An estimated $3.5 million will be spent by enterprises on cloud apps, platforms and services this year, making up an average of 30% of enterprise IT budgets, according to recent figures. It is therefore crucial that business leaders are aware of how cloud computing can be fully used to help companies achieve their business goals.

What is enterprise cloud computing?

Enterprise cloud computing is a collection of characteristics of the public and private cloud, tailored to the needs of the business. Companies get a choice of where to run workloads, as well as infrastructure that is flexible and agile.

Take a deep dive into what the enterprise cloud is and why it’s the future of IT in this comprehensive whitepaper.

Download now

Enterprise clouds are built with similar web-scale technologies that enable the same durability, reliability and availability as the public cloud. This is different from public clouds offered by the likes of AWS and Microsoft Azure, as for the most part with these clouds, the data sits outside your data centre and the applications have to conform to their providers’ processes and architectures.

By contrast, enterprise cloud computing allows a business to get the best of both worlds: a public cloud experience in your own data centre that lets you choose the most appropriate technology for the business, but where data and workloads can be managed in the public cloud where necessary.

There are five key components to enterprise cloud computing:

• Full-stack infrastructure and platform services that deliver turnkey infrastructure for any app at any scale, anywhere, delivered through a combination of on-premises data centres and public cloud services
• Zero-click operations and machine intelligence that deliver operational simplicity through automation
• Instant elastic consumption that allows businesses to buy and use only the IT resources they need, when they need them, eliminating overprovisioning and prediction risk
• Integrated security and control that covers the entire infrastructure stack, makes use of automation, and simplifies security maintenance using automation
• Application-centric mobility that lets businesses run applications anywhere with no infrastructure lock-in

Despite its name, enterprise cloud computing is not just for enterprises. Any company that wants to get the best of private and public cloud can tailor an enterprise cloud to meet the requirements of both existing applications and next-generation applications, meaning that they get the same cloud benefits, irrespective of their organisation’s size.

Common enterprise cloud computing use-cases

Companies of all types in a wide variety of industries are adopting enterprise cloud computing, including those in healthcare, retail, financial services and manufacturing.

Within enterprises, adoption is being driven largely by IT departments looking to modernise data centres while also harnessing the benefits of the cloud. Enterprise cloud computing brings together the ‘best of both worlds’ with the flexibility and agility of the cloud, along with the security and control provided within a data centre.

Some business owners and app owners are adopting the enterprise cloud to enable them to take their products to market quickly, without being delayed by IT.

Pros and cons of enterprise cloud computing

The primary advantage of enterprise cloud computing is being able to have the best of both clouds. Businesses are able to use IT infrastructure and platform services that deliver the advantage of public cloud services for enterprise applications, but without compromising on the value provided by private data centres. It offers superior speed and performance, as well as lower infrastructure costs and more efficient use of IT resources.

This also presents cost savings; by adopting the pay-as-you-go characteristics of the public cloud while providing a common foundation on which to run legacy and new applications, businesses are able to provide the infrastructure and services they need, without wastage or shortages.

However, there are also some downsides. Pricing models can be seen as complicated, and as with many cloud services, there is often confusion over ownership within an organisation. Although enterprise cloud computing gives much greater control over security and access, there are still valid concerns around data security, and whenever data is sent into the cloud, there is always a risk.

‘Enterprise Cloud for Dummies’ looks at the key trends that affect the way IT does business and how the enterprise cloud can futureproof your data centre. Download it here.

Download now

How to get started with enterprise cloud computing

For a long time, businesses have had to hire specialists for each new area of IT infrastructure, but enterprise cloud systems driven by hyperconverged infrastructure doesn’t require specialists to operate. To get started with enterprise cloud computing, a business needs IT professionals who have a breadth of knowledge, but who don’t necessarily have specialisms. These IT generalists are the future of data centre support, as they can simplify a complex mass of technology in the data centre, and can also help shift IT’s focus from infrastructure to aiding the bottom line.

Regarding IT processes and infrastructure, the best place to start is by looking at the current IT replacement cycle. Rather than worrying about running out of capacity during the replacement cycle and having to make out-of-cycle infrastructure purchases, enterprise cloud and hyperconverged infrastructure instead has a just-in-time approach, ensuring that capacity isn’t wasted.

An estimated $3.5 million will be spent by enterprises on cloud apps, platforms and services this year, making up an average of 30% of enterprise IT budgets, according to recent figures. It is therefore crucial that business leaders are aware of how cloud computing can be fully used to help companies achieve their business goals.

What is enterprise cloud computing?

Enterprise cloud computing is a collection of characteristics of the public and private cloud, tailored to the needs of the business. Companies get a choice of where to run workloads, as well as infrastructure that is flexible and agile.

Take a deep dive into what the enterprise cloud is and why it’s the future of IT in this comprehensive whitepaper.

Download now

Enterprise clouds are built with similar web-scale technologies that enable the same durability, reliability and availability as the public cloud. This is different from public clouds offered by the likes of AWS and Microsoft Azure, as for the most part with these clouds, the data sits outside your data centre and the applications have to conform to their providers’ processes and architectures.

By contrast, enterprise cloud computing allows a business to get the best of both worlds: a public cloud experience in your own data centre that lets you choose the most appropriate technology for the business, but where data and workloads can be managed in the public cloud where necessary.

There are five key components to enterprise cloud computing:

• Full-stack infrastructure and platform services that deliver turnkey infrastructure for any app at any scale, anywhere, delivered through a combination of on-premises data centres and public cloud services
• Zero-click operations and machine intelligence that deliver operational simplicity through automation
• Instant elastic consumption that allows businesses to buy and use only the IT resources they need, when they need them, eliminating overprovisioning and prediction risk
• Integrated security and control that covers the entire infrastructure stack, makes use of automation, and simplifies security maintenance using automation
• Application-centric mobility that lets businesses run applications anywhere with no infrastructure lock-in

Despite its name, enterprise cloud computing is not just for enterprises. Any company that wants to get the best of private and public cloud can tailor an enterprise cloud to meet the requirements of both existing applications and next-generation applications, meaning that they get the same cloud benefits, irrespective of their organisation’s size.

Common enterprise cloud computing use-cases

Companies of all types in a wide variety of industries are adopting enterprise cloud computing, including those in healthcare, retail, financial services and manufacturing.

Within enterprises, adoption is being driven largely by IT departments looking to modernise data centres while also harnessing the benefits of the cloud. Enterprise cloud computing brings together the ‘best of both worlds’ with the flexibility and agility of the cloud, along with the security and control provided within a data centre.

Some business owners and app owners are adopting the enterprise cloud to enable them to take their products to market quickly, without being delayed by IT.

Pros and cons of enterprise cloud computing

The primary advantage of enterprise cloud computing is being able to have the best of both clouds. Businesses are able to use IT infrastructure and platform services that deliver the advantage of public cloud services for enterprise applications, but without compromising on the value provided by private data centres. It offers superior speed and performance, as well as lower infrastructure costs and more efficient use of IT resources.

This also presents cost savings; by adopting the pay-as-you-go characteristics of the public cloud while providing a common foundation on which to run legacy and new applications, businesses are able to provide the infrastructure and services they need, without wastage or shortages.

However, there are also some downsides. Pricing models can be seen as complicated, and as with many cloud services, there is often confusion over ownership within an organisation. Although enterprise cloud computing gives much greater control over security and access, there are still valid concerns around data security, and whenever data is sent into the cloud, there is always a risk.

‘Enterprise Cloud for Dummies’ looks at the key trends that affect the way IT does business and how the enterprise cloud can futureproof your data centre. Download it here.

Download now

How to get started with enterprise cloud computing

For a long time, businesses have had to hire specialists for each new area of IT infrastructure, but enterprise cloud systems driven by hyperconverged infrastructure doesn’t require specialists to operate. To get started with enterprise cloud computing, a business needs IT professionals who have a breadth of knowledge, but who don’t necessarily have specialisms. These IT generalists are the future of data centre support, as they can simplify a complex mass of technology in the data centre, and can also help shift IT’s focus from infrastructure to aiding the bottom line.

Regarding IT processes and infrastructure, the best place to start is by looking at the current IT replacement cycle. Rather than worrying about running out of capacity during the replacement cycle and having to make out-of-cycle infrastructure purchases, enterprise cloud and hyperconverged infrastructure instead has a just-in-time approach, ensuring that capacity isn’t wasted.

A new database has been created to help track the effects of climate change on the North Pole.

Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio have developed the database, called ArcCI (or Arctic CyberInfrastructure) that combines thousands of images that have been taken along the years of the Arctic Ocean.

They said that this database would help scientists and the world see the physical changes occurring in the region including ice loss. It is hoped that the web-based repository would enable researchers to spend more time analysing information rather than just collecting and processing data.

«This is to help scientists spend more time doing the science,» said Professor Alberto Mestas-Nuñez, one of two researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio working on the on-demand data mining module.

«At the present time there isn’t a place on the internet that provides all these datasets but also an algorithm that allows [extraction of] information,» added Mestas. «Most of the time scientists spend time getting data and preparing it. Typically, it’s about 80% preparing the data and 20% doing the actual science. We want to break that paradigm.»

The system will enable scientists to extract information of various ice properties including submerged ice, ice concentration, melt ponds or ice edge, the boundary between an area of ice and the open sea.

The original idea for the ArcCI database came from Professor Hongjie Xie, the principal investigator of the project at UTSA and a professor in the university’s Department of Geological Sciences. While big data analytics and dashboards have been used in many industries, this has not yet been applied to monitoring ice in the Arctic.

Xie along with Xin Miao at Missouri State University started working on the project five years ago. The project has also been funded by the National Science Foundation to develop this database that uses high-resolution imaging either obtained on-site, via satellites or via airborne monitoring.

Currently, the cloud-based system holds about a terabyte of images but will increase in the future as new images are added. The database will also integrate new algorithms as well as additional datasets as they become available.

The cloud framework and interface are being prototyped by Chaowei Yang at George Mason University, another investigator partnering with UTSA. A beta version of ArcCI will be presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union to be held in Washington D.C. in December 2018.

A new database has been created to help track the effects of climate change on the North Pole.

Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio have developed the database, called ArcCI (or Arctic CyberInfrastructure) that combines thousands of images that have been taken along the years of the Arctic Ocean.

They said that this database would help scientists and the world see the physical changes occurring in the region including ice loss. It is hoped that the web-based repository would enable researchers to spend more time analysing information rather than just collecting and processing data.

«This is to help scientists spend more time doing the science,» said Professor Alberto Mestas-Nuñez, one of two researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio working on the on-demand data mining module.

«At the present time there isn’t a place on the internet that provides all these datasets but also an algorithm that allows [extraction of] information,» added Mestas. «Most of the time scientists spend time getting data and preparing it. Typically, it’s about 80% preparing the data and 20% doing the actual science. We want to break that paradigm.»

The system will enable scientists to extract information of various ice properties including submerged ice, ice concentration, melt ponds or ice edge, the boundary between an area of ice and the open sea.

The original idea for the ArcCI database came from Professor Hongjie Xie, the principal investigator of the project at UTSA and a professor in the university’s Department of Geological Sciences. While big data analytics and dashboards have been used in many industries, this has not yet been applied to monitoring ice in the Arctic.

Xie along with Xin Miao at Missouri State University started working on the project five years ago. The project has also been funded by the National Science Foundation to develop this database that uses high-resolution imaging either obtained on-site, via satellites or via airborne monitoring.

Currently, the cloud-based system holds about a terabyte of images but will increase in the future as new images are added. The database will also integrate new algorithms as well as additional datasets as they become available.

The cloud framework and interface are being prototyped by Chaowei Yang at George Mason University, another investigator partnering with UTSA. A beta version of ArcCI will be presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union to be held in Washington D.C. in December 2018.

Alibaba Group has continued its expansion into Europe by opening a London data centre, where it said it will mix Chinese technology with local know-how.

The cloud computing arm of the Chinese tech giant said it highlights the provider’s ongoing commitment to the region and its ambitions to focus on retail and financial sectors.

«Our expansion into the United Kingdom, and by extension into Europe, is in direct response to the rapidly increasing demands we have seen for local facilities within the region,» said Yeming Wang, general manager of Alibaba Cloud EMEA.

«Using AI-powered and data-driven technology, our latest data centres will offer customers complete access to our wide range of cloud services from machine learning capabilities to predictive data analytics, ensuring that we continue to offer an unparalleled level of service.»

So far, that service has been mainly restricted to Asia, where Alibaba Group reigns supreme. But the company is attempting to push its services into areas where Amazon and its cloud computing giant AWS are the dominant force. In 2016 the company made its first venture to Europe with a data centre in Frankfurt, Germany, and now it has a footprint in London.

Part of its strategy involves enabling the local companies and leveraging local knowledge to help both Alibaba Cloud and its European partners get the most from one another.

«For Alibaba cloud, we are very much looking for local partners, because they know the customer and we are the technology enabler, and we try to give them the operational experience,» added Wang. «We are developing a lot of partners and, of course, we have our steps how to develop a global partner.

«For Europe, especially this year, we are focusing on several sectors. The first is retail. Specifically, retail is facing a challenge to migrate to the next generation, with more and more smart stores for example. From this smart store, they have to push it to be digitised and give better user experience – targeted advertisement for example. They are changing the traditional way.»

This is where Alibaba’s main focus is, enabling digital change and migration, but its decision to open cloud zones in the UK is purely financial, as in the UK’s prominent financial sector, where digital transformations and FinTech are starting to build momentum.

The London location will offer 24-hour on-site support, as well as a wide range of services such as elastic computing, storage and big data analytics.

Speaking as a customer that uses Alibaba to push their business into China, Sean Harley, chief information officer of global information company Ascential said that working with Alibaba had been key to the companies global success. 

«In an increasingly complex and digitally-driven world, we need a service provider who is equally ambitious and has the geographical, vertical and technical know-how to support us, not only in China but eventually across the world, to help us better serve our global customers,» he said.

Alibaba Group has continued its expansion into Europe by opening a London data centre, where it said it will mix Chinese technology with local know-how.

The cloud computing arm of the Chinese tech giant said it highlights the provider’s ongoing commitment to the region and its ambitions to focus on retail and financial sectors.

«Our expansion into the United Kingdom, and by extension into Europe, is in direct response to the rapidly increasing demands we have seen for local facilities within the region,» said Yeming Wang, general manager of Alibaba Cloud EMEA.

«Using AI-powered and data-driven technology, our latest data centres will offer customers complete access to our wide range of cloud services from machine learning capabilities to predictive data analytics, ensuring that we continue to offer an unparalleled level of service.»

So far, that service has been mainly restricted to Asia, where Alibaba Group reigns supreme. But the company is attempting to push its services into areas where Amazon and its cloud computing giant AWS are the dominant force. In 2016 the company made its first venture to Europe with a data centre in Frankfurt, Germany, and now it has a footprint in London.

Part of its strategy involves enabling the local companies and leveraging local knowledge to help both Alibaba Cloud and its European partners get the most from one another.

«For Alibaba cloud, we are very much looking for local partners, because they know the customer and we are the technology enabler, and we try to give them the operational experience,» added Wang. «We are developing a lot of partners and, of course, we have our steps how to develop a global partner.

«For Europe, especially this year, we are focusing on several sectors. The first is retail. Specifically, retail is facing a challenge to migrate to the next generation, with more and more smart stores for example. From this smart store, they have to push it to be digitised and give better user experience – targeted advertisement for example. They are changing the traditional way.»

This is where Alibaba’s main focus is, enabling digital change and migration, but its decision to open cloud zones in the UK is purely financial, as in the UK’s prominent financial sector, where digital transformations and FinTech are starting to build momentum.

The London location will offer 24-hour on-site support, as well as a wide range of services such as elastic computing, storage and big data analytics.

Speaking as a customer that uses Alibaba to push their business into China, Sean Harley, chief information officer of global information company Ascential said that working with Alibaba had been key to the companies global success. 

«In an increasingly complex and digitally-driven world, we need a service provider who is equally ambitious and has the geographical, vertical and technical know-how to support us, not only in China but eventually across the world, to help us better serve our global customers,» he said.

Gartner has predicted that cloud growth will be the primary reason IT spending will increase by 3.2% year on year in 2019.

The analyst firm expects IT spending to top $3.8 trillion next year, led by businesses wanting to boost their digital transformation efforts, despite there being a lot of uncertainty around the currency instability.

“While currency volatility and the potential for trade wars are still playing a part in the outlook for IT spending, it is the shift from ownership to service that is sending ripples through every segment of the forecast,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.

“What this signals, for example, is more enterprise use of cloud services — instead of buying their own servers, they are turning to the cloud. As enterprises continue their digital transformation efforts, shifting to ‘pay for use’ will continue. This sets enterprises up to deal with the sustained and rapid change that underscores digital business.”

Enterprise software will see the most impressive growth over the 12 months, with sending expected to increase by 8.3%. If this is separated out into its component parts, the true value of the cloud can be realised, with SaaS expected to grow by 22%.

82% of enterprises expect to use 3 or more clouds by 2020. Learn how Enterprise Cloud can give a single point to manage IT infrastructure and applications at scale in this whitepaper.

Download now

Cybersecurity software is the most popular projected investment for the enterprise, with privacy and securing businesses against the growing threat of attacks a primary concern for CIOs next year.

Data centre systems aren’t far behind software, with growth expected to top 6%, although this isn’t a huge jump from 5018’s anticipated increase of 5.7% compared to last year.

Spending on IT services and devices will also play a big part in the overall growth, with spending increasing by 4.7% and 2.4% respectively.

Gartner has predicted that cloud growth will be the primary reason IT spending will increase by 3.2% year on year in 2019.

The analyst firm expects IT spending to top $3.8 trillion next year, led by businesses wanting to boost their digital transformation efforts, despite there being a lot of uncertainty around the currency instability.

“While currency volatility and the potential for trade wars are still playing a part in the outlook for IT spending, it is the shift from ownership to service that is sending ripples through every segment of the forecast,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.

“What this signals, for example, is more enterprise use of cloud services — instead of buying their own servers, they are turning to the cloud. As enterprises continue their digital transformation efforts, shifting to ‘pay for use’ will continue. This sets enterprises up to deal with the sustained and rapid change that underscores digital business.”

Enterprise software will see the most impressive growth over the 12 months, with sending expected to increase by 8.3%. If this is separated out into its component parts, the true value of the cloud can be realised, with SaaS expected to grow by 22%.

Cybersecurity software is the most popular projected investment for the enterprise, with privacy and securing businesses against the growing threat of attacks a primary concern for CIOs next year.

Data centre systems aren’t far behind software, with growth expected to top 6%, although this isn’t a huge jump from 5018’s anticipated increase of 5.7% compared to last year.

Spending on IT services and devices will also play a big part in the overall growth, with spending increasing by 4.7% and 2.4% respectively.