Hybrid cloud deployments are set to have big impact on Middle East-based organizations, according to a leading networking expert.
Speaking ahead of today’s fifth annual Cloud World Forum in Dubai, Garth Braithwaite, Middle East Director, F5 Networks, explained how increasingly complex corporate ambitions are creating demand to seamlessly exploit a data center distributed across multiple environments – both on-premise and in the cloud.
“The ongoing migration of applications to the cloud, increased user and resource mobility, and the emergence of ever more sophisticated threats have led to the dissolution of the traditional enterprise perimeter,” said Braithwaite.
“This is pushing organizations to pursue a unified services platform that spans integrated data center and cloud deployments.”
According to recent figures, the global hybrid cloud market is estimated to grow from $25.28 billion in 2014 to $84.67 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 27.3%1.
Meanwhile, the Cisco Global Cloud Index (2013-2018) notes that MEA is set to post the world’s highest cloud traffic growth rate, increasing more than eight-fold from 31 exabytes in 2013 to 262 exabytes in 20182.
“Corporate borders are expanding and they must include all cloud environments. These cannot continue to be disconnected operational islands,” said Braithwaite.
“If the future is hybrid – and we very much believe it is – we need to be able to manage such environments much more seamlessly, so that it benefits performance and the bottom line in an obvious and compelling way.”
Recent surveys commissioned by F5 Networks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia found that the transition to the cloud is one of the more prominent concerns when it comes to tackling cybersecurity threats. 48% of Saudi IT decision-makers claimed that the top cybersecurity challenges was managing the shift from datacentre-focused infrastructure to the cloud. 25% of UAE respondents agreed3.
F5 Networks is investing heavily in hybrid cloud, entering the cloud services delivery space last November by launching the Silverline™ range of services.
The F5 Silverline services delivery platform expands the company’s F5 Synthesis™ architecture to enable application services within customers’ deployment model of choice: on-premises and/or as-a-service. Beginning with DDoS protection and security intelligence services, the Silverline platform will support additional application delivery capabilities as-a-service in the future.
“Efficiently scaling application services such as optimization, security, and availability is still a priority topic for enterprise organizations, even as we’ve seen an evolution of how (and where) these services are applied,” said Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst, ZK Research.
“F5’s move into hybrid application delivery services should open up new opportunities with customers looking to move applications out of their traditional data center environments and take advantage of the flexibility offered by cloud providers.”