Navigating the Specialized Cloud Services (Neocloud) Decision: Strategic Guidance for Enterprise AI Infrastructure

This IDC Perspective provides guidance on navigating the specialized cloud services (aka neoclouds) decision. Specialized cloud services offer a significant opportunity to deploy AI workloads at a cost that is generally lower than the price of equivalent infrastructure in other types of clouds. But it's critical for enterprises to weigh more than cost alone when considering specialized cloud services. Other essential factors include the location of specialized cloud services datacenters (which bears implications for compliance and performance), the importance of operating AI and non-AI workloads in the same environment, and uncertainty about the medium- and long-term status of some specialized cloud services platforms. Strategic decisions about whether and how to use neoclouds should reflect all of these considerations."There is little disputing that specialized cloud services offer attractive pricing for AI infrastructure," says Chris Tozzi, adjunct research advisor with IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "But determining whether they are the best overall fit for enterprise AI deployment requires thinking about the big picture, not just pricing."