I’m proud to share that Itential has been named to the Futuriom Top 50 list for the third year in a row! Each year, leading cloud research and analysis community Futuriom releases their Futuriom 50 report “detail[ing] the trends, people, and investors driving what [they] see as the top companies building the future technology for cloud infrastructure.”
Cloud infrastructure is driving the future of technology, and as organizations look to reign in the sprawling complexity across their hybrid cloud infrastructure, the capability to orchestrate and manage services among these various platforms is critical. Itential’s leading infrastructure automation and orchestration solutions are uniquely capable of meeting the needs of tomorrow’s cloud.
The Futuriom 50 report identifies its top 5 cloud infrastructure trends based on insights from Futuriom’s monthly Cloud Market Trend Reports, together with a series of end-user surveys and expert analysis. Alongside these trends, Futuriom analysts name their “fifty most promising technology companies in cloud and communications infrastructure” that are on the forefront of innovation in the space. Itential features prominently, especially in the areas of hybrid and multi-cloud management and cloud cost management. I’m thrilled to see us continue to receive recognition for our innovative solutions from analysts and industry peers.
The report isn’t just about how great Itential is, though – the wealth of analysis and insights put together by the team at Futuriom is a great resource for those looking to understand what cloud networking and cloud infrastructure will look like in the near future. There’s a lot behind the five trends they ended up with – I’ll run through them briefly below and offer some additional thoughts afterward.
Top Trends from Futuriom 50
Hybrid & Multi-Cloud Management
Diversified infrastructure “was taking hold in 2022 and is poised to accelerate in 2023.” According to Futuriom’s 2022 multi-cloud networking survey, 63% of those surveyed used 2-3 cloud service providers, compared with just 21% using one. The other 16% came in at more than three. The increasing complexity of cloud networks comes from rising cloud costs, the need to put more compute resources closer to the edge, and a desire to keep or bring back certain resources on-prem means combined, hybrid ecosystems will only continue to be the norm.
Cloud & Cost Management
A more hesitant business environment means “leaders are looking to technology to help optimize existing resources and reduce costs, especially with the use of cloud.” The report cites McKinsey studies that suggest the average cloud project goes “14% over budget.” There’s plenty to be gained by optimizing current infrastructure. Solutions that can increase ROI without requiring heavy new spend or asking organizations to toss existing resources aside will become increasingly valuable.
Data Management & Pipelines
According to the report, the sprawling expansion of multi-domain networks is “fueling a range of solutions and platforms to help firms manage and benefit from the wealth of information flooding their digital coffers.” When it comes to data management, “various tool chains contribute functionality in a range of specialized areas.” Firms will look to multiple solutions to address the complex interrelationships across their data architecture.
Edge/Cloud Convergence
Futuriom sees leaders and organizations “increasingly looking at new ways to connect, manage, and use data at the edge in conjunction with public and private cloud resources.” Technologies that can ingest or gather information from a variety of locations and “sift it for use in cloud-native applications” will become increasingly important as edge rises. Innovators in this space will blend elements of managed service providers, content delivery networks, and security, policy control, and analytics software stacks.
Unified Cloud Security
A disparate ecosystem of cybersecurity tools is driving the need “to combine and integrate new security functions as much as possible – securing data, networking, and cloud compute together in a holistic way.” We’re starting to see cybersecurity solutions diversify and specialize to the point that you’d have to spend an entire day learning acronyms just to understand what your organization needs to buy! Never mind which vendor. The growing movement to integrate and automate this activity is known as “DevSecOps.” Forward-looking cloud security teams “will look for a variety of solutions that can be integrated to work together.”
Itential’s Innovation
Throughout the Futuriom 50 report, specific companies that fit with each area of the different trends are highlighted to give insight into how the market is growing and innovating. Itential is featured in the report for the third year in a row, and we are heavily featured in two of the above trends: hybrid and multi-cloud management, and cloud cost management.
By enabling integration and driving adoption of infrastructure as code, Itential delivers a solution that enhances the value and efficiency organizations will see in their multi-cloud environments.
For driving down cloud costs, the same enablement of NetDevOps allows Itential to provide low-cost ways to get the most out of existing resources. “NetDevOps players such as Itential… are looking at ways to bring down the cost of cloud infrastructure by employing private enterprise infrastructure to drive down the cost of compute and applications.” It’s the integration and cross-functionality that are the key. As Futuriom puts it, “Itential is helping enterprises maximize the use of their resources by automation and orchestration of traditional infrastructure with cloud infrastructure.”
If you’d like to learn about cloud infrastructure trends, growth drivers, and key innovators in more detail (and from much more talented analysts), you can click here to download the Futuriom report for free.
Kristen H. Rachels
Chief Marketing Officer ‐ Itential
Kristen serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Itential, leading their go-to-market strategy and execution to accelerate the adoption and expansion of the company’s products and services.
