According to a poll by Mordor Intelligence, 11% fewer organizations reported that they used Microsoft Azure in 2022 compared to 2021. AWS also experienced a downturn with 6% fewer organizations reporting that they used it over the same time period. Why did this happen and where did these clients go? SIM-Networks shares its understanding of this trend.
When looking for an IT infrastructure provider, most businesses think of large international providers. It’s natural that they seem like the safest and easiest option, since providers such AWS or MS Azure cater to a wide variety of companies and are available all over the world. However, a number aspects of working with giant providers are leading more and more companies to opt for niche offers.
Most factors that lead companies to giving up large providers only become apparent once the infrastructure is deployed. The quality of technical support is one of the major aspects. As giant providers are focused on quantity, the resources of the support team are stretched thin. Judging by reviews and the feedback share by our clients who have experience with giant providers, it often takes up to a week to get a response. Even then, the answer may not be helpful: your infrastructure is 1 out of more than 1 million, and the support specialist cannot be expected to know the specifics of your setup.
Surprisingly, another reason has to do with one of the main selling points of large providers, but especially of AWS: a wide variety of microservices. The large number of options seems particularly useful to startups or other businesses in the beginning stages of development. It’s hard to predict the actual needs of a newly-created company in terms of IT infrastructure, so having options is beneficial for scaling.
A typical path for these companies looks like this: they deploy their services and gradually add microservices to solve their tasks. This is convenient, since the solution is easily available and simple in terms of integration. However, once the workloads stabilize, the needs in terms of resources and services become clear. Then comes the time to evaluate the actual cost-efficiency of the IT infrastructure.
The services offered by large providers include features that not every company might need. It doesn’t matter if you’re only using a microservice to solve once specific task: you’re still paying for the whole set of options that you’re not actually using. In our experience, this is especially true for businesses outside the IT industry. Considering the number of microservices, these costs really add up and make a significant dent in their budgets while giving limited value.
Simply put, straightforward tasks can often be solved in a straightforward manner. This is why more companies are exploring other possibilities that can provide the same quality with fewer expenses in the long term. However, even straightforward tasks are different for every business. For this reason, a truly optimized IT infrastructure is going to be unique to the company. When considering options, it’s important to understand that there are providers who can offer solutions centered around your specific issues.
Here’s SIM-Networks' way of approaching the issue: we talk to the client and establish the company’s requirements and preferences. We also work with budgets, not prices: if the client has a hard limit on how much they’re willing to spend on IT infrastructure, we factor this into our offer. This conversation determines the technological solution: a server infrastructure, a cloud server, a private cloud, a hybrid infrastructure or any other option that achieves the client’s goals.
Worldwide providers don’t offer direct communication. Our experience with clients who have left IT infrastructure giants shows that support and consultative assistance are often undervalued factors. They only become apparent when companies get first-hand experience with their absence. The value clients get from migrating to niche providers is the ability to work with a system designed around their business needs from the start. If you’re looking to optimize your IT infrastructure, reach out to SIM-Networks and tell us about your company’s needs. We will provide a comprehensive consultation and offer a way forward based on your requirements and our experience.
