14 February 2020
UK businesses are turning to multiple cloud providers to manage IT costs and have access to a flexible menu of services, according to new research.
The ISG Provider Lens Cloud Transformation/Operation Services & XaaS Report for the UK in 2019, published by Information Services Group (ISG), notes that large UK businesses trading in their old capital expenditure IT models and embracing multi-cloud strategies with public cloud providers. Using several cloud services helps UK companies improve their speed to market and gives them cost flexibility, the report added.
An unnamed large UK financial services firm uses one cloud provider for its data warehousing and communications platform, another provider for application testing and development, and a third to run enterprise cloud software in specific locations.
“This new, complex, multi-cloud, multi-skilled approach is now the standard in business and a key trend driving enterprise organisations,” said Barry Matthews, partner and head of ISG in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands and Nordics.
Many businesses have different workload requirements for performance and for data protection, making multi-cloud or hybrid cloud models attractive, the report said. Many medium-sized companies, however, lack the time or expertise needed to operate multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments and instead are turning to managed service providers to help them on their cloud journey.
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and other providers are essential to help businesses understand complex cloud services and the thousands of new cloud offerings available every year, the report said.
