Report: More Organizations Sourcing Alternatives to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud

DevOps professionals increasingly are sourcing alternatives to the hyperscalers — Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

That insight comes from a recent report, DevOps and the Public Cloud, commissioned by Linode (now Akamai). In it, analysts from Techstrong Research found that almost two-thirds of respondents are considering, evaluating, or are ready to buy from, a cloud vendor that presents alternatives to the hyperscalers. Analysts further found that 20% of respondents already have signed with such a provider. Survey respondents told Techstrong they did so for the following reasons:

Interest appears strongest among small and medium businesses — firms with between 500 and 10,000 employees, according to Techstrong Research.

Global Expansion

Yet the above factors aren’t so much new as they are becoming more important to DevOps pros. That’s particularly the case as alternatives to the hyperscalers become more viable through global expansion. Linode, for instance, boasts 11 data centers in North America, Europe, India, Asia and Australia. One of its competitors, Vultr, now has 25 data centers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. And Digital Ocean, which seems to have less traction within the channel than Linode or Vultr, has 13 data center regions in eight cities across the globe. All in all, the greater the reach, the more footprint channel partners have to deliver alternatives to the hyperscalers for their clients.

In addition, about three-quarters of respondents told Techstrong Research they use more than one cloud provider. That’s not surprising. Most organizations rely on a mix of public and private clouds to support their digital transformation initiatives, as well as remote staff. (That mix can be multicloud, typically accepted as a combination of public clouds, or hybrid cloud, considered an amalgam of public and private environments — or both. We predict that at some point it will all be called “multicloud.”)

More Activity Coming As Orgs Seek Alternatives to the Hyperscalers

Over the coming year, nearly half (43%) of those professionals expect to bolt on at least one new cloud provider, per Techstrong. Given the growing profile and capabilities among independent cloud vendors such as Linode, Vultr and Digital Ocean, more DevOps experts are assessing alternatives to the hyperscalers. These respondents told Techstrong analysts they’re seeking the following:

Even so, nearly one-third of respondents – 29% – say they’re unsure about adding another cloud vendor.

And keep in mind that most organizations do not look to alternatives to AWS, Azure and GCP to serve as their only cloud providers. Rather, most users augment their cloud environments with an independent vendor and only run certain workloads there. Findings from Techstrong Research shore up that widely noted industry observation. Analysts say about one-fifth of respondents combine hyperscaler services with alternatives for diversification.

When it comes to total market share among the surveyed professionals, here’s what Techstrong Research uncovered:

Techstrong Research gathered insight from 458 DevOps professionals, managers and senior leaders across 20 industries to reach its conclusions.