Cloud IT Week in Review: AWS, Google, Microsoft, Orbitera, Virtual Hold

By Paula Bernier
Executive Editor, TMC

Spending on new cloud infrastructure services grew 52.3 percent between the second quarter of 2015 and the same quarter this year, when it hit $9.5 billion, according to new data from research group Canalys.

As Cloud IT contributing writer Tracey E. Schelmetic explained, AWS leads the cloud infrastructure service provider pack with 30.4 market share, with Microsoft Azure, Google (News - Alert) Cloud Platform, and IBM SoftLayer as the other three big boys in this space.

One of the charms of cloud-based IT services, according to Cloud IT contributing editor Laura Stotler, is that it is a more affordable option than implementing new suppliers for organizations that want to replace their current tech vendors. Stotler writes that “the costs to actually switch to a new vendor can be substantial, and prohibitively expensive for any sized business.” And she notes the Gartner (News - Alert) statistic that seven out of 10 companies decide not to switch vendors because the process is simply too expensive and complicated.

Of course, organizations can enjoy a wide variety of capabilities and services provided via cloud models. As Jaime Bailey of Virtual Hold Technology (News - Alert) noted in a piece earlier this week, one of those capabilities is cloud-based callback for customer service.

“Until recently, callback primarily suited larger companies with an existing on premise contact center platform, making it difficult for smaller brands and their respective budgets to justify the investment,” wrote Bailey. “With cloud technology, however, that time is long gone. Now, organizations of all size are adopting callback in the cloud.”

Whether an organization uses cloud-based solutions, premises-based ones, or a mix of the two, it can be a challenge to manage the multiple software licenses that are often involved, as I discussed in an article posted yesterday. To help simplify all that, and make businesses more cost-efficient, some organizations leverage software license management solutions.

In other Cloud IT news this week, Steve Anderson explored Google’s recent acquisition of Orbitera, which he said better positions it to compete against AWS and Microsoft (News - Alert).