{"id":8854,"date":"2024-09-26T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8854"},"modified":"2024-10-01T13:15:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:15:58","slug":"the-rise-of-the-local-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/09\/the-rise-of-the-local-cloud.htm","title":{"rendered":"The rise of the local cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The discount retailer Lidl recently found its way into the news as its parent company began offering cloud services to outside organisations. That got us thinking about Node4\u2019s UK-based cloud services, and how, sometimes, a local cloud is exactly the solution that\u2019s required to meet clients\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise of self-service cloud services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Its well-known that Amazon Web Services (AWS) began when Amazon realised the value of its own IT systems and the investment it had made in shared services. Amazon had created a shared IT platform so its engineering organisations, which were previously spending a high proportion of their time on IT infrastructure problems, could instead focus on customer-facing innovation. As the shared services provided value for amazon.com, Amazon saw the potential in providing web services to other organisations and AWS was born. Through AWS, Amazon began providing external customers access to an on-demand cloud computing platform on a pay-as-you-go basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, we\u2019ve seen Microsoft (Azure) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) launch and compete with AWS. In the US, Europe and elsewhere, these three \u201chyperscale platforms\u201d dominate cloud computing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unexpected item in the bagging area<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the rise of the hyperscalers, the major systems integrators suddenly had new competition. Companies didn\u2019t have to invest in their own infrastructure \u2013 they could consume services according to demand. And if they weren\u2019t running their own infrastructure, then they didn\u2019t need someone to host and manage it for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the major SIs launched their own clouds, but they have never had the scale or the traction of the hyperscalers. So, the SIs partnered with one or more of the hyperscalers, albeit reluctantly, to respond to customer demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany is particularly well-known for its stringent privacy and data protection laws but it\u2019s not unique. In response to this, the hyperscalers began placing datacentres in specific regions to address data sovereignty concerns. Here in the UK, Microsoft opened the UK South and UK West regions in Azure. AWS and GCP made similar investments. And let\u2019s not forget that markets like China are so large that they have their own hyperscale providers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the middle at Lidl<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, the German discount retailer Lidl made the news as its parent company Schwarz Group started to offer cloud computing and cybersecurity services to corporate customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a remarkable parallel with AWS\u2019 history, the Irish Times reported that Schwarz started with a system built for internal use in 2021. Schwarz Digits, an IT unit that initially served only the group\u2019s internal needs branched out to serve external clients in 2022. Now there\u2019s an independent company within the Schwarz Group, StackIT, existing alongside XM Cyber and the group\u2019s minority investment in a German AI startup called Aleph Alpha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketed as \u201cthe German business cloud\u201d, StackIT\u2019s main selling point is that all client data is processed and stored exclusively in Germany and Austria. It offers a suite of cloud services, focused on the German retail (unsurprisingly), health and public sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case for local cloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So why am I writing on the Node4 blog about a German retailer\u2019s entry in to cloud services? Surely<\/a> they are a competitor? Well, yes and no. StackIT is all about the German market \u2013 it\u2019s their USP. Node4 is expert in the UK mid-market. We don\u2019t compete, but there are some parallels. Whilst Node4 hasn\u2019t grown out of a retailer (we were born into datacentre hosting and connectivity), we do have a local cloud for UK-based clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why might you want a local cloud?<\/p>\n\n\n\n