VMware: Demand for Cloud Observability Rising Amid Hybrid, Multicloud Adoption
A recent VMware report finds that few organizations have a solid approach to this vital practice as they expand their cloud environments.
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VMware produced its first observability report in 2021. That tells you just how nascent the practice really is. Yet in just one year, the adoption of cloud observability tools grew from 19% to 24%, according to VMware via Dimensional research. That represents growth of more than 25%.
And, VMware says, that represents a clear sign that IT teams understand the value of, and need to use, observability for cloud environments.
On that note, 41% of respondents already use observability platforms or have started to deploy them. That contrasts with 32% in 2021.
Cloud-native applications feature more complexity than their legacy counterparts. In fact, 89% of respondents in VMware’s study think that’s the case. That’s happening as developers move to microservice architectures and do more code delivery, VMware says. Again, these shifts are leading to more demand for cloud observability resources.
Channel partners can cash in on the need for cloud observability tools. Almost all — 98% — of respondents told VMware they felt their organizations can benefit from observability capabilities. And distributed applications are stirring up more monitoring challenges than other apps, 94% of respondents said (that compares to 90% in 2021). To that point, 78% view observability as somewhat or very valuable, while 20% pinpoint it as necessary. Again, this aspect of the cloud represents even more opportunity for savvy consultants, managed service providers and other indirect partners.
No surprises here, but organizations are supporting a mix of hybrid and multicloud apps. Hybrid cloud is generally accepted as a combination of public cloud and on-premises cloud environments. Multicloud is widely defined as a mix of public clouds. (We predict that at some point, these definitions will meld because “multi” can certainly include private clouds. Meanwhile, back at the ranch …)
With that context, 29% of respondents told VMware that more than half of their apps qualify as hybrid. And 68% have multicloud apps, with 22% reporting more than half of their apps as being multicloud.
The point is that these many flavors of cloud create complexity that’s difficult to manage and control without observability assistance. Depending on an organization’s needs, channel partners can either help customers choose the right platform for in-house oversight, or do cloud observability on their clients’ behalf.
Of course, that commentary leads to a key conundrum noted in VMware’s report. Go to the next slide.
Organizations are adding cloud observability tools for better insight, analysis and action. However, almost half of VMware’s respondents say they’re using five separate platforms to do this. Fifteen percent use between 11 and 20 separate tools, per VMware. And 9% say they use more than 20.
That’s just compounding complexity with complexity. Only one in five respondents (a mere 21%) describes their monitoring toolset as unified.
Go to the next slide for some thoughts on what channel partners can do.
Cloud channel partners can help customers address the problem of too many or nonexistent cloud observability tools by presenting a list of the growing capabilities now on the market. While VMware conducted a report on this burgeoning topic, it’s not the only vendor to offer observability resources that span the various cloud silos. Channel Futures recommends that partners looking to shore up client loyalty and generate more revenue add cloud observability assistance/administration to their portfolios — and vet the various providers thoroughly.
Cloud channel partners can help customers address the problem of too many or nonexistent cloud observability tools by presenting a list of the growing capabilities now on the market. While VMware conducted a report on this burgeoning topic, it’s not the only vendor to offer observability resources that span the various cloud silos. Channel Futures recommends that partners looking to shore up client loyalty and generate more revenue add cloud observability assistance/administration to their portfolios — and vet the various providers thoroughly.
Even before COVID-19 struck, organizations were undertaking digital transformation initiatives, updating legacy technologies and apps for a cloud world. The pandemic hastened those efforts — and threw them into chaos. IT teams around the world quickly deployed whatever cloud services and tools they thought they needed to support newly remote employees. Two years later, organizations are still cleaning up the messes. At the same time, they’re implementing more cloud environments with deliberation. All that activity has created multicloud estates with siloed interfaces. Figuring out what’s happening in each cloud platform creates confusion and paves the way for overspending. Enter cloud observability.
This capability allows IT teams (or their channel partners) to aggregate, analyze and act on data from cloud apps, services and infrastructure for better performance monitoring and troubleshooting. Cloud observability has been around for some time as a practice but its importance has gained steam in the wake of pandemic-fueled cloud rollouts. In fact, cloud observability has become so necessary that one major vendor – VMware – has started producing an annual report on that topic. Given channel partners’ involvement in organizations’ cloud projects, the findings will surely prove insightful.
See the slideshow above for some quick bytes from VMware’s State of Observability 2022 Report.
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