The swift and steady adoption of cloud technology has fundamentally changed the way organizations interact with data. It’s also led to data overload, as individuals and organizations alike have become less selective in what data they delete and what they hold on to (after all, cloud storage is infinite, right?).
You know that old adage about finding a needle in a haystack? That describes today’s cloud platforms.
For organizations that need to access the right data quickly and better control data to address compliance or security requirements, industry cloud platforms have emerged as an alternative to general-purpose cloud platforms. In addition to being more agile, industry cloud platforms are designed to meet the specific requirements of an industry or sector.
Industry Clouds on the Horizon
Finance, retail, logistics, healthcare, and energy are just a few sectors with industry cloud platforms. According to research firm Gartner, industry cloud platforms “offer industry players a more agile way to manage workloads and accelerate change against the particular business, data, compliance or other needs of their segment.”
Industry cloud platforms—ICPs, for short—combine SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS into one solution aimed at a particular sector (usually those that are highly regulated). That enables organizations to adapt processes and applications more quickly. They also offer more value through additional services and capabilities offered by ICP partners such as software vendors and systems integrators, thereby speeding the rate of innovation.
ICPs are customizable, composable and deliver on industry-specific outcomes relevant to the mission-critical priorities of the industry segment, according to Gartner. Technology and IT leaders can take advantage of that composability to create a unique offering and provide capabilities that differentiate them from their competitors.
In 2022, 40% of companies were considering an ICP, and 15% had already undertaken an ICP project. By 2027, the firm predicts, ICPs will be used to accelerate more than 50% of an organization’s critical business initiatives. Gartner is so hot on the technology that it has identified ICPs as one of its top strategic technology trends for 2023 and 2024.
Clear Skies Ahead
To be clear, ICPs do not replace traditional, general-purpose cloud platforms. They do, however, offer a more agile way for organizations to serve their customers by enabling faster, more innovative services that provide both technology value and business value.
