Firms in France Rethinking Their Cloud Strategies
Enterprises in France are reassessing their priorities and moving from a “cloud first” to a “cloud right” strategy, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud - Data Center Services report for France finds enterprises in this country are taking a second look at their hybrid cloud architectures in a bid to migrate workloads to a more efficient platform instead of moving everything to one place. This new approach weighs the respective benefits of private and public clouds, considers licensing expenses and modernization costs as well as regulations regarding healthcare data, privacy, confidentiality and data sovereignty, the ISG report says.
“It is no longer just an either/or strategy,” said Julien Escribe, partner and head of ISG SEMEA, based in Paris. “Enterprises are working with providers to arrive at the best combination for managed hosting, shared and dedicated infrastructure, private cloud and two to four public cloud providers.”
A hybrid cloud architecture should facilitate workload migration across data centers by using high-capacity network links that offer low latency, the ISG report says. The resulting architecture should enable distribution of applications across different data centers while managing operational costs and complying with regulations, the report says.
For enterprises in the healthcare sector, service providers may offer a Hébergeur de Données de Santé (HDS) certification and can advise clients on where to store patient data in compliance with regulations, the ISG report says. In addition, a growing number of providers now comply with the standards defined by the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), an independent French administrative regulatory body focused on ensuring adherence to data privacy law in collecting, storing and using personal data, the report says.
On the other hand, the complexity of complying with strict French regulations regarding data sovereignty has proven to be a bigger challenge, the ISG report says. According to the report, only a few data center providers can offer SecNumCloud certifications issued by ANSSI, the French National Agency for Information Systems Security.
“Midmarket enterprises in France do not feel the same sense of urgency to move toward data sovereignty,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “These companies are more focused on cost and performance, which enables them to adopt multicloud architectures and more freely designed hybrid infrastructures.”
The report also examines challenges faced by the financial sector as new, stricter rules for protection, detection, containment, recovery and repair capabilities against IT-related incidents are scheduled to take effect in January 2025.
For more insights into the private/hybrid cloud and data center services challenges that enterprises in France face, including finding clean energy sources and developing a GenAI strategy, along with ISG’s advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.
The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud - Data Center Services report for France evaluates the capabilities of 50 providers across four quadrants: Managed Services for Large Accounts, Managed Services for Midmarket, Managed Hosting and Colocation Services.
The report names Orange Business as a Leader in all four quadrants, while Atos, Cloud Temple, Kyndryl and Sopra Steria are named as Leaders in two quadrants each. Accenture, Capgemini, Cheops Technology, Claranet, Cogent, DATA4, Digital Realty, DXC Technology, Ecritel, Equinix, OVHcloud, ScaleSquad, Scaleway, SCC and Wipro are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, Constellation, Etix Everywhere and HCLTech are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.
In the area of customer experience, Green is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2024 among Private/Hybrid Cloud – Data Center Services partners. Green earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.
A customized version of the report is available from Orange Business.
The 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ Private/Hybrid Cloud - Data Center Services report for France 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 insights 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, Mexico, 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.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 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 AI and 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 1,600 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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