Cloud computing experts identified that on top of pricing considerations and the multi-cloud strategies, technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise workloads, and machine learning (ML), could be the identifiers of who will rise to the top in the cloud market.
Channel Asia asked eight leading cloud computing experts based in Southeast Asia. They have shared that the abovementioned factors impact the market on top of the changing market dynamics in Indonesia and Singapore. This is creating an ecosystem of cloud providers that is more collaborative with VMware as the glue.
The cloud computing experts came from emerging startups and established technology providers. They represented the entire cloud ecosystem in Asia and had skills in platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, Oracle, SAP, ServiceNow, and VMware.
Workloads
Varoon Rajani, Blazeclan’s CEO, acknowledged the existence of multiple battlegrounds in the cloud market.
He said:
“I believe enterprise workloads will be the biggest battleground for the next three years. AWS aligned with SAP early to become platform certified for running SAP workloads, but now Microsoft Azure and GCP have got platforms certified for SAP also.”
He further emphasised that the top vendors are united in pursuing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
CloudGo’s founder and CEO, Rory Fitzpatrick, believes that the replacement of legacy on-premise applications is the priority of customers. And so will be the movements of workloads to the hybrid platform-as-a-service (PaaS) or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments.
He said:
“Many organisations are looking to lift-and-shift to the first two options and need to step back and consider whether PaaS platforms are a better way to go. We find with the secure infrastructure, pre-configured database, identity, and role management and workflow automation of ServiceNow we can often get a far better result, far faster.”
Cloud specialists’ say on AI
Establishing itself as an emerging technology, some market leaders have turned to AI to achieve their business outcomes. Bijjala Radhakrishna, CEO of Total eBiz Solutions, said that AI would be cloud’s next battleground.
“The rise of cloud has created lots of data that no-one owns. This abundance of data is going to make AI, and machine learning models work better and democratise AI, which removes the need for a qualified or experienced data scientist. Instead, this can be done by automation and AI.”
He said:
Additionally, Rajani of Blazeclan said that AI, ML, and server-less services generate “insignificant” revenues despite representing key innovation areas. He pointed out that it will evolve into a battleground within the next three years.
Syner-G Technologies’ CEO, Roger Siow, said that cloud could create a platform that will facilitate the growth of AI and ML.
He said:
“Cloud vendors must also compete in user experience to gain market share. Security can also be enhanced using AI and ML to prevent complex viruses and spyware. A good example is Google Cloud using AI to improve the cloud experience of users. Gmail now can predict what you want to say in an email and help you type even before you even think of the statement. Therefore, I believe the fight now is centred on gaining market share by providing more advanced and safer features through the development of AI.”
Pro-Datech systems’ executive director and co-founder, Siew Kheng Chew, shared that customers have placed more focus on cost control over security.
“The priority is around who can provide the most cost-effective cloud. Whether hybrid cloud or multi-cloud, the conversation is still about cost. The market talks about security, but it’s no longer the main concern given the amount of solutions now available.”
Dynamics in the market
On another note, Cloud Comrade’s co-managing director and founder, Andy Waroma, identified the “three distinctive areas” that will define cloud managed service providers (MSPs) in the ASEAN market within the next 1 to 2 years.
Waroma stated that the Singaporean government would push towards the public cloud. This will be followed by the ASEAN financial services sectors’ adoption of cloud services, and then, Indonesian organisations will migrate to cloud after AWS and Google Cloud open regions in the country.
He added:
“While it can be thought of as battleground, the market will be so big that cloud MSPs will start running out of capable resources and therefore, they need to start thinking about resource optimisation through coopetition. Each cloud-focused MSP will have their own unique strengths, and rather than going head-to-head in every deal, there will be new synergies that will emerge to benefit customers, cloud platform providers, and of course, the MSPs themselves. Let the battle commence.”
Taking the next phase with multi-cloud
ViBiCloud’s COO, Ramon Hadypratomo, cited multi-cloud as the next phase for the expanding cloud market in Indonesia.
He shared not only how Indonesia’s market is growing and emerging, but also the need to improve the infrastructure and awareness of digital transformation.
He added:
“Indonesia is pursuing a multi-cloud strategy because customers are uncertain about cloud reliability. It’s like the market wants to put their eggs (cloud) in some of baskets (cloud platform) which is managed by one MSP such as ViBiCloud.”
Cloud Ace’s cloud solutions architect, Avinash Bodapati, shared that at an enterprise level, a ‘one single cloud fits all’ approach may not be able to cover everything. He emphasised how every cloud provider in the market has its own strengths, but cannot be expected to give up on its existing investments in the form of on-premises environments.”
Rajani of BlazeClan agreed with Bodapati stating that “Hybrid cloud is a reality.” There is no all-in-one single cloud platform, and large-scale businesses will opt to work with a multi-cloud approach or deploy workloads based on the cost of the underlying resource.
He concluded that although cloud players have signed up with VMware, leaders in the market have released AWS Outposts, Azure Stack, and Google Anthos, which provides individual hybrid offerings.
