And a bit more trends research to look at. Gartner with their IT infrastructure trends for 2023.
I’m pulling a couple of the highlights. Quote
Cloud teams will optimize and refactor cloud infrastructure.
Nearly every business already makes use of cloud services, but many cloud implementations are poor. In 2023, when many businesses will not undertake major new cloud expansion projects, infrastructure teams will finally have the time and space to optimize their existing cloud assets and pay down the technical debt they have incurred. However, making architectural changes to running code is not within I&O teams’ remit. They will need to collaborate closely with software developers and business units to make mutually beneficial changes.
Data center teams will adopt cloud principles on-premises
IT organizations increasingly demand the benefits and operating model of the public cloud, even for those workloads that remain on-premises. Cloud providers showed businesses a better way to create and use applications and data. The pressure is on data center teams to deliver similar value by making on-prem infrastructure more cloud-like: service-centric, elastic, and highly scalable with capacity on demand and consumption-based pricing.
Successful organizations will make skills growth their highest priority
In 2021, Gartner highlighted the “skills crisis” among I&O teams as a key concern for 2022. As we look to 2023, this crisis has not abated. If anything, it has worsened. Lack of skills remains the primary barrier to infrastructure modernization initiatives.
I&O teams must prioritize skills growth above all else. Successful teams are already doing so: They set aside dedicated work time for employees to learn new skills on the clock, and they have established centers of excellence and/or communities of practice to share best practices and new ideas.
Why do we care?
I thought I’d highlight that statement about cloud principles. That should be the focus for any provider in general. Rephrasing that statement: make infrastructure more cloud-like: service-centric, elastic, and highly scalable with capacity on demand and consumption-based pricing.
That’s my takeaway. I am using that filter against any offering.