New applications are developed to cloud native principles based on standardized platforms, runtimes and integrated orchestration. Enterprise Infrastructure is still being bought, built and operated largely on client-server principles, with limited integration and automation, making adaption to changing business needs long, complex and costly. Businesses are becoming increasingly Digital, with IT covering not just back-office processes and employee productivity but increasingly shaping and supporting Manufacturing & Service Delivery, Supply Chain, Go-to-Market, Logistics and Customer Experience. Application delivery, resiliency and flexibility will be the hallmarks of successful Digital Infrastructure. Change is the only certainty in IT, and to be ready to cope with change, future Digital Infrastructure will need to be able to identify, analyze and respond to shifting requirements with minimal or no human intervention, in order to deliver at scale.

Digital Infrastructure will be software defined, with the ability to plug additional hardware that is automatically discovered and used according to real-time workload need. It will have fully-featured Cloud stacks to provide predictable and standardized platforms for deployment of Cloud-native workloads with as minimal integration or porting work. Workloads will automatically take advantage of hardware assists, with higher level code targeted to different hardware execution resources based on cost and performance requirements.

• Servers, Storage and Networking
• Infrastructure Stacks and Platforms
• Payment solutions, consumption models and Capacity-as-a-Service
• Cloud Native Application development and deployment architectures impact on Infrastructure Architectural Concepts

• Drivers of the European Enterprise Infrastructure Market
• European Enterprise Infrastructure Forecast and Analysis
• The shift to Cloud-like infrastructure platforms and financing strategies
• What are the coming shifts in deployment strategies, and how can vendors prepare and benefit from this?
• The Key Vertically Integrated Infrastructure Stacks

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

1. How will consumption models or payment/financing options impact how IT transformation can be achieved?
2. What drivers and barriers will influence Infrastructure transformation in Europe?
3. How will Cloud Native development and platforms impact on-premises infrastructure architectures?
4. What is the journey to a Software Defined Data Center and how can enterprises achieve this in an achievable and successful manner?
5. What is the role of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure in delivering an on-demand Software Defined Data Center?
6. Who are the key ICT Infrastructure players and how do their strategies stack up?
7. Software defined, but hardware assisted. How the role of hardware will accelerate and optimize infrastructure architectures based on open standards, platforms and APIs
8. How will public cloud stacks impact the shift to private cloud on-premises?