Briefing at a Glance

  • According to a report released Wednesday by consulting firm Information Services Group (ISG),reportenterprises are relying on hybrid cloud strategies to adapt to growing AI workloads.
  • The report found that over 80% of enterprises are re-evaluating their cloud plans to better support AI, driven by motivations including enhanced operational resilience, improved consistency, cost reduction, and better performance. It noted that the increasingly popular hybrid approach typically includes a combination of public cloud, private cloud, colocation, edge, and sovereign environments, or all of the above.
  • Anay Nawathe, ISG's Americas cloud delivery lead, said in a statement that enterprises seeking flexibility and cost awareness are redesigning their operating models to meet AI demands. "Hybrid cloud is no longer about where workloads run, but more about how enterprises maintain control in an increasingly diverse environment," he said.

Deep Insights

As enterprise demand for AI computing rises, and executives worry about increased costs orvendor lock-in, more companies are adopting hybrid cloud approaches.

The ISG report found that preparing to scale AI applications is one of the core reasons for changing cloud strategies. Enterprises are investing in GPU-enabled architectures, distributed data platforms, and hybrid AI operating models, while adopting AI platforms.

The report found that organizations are seeking unified platforms that integrate observability, automation, and financial management into a single operating framework. Performance and cost management are also high priorities for enterprises seeking hybrid cloud environments.

In the vast cloud market, vendors have moved quickly to meet the growing demand for AI-ready computing. According to recent Gartner research, new cloud (neocloud) providers offering AI-optimized infrastructure will capture20% of the $267 billion AI cloud marketby 2030.Apple opened access to private cloud computing in June, while Blackstone and Googlelaunched compute-as-a-service offerings in May。

The report found that the increase in AI workloads and GPU-intensive infrastructure is driving demand for cost transparency and optimization in private cloud, Kubernetes, edge, and sovereign cloud environments.

The report said sovereignty is a major factor in cloud service diversification, as enterprises seek more control over infrastructure, data residency, and AI governance for their long-term AI plans.

"The most effective hybrid platforms no longer treat operations, network recovery, and cost management as separate disciplines," said Shashank Rajmane, ISG lead analyst and principal author of the report, in a press release. "Enterprises increasingly expect vendors to unify these capabilities to improve business continuity and long-term performance."