Container-based microservices architectures deliver speed and scalability but come with skills and security challenges, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

Adoption and use of cloud-native technologies in the U.S. is reaching a plateau after several years of hype and strong growth, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Cloud Native Services and Solutions report for the U.S. finds that the U.S. ecosystem around containers, Kubernetes and related services is entering a more mature phase as developers and the IT community reach a deeper understanding of the benefits and challenges that come with cloud-native technologies.

“Cloud-native architectures have many advantages but require a new approach to IT,” said Bernie Hoecker, partner, enterprise cloud transformation, with ISG. “U.S. enterprises and service providers are starting to deal with the wider issues that come with this change.”

Recent surveys indicate a majority of back-end developers in the U.S. use cloud-native technologies, though a majority of applications in U.S. enterprises are still based on legacy architectures, ISG says. For enterprises moving applications to the cloud, container-based microservices architectures offer scalability, speed and smooth integration with DevOps software pipelines, the report says. However, they also require new skills, and the open, distributed architectures generate large volumes of data that need to be analyzed to monitor operations.

In addition, traditional security systems based on protecting a perimeter around the enterprise also fall short with cloud-native architectures. Multi-developer, multi-platform environments made up of widely distributed software components require specialized security solutions.

“Protecting container-based systems raises new and profound challenges,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Emerging cloud-native security platforms use AI to analyze container images and infrastructure in real time.”

While some U.S. enterprises are addressing cloud-native challenges on their own with a mix of open-source and proprietary tools, many are turning to managed service providers or adopting commercial container management platforms to reduce the in-house effort required, ISG says.

U.S. enterprises are exploring a wide range of use cases for cloud-native technologies, including infrastructure-as-code and containers with bridges to databases for persistent data storage, the report says. Many cloud-native deployments in the U.S. are also incorporating automation, machine learning and AI, especially to streamline time-consuming aspects of operations and development.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Cloud Native Services and Solutions report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 58 providers across five quadrants: Managed Container Services, Container Platform Solutions, Hyperscaler Cloud-native Platforms, Cloud-native Observability Solutions and Cloud-native Security Platforms.

The report names VMware as a Leader in three quadrants and Dynatrace, Red Hat and Sysdig as Leaders in two quadrants each. Accenture, AWS, Capgemini, Cognizant, Datadog, DXC, Google, HCL, HPE, Microsoft Azure, Mirantis, New Relic, Palo Alto Networks, SUSE Rancher, Splunk and Wipro are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Tech Mahindra is named as a Rising Star — a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant.

A customized version of the report is available from Dynatrace.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Cloud Native Services and Solutions report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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