Now even cloud-managed services need to be managed.
Recognizing the huge growth potential in this new layer of service, global IT services leader CSC became one of the first large IT services companies to snap up a firm that integrates management of multiple clouds for enterprises: ServiceMesh.
We see this as yet another indication that the shift by large IT services customers of on-premise applications to the cloud is ongoing and permanent.
In the first phase of this shift, popular third-party enterprise applications were moved to the cloud to meet a growing demand from companies seeking lower cost, more flexibility deployment solutions than could be offered by on-premise hosting. Most notable were IBM's purchase of DemandTec, Oracle's purchase of RightNow Technologies and SAP's acquisition of SuccessFactors.
The second phase focused on consolidating global cloud infrastructures that provide Internet-scale platforms for services and solutions. As enterprises began migrating to these platforms, we again saw accelerated M&A activity such as IBM buying SoftLayer, Rogers Communications acquiring Pivot and NTT Communications' acquisition earlier this week of both Virtela and RagingWire Data Centers.
Phase three, already underway, has enterprises moving "mission-critical" applications - many of them storing proprietary data - from their data centers to the cloud. Hybrid clouds, where the enterprise has private and public co-existing, will soon be the new normal.
In a hybrid cloud approach, some applications are in a public cloud on a shared infrastructure so people outside the enterprise can access them as well while others are in a private cloud on a private infrastructure for internal access only. Hence, the need for integrated management of various clouds.
The trend makes a deal like ServiceMesh the first of many, in our opinion.
In a post on the transaction in GigaOm, Sunil Grover, Executive Vice President of
martinwolf, was quoted, "This is an early mover deal - cloud applications are just starting to mature, there will be a lot of these deals to come."
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. It is expected to close by the end of the year.
For more information, read the complete GigaOm post and the CSC press release announcing the deal.
martinwolf was not the advisor in this transaction.
