About This Constellation ShortList™

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a key enabler for next-generation applications that inherently have a nondetermined need for comput- ing resources. IaaS vendors—with their elastic offerings of compute, storage and networking—offer practically the only generally viable deployment choice for next-generation applications. IaaS vendors also are driving the push ahead toward Infinite Computing plat- forms. For more, see here.

Even in geographies that traditionally are reluctant or slow to adopt IaaS, for certain next-generation application scenarios (such as the Internet of Things, or IoT), only IaaS platforms are seen as the viable implementation choice. For more on next-gen applications, see here.

The rise of AI in 2023 has lead to an investment peak in IaaS data centers adding the capability to run generative AI workloads. This is not going t change in 2024, but CxOs need to pay attention at both investment appetite and stamina of their respective IaaS vendors.

Threshold Criteria

Constellation considers the following criteria for these solutions:

  • Available on six continents
  • Over 75000 paying customer 
  • More than 35 data center locations and adding at least one new location per quarter 
  • At least ten machine/instance sizes 
  • Ability to run generative AI workloads in at least 20% of their data centers end of 2023 
  • Plans to run generative AI workloads in at least 50% of their data centers mid 2024 
  • Ability to run machine learning algorithms on the platform 
  • Ability to run Hadoop/HDFS-based applications 
  • Availability of at least one common/mainstream transactional database 
  • Redundancy/high-availability concepts beyond a single data center location 
  • A credible strategy with tangible software assets that evolve a vertical cloud strategy 
  • Strong partnerships with established software vendors 
  • Strong partnerships with key open source initiatives 
  • Strong partnerships with system integrators 
  • Widely accepted security and privacy certifications 
  • Ability to run dedicated/secure government loads on at leat 2 continents

The Constellation ShortList™

Constellation evaluates more than 60 solutions categorized in this market. The Constellation ShortList is determined by client inquiries, partner conversations, customer references, vendor selection projects, market share and internal research.

  • Alibaba Cloud
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • IBM Cloud
  • Microsoft Cloud/Azure
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

Frequency of Evaluation

Each Constellation ShortList is updated at least once per year. Updates may occur after six months if deemed necessary.

Evaluation Services

Constellation clients can work with the analyst and research team to conduct a more thorough discussion of this Constellation ShortList. Constellation can also provide guidance in vendor selection and contract negotiation.

Download Research Click to Download Report