Application Platforms

Summary Bullets:

• MuleSoft’s ability to provide integration with non-Salesforce applications and systems keeps Salesforce Platform relevant

• Salesforce continues to build on Einstein momentum, providing developers with new voice opportunities in AI

Now that the dust has settled in downtown San Francisco and the 170,000-strong mob of Dreamforce attendees have gone home, enterprise developers and DevOps teams can reflect upon Salesforce’s latest platform strategy and announcements. With that in mind, we’ve honed in on the top three developer takeaways from last week’s mega conference.

1. MuleSoft’s ability to provide integration with non-Salesforce applications and systems keeps Salesforce Platform relevant.

At the forefront of Salesforce’s developer news last week are ambitious plans to integrate MuleSoft into its SaaS and PaaS offerings. Salesforce acquired the mature integration vendor earlier this year to serve as the integration layer to its newly consolidated Salesforce Platform. Such a move ensures that Salesforce remains competitive and relevant by providing enterprises with continuous delivery capabilities and the ability to access disparate apps and systems as customers forge ahead with business transformation projects. Continue reading “Enterprise Developer Takeaways from Salesforce Dreamforce” →

Huawei UBBF: Cloud-Network Synergy Can Drive Managed Cloud Services for Telcos

by vbaker00, posted in Cloud Enable
J. Marcus

Summary Bullets:

• Ultra broadband access will drive enterprise digital transformation, forcing requirements for more agile telco network services including cloud access and multi-cloud connectivity.

• The key factor is the decoupling of service and network management through the use of overlay/underlay networks, resulting in more flexible solutions that can be deployed quickly.

Huawei hosted UBBF 2018 in Geneva last week, bringing telcos, enterprises, and analysts up to date on its efforts in ultra broadband access (i.e., technology capable of 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps bandwidth). Curiously, the program also included significant time and content dedicated to B2B services with a focus on cloud-network synergy and the benefits to service provider and user. At times, the message wasn’t completely clear on which clouds Huawei was including in its vision (e.g., telco network clouds, telco public clouds, OTT clouds), but eventually, the vendor’s ideas for using a cloud management system to offer enterprises a one-stop shop for network and cloud services using SD-WAN for multi-cloud connectivity came through in several proposed use cases. (For more detail on this topic, see the full advisory report, “UBBF 2018: Cloud-Network Synergy High on Agenda at Huawei’s Ultra Broadband Forum,” published by GlobalData on September 17, 2018. Continue reading “Huawei UBBF: Cloud-Network Synergy Can Drive Managed Cloud Services for Telcos” →