Navigating the Neocloud Landscape: A CIO’s Perspective
As organizations seek greater agility and avoid vendor lock-in, alternative cloud providers (often called neoclouds) are gaining traction. These specialized platforms offer compelling advantages like lower costs for object storage, improved edge performance, and faster access to GPUs—particularly attractive for AI workloads.
Balancing Potential with Prudence
While the promise of best-of-breed functionality at competitive prices is enticing, CIOs should approach these offerings strategically. Ravi Soin, CISO and CIO at Smartsheet, emphasizes a measured adoption: “We’ll grow our use of alternative clouds within a clearly defined perimeter.” This disciplined approach helps prevent sprawl while leveraging niche capabilities.
Key Evaluation Criteria
When assessing neoclouds, focus on these critical dimensions:
- Compliance Maturity: Ensure certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and industry-specific frameworks meet regulatory requirements—especially for sensitive data.
- Workload Fit: Evaluate how well the platform aligns with performance, security, and sovereignty needs.
- Operational Transparency: Demand granular audit trails, model versioning, and end-to-end observability across AI inference layers.
For organizations handling regulated workloads or customer data, a robust compliance posture is non-negotiable—often serving as an initial filter for potential providers.
The Rise of Purpose-Built Infrastructure
Rather than viewing neoclouds as replacements for hyperscalers, consider them complementary infrastructure optimized for specific use cases. As Nigel Gibbons from the NCC Group notes, “A neocloud is more a design principle—infrastructure tailored to a particular workload or control requirement.”
This per-workload approach allows organizations to strategically deploy specialized platforms while maintaining continuity with existing cloud investments.