Public cloud development and infrastructure platform customers are seeking providers that offer cloud-native operations platforms with automation, support for various application development platforms, and ease of adoption for AI/ML and big data analytics. In Q4 2022, the Forrester Wave™ evaluated 10 vendors based on 33 criteria grouped into three categories: current offerings, strategy, and market presence, and highlighted Leaders, Strong Performers, Contenders, and Challengers.



The 10 public cloud development and infrastructure platform vendors evaluated were Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Alibaba Cloud, and Google, among others. Amazon Web Services emerged as the leader in the Forrester evaluation due to its early entry into the cloud market, large market share, and innovation at a fast pace. Additionally, AWS has invested in hardware, including microchips and wireless capabilities, offering a range of capabilities that supplement on-premises infrastructure.

Microsoft also emerged as a leader in the Forrester Wave report due to its attempts to manage hybrid and multi-cloud environments effectively. They provide highly integrated enterprise IT infrastructure, but Microsoft needs better wireless communications and more types of compute instances. Alibaba Cloud emerged as a strong performer by leveraging open source for extensive capabilities and embracing open-source, cloud-native technologies based on Kubernetes. Lastly, Google is technically strong and excels in data insights and analytics, and their storage and network capabilities are impressive. They need to improve their strategy for businesses and offer more services to make it easier to use AI.

Canalys, an analytical company, published data indicating that the global cloud infrastructure market has reached $247.1 billion in 2022, which is a 29% increase compared to the previous year's $191.7 billion.

Corporate clients are optimizing their spending on cloud services and digital transformation due to the current macroeconomic situation, high inflation, and market uncertainties. Companies are adjusting their strategies to improve efficiency, control, and save money, causing the growth rate of the global cloud industry to slow down. For instance, at the end of 2022, costs increased by 23% compared to the previous year, while at the beginning of the same year, they went up by 34% year-on-year.

Outline of Microsoft's approach to hybrid and multi-cloud environments:

Azure Arc

Azure Arc is Microsoft's solution for managing resources anywhere in a hybrid, on-premise, multi-cloud environment. Azure Arc enables deployment of Azure services anywhere and extends Azure management to any infrastructure for centralized and consistent management experiences.

Azure Stack

Azure Stack is a portfolio of products that extend Azure services and capabilities to your environment of choice. This includes Azure Stack Hub, which is an extension of Azure providing cloud-native capabilities on-premise. Azure Stack Edge is a cloud-managed device for bringing compute and AI to the edge, and Azure Stack HCI is a hyperconverged solution providing streamlined deployment of virtualized workloads.

Windows Admin Center

Windows Admin Center is a locally deployed, browser-based app for managing Windows servers, clusters, hyper-converged infrastructure, as well as Windows 10 PCs.

Security and Compliance

Microsoft is focused on providing advanced security, governance, and compliance features in its hybrid and multi-cloud strategy. The company has made significant investments in Azure security and compliance services that extend protections to hybrid and multi-cloud workloads.

Azure Migrate

Azure Migrate provides tools to discover, assess, and migrate workloads to Azure. It covers everything from apps, data, and infrastructure.

Multicloud

Microsoft has also adapted its offering to a multi-cloud approach, in which customers can use more than one cloud service, recognizing that different cloud services may offer different advantages for different tasks.


Here are a few more aspects:

Seamless Integration: Microsoft's approach is about creating true hybrid scenarios, integrating the on-premises datacenters not just with the Microsoft Azure public cloud, but making them a seamless part of it.

Consistent Development Experience: With Azure DevOps and Azure Dev Spaces, Microsoft provides a consistent experience for developers that helps them build applications for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. Developers can use the same tools, APIs, runtime, and databse structures in the cloud and on-premises.

Internet of Things (IoT) Integration: Azure IoT Edge brings cloud intelligence to edge devices. It allows devices to act locally on the IoT data they generate, while also taking advantage of the global analytics, machine learning, and communications capabilities in Azure.

Kubernetes and Container Offering: Microsoft's Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is designed to simplify the deployment, management, and operations of Kubernetes, the container orchestration platform. Moreover, Azure Arc enables users to manage and govern Kubernetes clusters across their multi-cloud deployment.

Data Services Anywhere: Azure provides the capability to run Azure's managed data services on-premises, at the edge, and in public clouds using Kubernetes and the infrastructure of your choice.

Partnership with SAP, Red Hat, and VMware: Microsoft has partnerships with SAP, Red Hat, and VMware to provide more seamless hybrid experiences. For example, the partnership with VMware offers a native, supported, and certified VMware experience in Azure.

Flexible Migration: Microsoft provides different migration paths and options to help enterprises move their applications, data, and infrastructure to Azure based on their own pace and terms.

Unified Management: To streamline operations and reduce complexity, Microsoft offers a unified management experience that extends across clouds with Azure Arc and Azure Resource Manager (ARM). With Azure Management and Governance tools, customers can enforce policies, manage resources, and analyze costs across their hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Microsoft's attempt to manage hybrid and multi-cloud environments is commendable, but it's like a one-man band trying to play a symphony. It lacks the diversity of compute instances and wireless capabilities that competitors offer. Plus, its enterprise focus may overlook the needs of smaller, more agile businesses.