HP and Cisco crowned leaders in the cloud infrastructure equipment market

Currently, there’s no denying the power of the cloud. The ability to store a nearly unlimited amount of data, applications and other assets in an off-premises environment comes with considerable benefits; chief among these advantages is cost savings, improved flexibility and increased accessibility for the entire workforce.

Cloud market: Current conditions

In fact, cloud infrastructure will only become more popular in the years to come. According to an October 2015 report from the International Data Corporation, global spending on cloud IT infrastructure equipment – including servers, Ethernet switches and storage components – will expand 24.1 percent this year. This will result in an approximate market value of $32.6 billion by the end of the year. This figure accounts for roughly one-third of overall IT infrastructure spending.

Spending is increasing on both public and private cloud infrastructure equipment.

Different flavors of the cloud market are expanding as well. The report noted that spending on private cloud infrastructure will likely grow 15.8 percent year-over-year, reaching $12.1 billion. At the same time, spending on public cloud IT infrastructure will expand as well, increasing by 29.6 percent this year to $20.5 billion.

“Numerous IDC surveys indicate growing interest among enterprise customers to cloud deployments across multiple IT domains,” noted Natalya Yezhkova, Storage Systems research director.

However, when it comes to the actual infrastructure components themselves, enterprises and service providers have numerous choices for vendors. But which companies are leading the pack in the cloud infrastructure marketplace?

HP and Cisco: Leaders in the cloud infrastructure equipment market

According to a 2015 report from Synergy Research Group, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco currently occupy the top spots in this marketplace. Statistics show that HP currently commands a 13 percent share of the overall cloud infrastructure equipment market, with Cisco following close behind with a 12.5 percent share, CRN reported.

When the market is separated into its different segments, additional insights can be gleaned. InfoWorld reported that Cisco is currently leading the public cloud infrastructure market, providing higher-quality solutions for organizations establishing both public and private clouds. As the public cloud continues to be a more popular option – expanding faster than the private cloud sector by many expert forecasts – Cisco’s public cloud solutions will grow even further.

“Cisco is making major bank on the network segment of the cloud market,” InfoWorld contributor and noted cloud expert David Linthicum wrote. “Many predicted that cloud providers and enterprises would prefer lower-cost network equipment, but that does not seem to be the case.”

When it comes to the private cloud segment, however, HP takes the crown. In addition, HP is also a leader in both the public and private cloud server sector. According to Linthicum, the company saw $13 billion in revenues from cloud hardware and software sales last quarter.

Working with an expert

So what does this mean for organizations and service providers looking to establish or grow their current cloud environments? Their best bet is to work with a proven market leader, like HP or Cisco. Individual needs – including which type of platform and the type of equipment required to support it – will help inform the choice here.

However, there is another alternative – service providers and companies can also choose to work with a specialized solution vendor that can offer the best of both worlds. iT1 Source, for example, is a U.S. Federal Authorized Premier Certified Partner of Cisco, as well as a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Platinum Converged Infrastructure Partner.

To find out more about all the ways the cloud and HP and Cisco solutions can benefit your company, contact our expert consultants today.