(For English version, please see below)
Som regional salgschef for Virtustream i Norden er det min hovedopgave, at hjælpe store virksomheder med deres cloud-strategi, så vel som at hjælpe med dem med missionskritiske applikationer som SAP og Oracle. I dette blogindlæg, videregiver jeg min indsigt i skyens nuværende tilstand. Virtustream er en del af Dell Technologies, og vores enterprise-kunder verden over betror os at håndtere deres migrering til skyen og efterfølgende håndtering af deres forretningsbærende it-løsninger. Vores cloud-løsninger Virtustream xStream® Management Platform og Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) imødekommer de mest komplekse sikkerheds-, kapabilitet-, ydelses- og effektivitetskrav fra globale koncerner, servicevirksomheder og statslige organisationer.
Her i 2018 har de fleste forbrugere hørt om, været i kontakt med eller har købt cloud-løsninger i en eller anden form. Mange af os er blevet afhængige af de mange fordele, som skyen giver os i dagligdagen; TV, musik og undervisning nyder alle godt af øget tilgængelighed og brugervenlighed, og mange it-ressourcer kan købes og styres online.
Virksomheder er ikke anderledes. Store virksomheder høster nu mere end nogensinde før af cloud-løsningernes fordele; Øget effektivitet og tilgængelighed sætter fart på innovationen, mindsker udgifterne og øger produktiviteten. Men som flere andre revolutionerede løsninger mødte cloud mange forhindringer i de tidlige dage.
Et kig på fortidens marketing-hype: Cloud-altmuligt
Da cloud slog igennem i 2010 begyndte it-analytikere, leverandører og forbrugere at stille spørgsmålstegn ved, om cloud var kommet for at blive eller blot var endnu en hypet dille, der ville gå i glemmebogen efter et par år? Minsandten om ikke at skyen allerede i 2011 (ifølge Gartner-undersøgelsen Cycle for Cloud Computing) gjorde det spørgsmål til skamme, ved at rykke raskt forbi det såkaldte ’Peak of Inflated Expectations’ og direkte ind i ’Trough of Disillusionment’.
Dengang kritiseredes mange virksomheder for ’cloud washing’, fordi de rebrandede gamle produkter under nye navne – og mange var enige om, at skyen aldrig ville kunne leve op til de høje forventninger. Cloud var overalt. Til sidst havde ’cloud washing’ nærmest ødelagt de reelle fordele, virksomheder kunne hente i skyen.
Spoler vi frem til 2018, kan vi i dag fristes til at spørge om der overhovedet er en fremtid uden skyen? Ikke alene har cloud adoptionen overgået forventninger i 2011, men den har simpelthen overgået vores vildeste forestillinger. Vi tog altså ikke fejl af skyens potentiale. Vi var simpelthen bare tidligt på den.
Ikke længere kun til ufølsomme data
En af de større overraskelser her i 2018 er mængden af virksomheder, der integrerer public cloud-produkter med deres forretningskritiske løsninger. For et par år siden, var mange af os overbevist om, at public cloudløsninger var fantastiske, men kun egnede sig til arkivering og backup af ikke-følsom data. Ikke-følsom data blev anset som en forret til middagsbordets cloud-servering, mens hovedretten – virksomhedens forretningskritiske data – ALTID skulle opbevares på virksomhedens egne fysiske servere.
Sikken forandring på blot et par år. I dag bliver SAP, Oracle og andre forretningskritiske løsninger, som traditionelt var tilkoblet fysiske servere hos virksomheden, kørt effektivt i skyen. En ny rundspørgeundersøgelse foretaget af 451 Group viser, at siden midt 2018 vil tre ud af fem (60 pct.) af enterprise workloads køre i skyen, modsat de 41 pct. der er tilfældet i dag.
At huske fortiden og planlægge fremtiden
Mens det er rigtigt, at cloud hurtigt æder ind på tidligere tiders hardware-løsninger, så er det vigtigt at huske, at der ikke findes en ’one size fits all’ cloud-løsning. Hvis der findes en cloud-hype i dag, så er det, at én slags sky kan løse alle vores it-udfordringer. De kløgtigste virksomheder bruger cloud-udbydere, der går forrest med værktøjer, der bidrager direkte til at køre virksomhedens processer – og dermed forretning.
Ser vi syv år tilbage i tiden, er det tydeligt, at vi var med til at hype cloud til et urimeligt niveau. Men i takt med at cloud får mere og mere momentum, så er det nu en naturlig del af virksomhedernes it-planlægning, hvor fokus er rettet mod at finde den helt rigtige udbyder. Virksomheder stiller krav til, at deres cloud-udbyder har industriens førende funktionalitet, effektivitet og fleksibilitet på tværs af en lang række integrerede cloud-platforme, softwareløsninger og -services.
Derudover bliver cloud-teknologien mere indviklet og omfavnede, hvilket bevirker, at virksomhederne skal kunne stole på udbyderens evne til at imødekomme de omfattende krav, som opstår, når større virksomheder opbevarer forretningsbærende værktøjer og følsomme data i skyen. Ligeledes vil virksomheder i fremtiden få brug for en cloud-udbyder, der hurtigt og effektivt kan bygge et hyperskalérbart cloud-miljø, der kan give kunderne præcis den fleksibilitet og kontrol, som de ønsker.
Vi ser ingen tegn på, at cloud-udbredelsen stopper i 2018. Tværtimod. I undersøgelsen ’2017 State of the Cloud’ af RightScale ses det, at 95 pct. af de adspurgte virksomheder i Storbritannien bruger skyen, mens hele 85 pct. har en cloud-strategi bestående af flere cloud-løsninger. Vi forudser altså, at denne udvikling vil fortsætte.
Jesper Kamper, Nordic Sales Lead, Virtustream
Venligst kontakt mig på LinkedIn eller via e-mail jesper.kamper@virtustream.com, hvis du vil vide mere om, hvordan vi har hjulpet andre virksomheder og hvordan, vi kan hjælpe din.
As the regional sales lead for Virtustream in the Nordics, my primary focus area is to support our customers with their enterprise cloud strategy, as well as with the management of mission critical applications such as SAP, Oracle, etc. This blog will give insight into the current state of the cloud. Virtustream is a Dell Technologies business and is the enterprise-class cloud company that is trusted by organizations worldwide to migrate and run their mission-critical applications in the cloud. For enterprises, service providers and government agencies, the Virtustream xStream® Management Platform and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) meets the security, compliance, performance, efficiency and consumption-based billing requirements of complex production applications in the cloud – whether private, public or hybrid.
It is 2018 and nearly every consumer has heard of, come into contact with or purchased cloud services in one form or another. Many of us are now dependent on cloud benefits as many of the most common life experiences such as listening to music, watching television and learning in a classroom have all been improved by the ability to access, manage and purchase IT resources online.
Businesses are no different. Enterprises are now leveraging the efficiency and on-demand access of cloud more than ever to speed innovation, cut costs and improve productivity. But like many other revolutionary solutions before it, cloud faced many obstacles in early adoption.
A Look Back At Marketing Hype: Cloud ‘Everything’
As soon as cloud hit its stride in 2010, IT analysts, vendors and customers began asking if cloud was ‘here to stay or is it one of these hyped subjects that inevitably will be forgotten in a couple of years’ time?’ Sure enough, no more than a year later in 2011 (according to Gartner’s 2011 Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing), cloud had taken the first step in answering this question by moving beyond the ’Peak of Inflated Expectations’ and straight into the ’Trough of Disillusionment’.
Til sidst hjalp denne ‘cloud washing’ med at fjerne skyens
At the time, critics cited “cloud washing” as evidence that cloud could never live up to our expectations. Cloud was everywhere. Eventually, this “cloud washing” helped accelerate its complete dislocation from reality. Fast forward to 2018 and we could reasonably ask if anything BUT cloud is here to stay. In fact, not only has cloud met our “inflated expectations” of 2011, but also it has arguably surpassed what we imagined to be possible. Turns out that we weren’t wrong about the potential of cloud, we were just early.
No Longer Just For ‘Non-Critical’ Data
One of the more surprising realities of cloud as we move into 2018 has been the rate of business adoption of public cloud services for mission critical applications. Just a few years ago, many of us were convinced that public cloud was great – but was most appropriate for archive, backup and other business “non-critical” data. Non-critical was seen as the “appetiser” of data; the “main course” (mission critical data) would ALWAYS remain on-premises.
What a difference a few years make. Today, SAP, Oracle and other mission critical, traditionally “on-premises” applications are being efficiently run in public clouds. In fact, a recent survey from the 451 Group suggests that three in five (60%) enterprise workloads will run in the cloud by mid-2018, up from around two in five (41%) today.
Remembering The Past & Planning For The Future
While it is true that cloud has become as pervasive as the on-premises hardware it is replacing, it’s important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” cloud. In fact, if there exists any hype in cloud today, it is that any one cloud can be a panacea for all our IT challenges. As a result, smart enterprises are focusing on cloud vendors that lead with attributes that directly contribute to running applications and, therefore, a business.
Looking back seven years, we certainly did a great job of hyping cloud beyond all reasonable expectations. But as the cloud momentum continues to press onward, enterprises are developing a plan for the future of their IT landscape with cloud providers in mind. Businesses are requiring their cloud provider to have industry leading performance, efficiency and flexibility across a plethora of integrated cloud platforms, software and managed services.
Additionally, as cloud technologies become more intricate and pervasive, companies will rely on the cloud provider’s ability to meet their most demanding enterprise requirements for complex, mission critical applications and data requiring enterprise-class object storage. And lastly, in the future, enterprises will need a cloud provider who can quickly and efficiently build hyper scale cloud environments that provide customers with significant economies of scale, resource flexibility and enterprise control.
In 2018 we see no signs of cloud adoption slowing, in fact according to the RightScale 2017 State of the Cloud Report, in the UK 95% of respondents are using cloud with 85% of enterprises reporting that they have a multi-cloud strategy so we predict that this trajectory will just continue to grow.
Jesper Kamper, Nordic Sales Lead, Virtustream
Please contact me on LinkedIn or email Jesper.kamper@virtustream.com if you want to know more about how we have helped other companies and how we can help yours.
