Summary Bullets:

• GlobalData rates as “Leader(s)”: Microsoft, Salesforce

• GlobalData rates as “Very Strong” competitors: Appian, Mendix, OutSystems, and Pegasystems

Enterprises are motivated to prioritize their modern software delivery initiatives through the high-productivity development tools of low-code platforms. Increased prominence has ensured lucrative funding, acquisitions, and profitability. Heightened importance around low-code app development platforms has been prompted by complex application architectures, a global shortage of professional software developers, and the need for business transformation delivered through meaningful back-end data integrations.

The need to remove red tape from the app modernization process has never been greater during the COVID-19 crisis, prompting executive directives for organizations to accelerate digital transformations. Whether enterprises are entrenched in new software delivery efforts or barely beginning them, COVID-19’s impact has CIOs opting for emerging technologies in order to hurry along digital projects and combat inevitable economic downturns. Many believe those efforts are best served through next-generation low-code/no-code and automation platforms. Continue reading “Fiercely Competitive Low-Code Space Bows to Microsoft, Salesforce” →

Summary Bullets:

• With 872 million students relying on some form of virtual learning this academic year, lack of access to reliable technology for some is translating into an academic disaster for millions.
• While the pandemic drags on, observers are urging a concerted effort to fill in technology gaps to support all students as schools work to find a safe path back to physical school.

COVID-19 sent billions of students into a new virtual reality as schools in 192 countries closed their doors. At the pandemic’s peak, 1.6 billion students were impacted. Even the most well-funded school systems struggled to adjust, with technology platforms that faltered. In poorer systems, the lack of technology and connectivity meant many students’ education for the year effectively ended in March. Continue reading “COVID-19: The Digital Divide Drives Inequities in Virtual Learning” →

Summary Bullets:

• After a multiple-month JEDI contract re-evaluation process, the Pentagon reached the same decision it had 11 months ago and awarded Microsoft the deal.
• AWS immediately re-sounded the alarm that the procurement process was inherently inequitable, filing a new protest with the court.

The JEDI battle lines are still as tightly drawn as when Microsoft was declared the winner in October 2019. Amazon didn’t waste any time to raise its continued objections after the Department of Defense (DoD) disclosed it was once again awarding the sought-after multi-billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract to Microsoft. Posting a blog titled “JEDI: Why we will continue to protect this politically corrupted contract award,” AWS outlined some of the issues with both the initial award and the re-evaluation processes. Continue reading “AWS Continues Its JEDI Protest After the Pentagon Declares Microsoft the Winner (Again)” →

Summary Bullets:

• OSS wars are heating up between cloud providers vying for larger followings via service mesh solutions

• Hybrid and multi-cloud management solutions are vital for providing enterprises with a gradual move into the cloud

During last week’s mega Kubernetes conference, KubeCon EU, cloud leaders continued to vie for mind share of cloud management offerings in support of advanced Kubernetes deployment scenarios spanning hybrid/multiple clouds and in support of multiple containerized clusters. Heightened controversy between various service mesh technologies further illustrated the importance of having the backing of a standards body like CNCF, and its vast community membership. Continue reading “KubeCon EU 2020: Importance of CNCF’s Blessing Highlighted Among Cloud Players” →

Summary Bullets:

• Google Cloud announced new solutions and updates to catch up with competitors in value-added services and differentiate in open-platform and analytics.

• Multi-vendor support enables Google Cloud to address the multi-cloud requirements of ASEAN enterprises.

Google Cloud made several announcements at the recent Google Cloud Next 2020 OnAir, including BigQuery Omni (multi-cloud analytics solution. For more, please see Google Cloud Next 2020: Google Pads Anthos via GCP’s BigQuery AI Extensions, July 15, 2020), Confidential Computing (encryption of data while being processed), Assured Workloads (automation of compliance), G-Suite update, and Anthos update. At the event, the provider also shared its plan on partner ecosystem expansion and professional service capabilities. For more, please see Google Cloud Next 2020: What Google Lacks in Cloud Market Share, it Makes up for in Engineering, July 16, 2020. These announcements are crucial for Google Cloud to retain its advantage against other providers in areas such as analytics and interworking with other platforms, and close the competitive gaps in other areas (e.g., market share, partner ecosystem, professional services and value-added services). Continue reading “Google Cloud Next 2020 – ASEAN Impact – Part 1: Driving Multi-cloud Adoption in the Region” →

Summary Bullets:

• Google Cloud could position G-Suite and its retail solution to help ASEAN SMBs during the pandemic.

• Google should include key local players in its partner ecosystem to extend its market reach in the region.

Google Cloud made several announcements at the recent Google Cloud Next 2020 OnAir and shared its expansion plan of partner ecosystem and professional service capabilities. The first part of this report: Google Cloud Next 2020 – ASEAN Impact – Part 1: Driving Multi-cloud Adoption in the Region analyzes Google Cloud’s proposition in multi-cloud in ASEAN. This post discusses the opportunity in SMBs and recommendations for Google Cloud and end-users in the region.

Impact of COVID-19 on ASEAN SMB

Domestically, SMB represents a large amount of market opportunity driven by over 90% of total establishments in a country. The buying behavior is different than large enterprises and MNC. The low ICT adoption and lack of internal ICT capabilities translate to higher opportunities for managed service providers. However, market growth is expected to be slower post COVID-19 as many SMBs are significantly impacted by the pandemic. SMBs, especially the small and micro enterprises, have had to squeeze their budgets across all functions including ICT to sustain their business during and post lockdown. Digital transformation is becoming less important, and the main priorities have shifted to adapting to new customers’ buying bmehavior such as e-commerce and cashless payment (e.g., mobile wallet). The economy and low power purchasing in ASEAN are also pushing them to be even more cost-sensitive with ICT purchasing. All discretionary spending is expected to be put on hold. Continue reading “Google Cloud Next 2020 – ASEAN Impact – Part 2: Powering SMBs in the Post COVID-19 Era” →