Editor's Note: The following predictions are part of a 2-part series of cloud predictions from David Friend, CEO, Wasabi … To see Mr. Friend's profile and portfolio on Thinkers360 please visit David Friend.
4) The rise of multi-cloud: Hyperscalsers like AWS claim to “do it all” when it comes to cloud. In 2020, cloud customers will proclaim, "I want to pick the best storage, the best AI software, the best CPUs, the best CDN, etc. I want it to all work together." Standards will emerge so that it will be much easier for SIs and CSPs can put it all together for their customers. Executives should look at each piece of their data system from storage, to compute, to content delivery, AI, and make sure they’re getting the best service for the amount they’re paying.
5) Importance of Channels: As customers have more choices among cloud vendors, more expertise will be needed to needed to guide their choices. Channels can become experts at cloud-based implementations. As much as some of the hyperscalers would like to cut out the middlemen and deal directly with the customer, increasingly the need for multi-cloud strategies will empower the channel partners. The channel grew up selling and managing "boxes" from Dell, Cisco, HP, and many others. In the future, they will make their money by selling and managing software and services from Azure, Wasabi, Veeam, and other non-hardware products.
By David Friend
Keywords: Cloud, Digital Transformation, Data Center