Magic Quadrant for Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure

How does Gartner define the Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure market in 2024?

Gartner defines distributed hybrid infrastructure as offerings that deliver cloud-native attributes, which can be deployed and operated where the customer prefers. This is a key distinction to public cloud IaaS, which is based on a centralized approach. Offerings are software and/or integrated hardware with a unified control plane. Distributed hybrid infrastructure provides the foundation for the deployment of applications in a distributed manner that retains a cloud or cloud-inspired approach. In doing so, it improves agility and flexibility for the workloads outside of public cloud infrastructure.

Key Facts for Magic Quadrant for Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure in 2024

Publication Date: 7 October 2024

Document ID: G00803468

Coverage: Global

Authors: Julia Palmer, Jeffrey Hewitt, and 4 more

Core Purpose: I&O leaders seek infrastructure platforms that offer unified control across diverse deployment scenarios. The distributed hybrid infrastructure market addresses this need by offering standardized full-stack infrastructure deployments in public cloud, on-premises and edge locations.

How was the Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure market evolved in 2024?

DHI delivers cloud-native attributes that can be deployed and operated where the customer prefers

Key distinction from public cloud IaaS which is based on a centralized approach

Offerings include software and/or integrated hardware with a unified control plane

Provides foundation for distributed application deployment while retaining cloud or cloud-inspired approach

Improves agility and flexibility for workloads outside of public cloud infrastructure

Market formed at convergence of distributed cloud solutions and deployment of full-stack software-defined platforms in public cloud

Mandatory features include integrated vendor-engineered solution with virtual compute, storage and networking services

Must have vendor-developed infrastructure resource management control plane

Market serves organizations wanting cloud IaaS solution without PaaS that can be deployed anywhere

Nine vendors met inclusion criteria for this Magic Quadrant

What are the common features of top products in the Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure space?

Management portal that provides a secure, automated full stack solution for operating and supporting the distributed infrastructure.

Ability to deploy the infrastructure in multiple locations that must include on-premises customer data center and a public cloud.

Complete programmable API access enabling "infrastructure as code."

Ability to deliver the distributed hybrid infrastructure solution as a service.

Vendor supplied facilities or other deployment options like colocation, edge and remote locations.

Integrated hardware (either supported by the same vendor that offers the software; or certified for the integrated software, but managed by the enterprise, the vendor that provides the software or a third-party partner).

Additional platform services (e.g., as-a-service add-on offerings like DBaaS, DRaaS).

Product integration with traditional enterprise infrastructure systems (e.g., Directory Services, ITSM, etc.).

Metered consumption based services where the customer is charged only for what they consume.

Scalable and elastic where the offering will provision and deprovision resources to fit the customer continuous requirements (e.g., bursting to the public cloud or dynamic preemptive ordering).

Ability to orchestrate bare metal servers.

Ability to orchestrate containers or integrate with third-party kubernetes distribution.

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Must sell DHI offering aligning to the DHI market definition with all mandatory features generally available as of 1 April 2024

Must show evidence of 60 enterprise customers deploying products in distributed hybrid infrastructure scenarios or must have reported over $50 million in ARR contract value as of 1 May 2024

Must show evidence of DHI production customer deployments across on-premises and at least one hyperscale strategic public cloud environment

Must rank among the top 15 organizations in the Customer Interest Indicator (CII)

Must have at least 10 production customers per region in on-premises data centers in at least four out of seven global regions

Must be the primary developer and IP owner of the software components of DHI

Must have 24/7 DHI customer support with English-language localization

Must offer ability to deploy and operate DHI where customer prefers, including on-premises, at the edge or colocated

Must offer ability to deploy and operate DHI in one or more hyperscale public clouds

Must provide integrated vendor-engineered solution comprising compute, storage and networking services

Must have vendor-developed DHI control plane

Must address four out of six use cases defined in the companion Critical Capabilities research

Ability to Execute — Relative Weighting

Product or Service - High

Overall Viability - High

Sales Execution/Pricing - High

Market Responsiveness/Record - Medium

Marketing Execution - Low

Customer Experience - High

Operations - Low

Completeness of Vision — Relative Weighting

Market Understanding - High

Marketing Strategy - Medium

Sales Strategy - Medium

Offering (Product) Strategy - High

Business Model - Medium

Vertical/Industry Strategy - Low

Innovation - High

Geographic Strategy - Medium

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research evaluates nine vendors offering distributed hybrid infrastructure (DHI) solutions. It covers vendors that provide integrated full-stack infrastructure comprising compute, storage, and networking services with a unified control plane that can be deployed on-premises, in public clouds, and at edge locations. The evaluation focuses on vendors' ability to execute and completeness of vision across various deployment scenarios, use cases, and geographies. The research includes vendor strengths and cautions, market overview, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and evaluation criteria definitions.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: This research should be used by I&O leaders who are seeking infrastructure platforms that offer unified control across diverse deployment scenarios including on-premises data centers, public cloud environments, and edge locations. It is particularly valuable for organizations looking to modernize their IT infrastructure, those considering alternatives to VMware-based deployments, enterprises wanting standardized full-stack infrastructure solutions, and those needing to support hybrid cloud infrastructure delivery models. The research helps evaluate vendors for specific use cases including hybrid infrastructure management, edge computing, assured workloads, and container deployment scenarios.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: Vendors must provide an integrated vendor-engineered solution comprising virtual compute, storage and networking services, along with a vendor-developed infrastructure resource management control plane.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

Exclusively marketed and sold as container management infrastructure products without virtual machine infrastructure support
Lack of ability to deploy full DHI services in hyperscale public cloud
Did not meet customer number requirements (60 enterprise customers or $50 million ARR)
Did not meet regional requirements (at least 10 production customers in four out of seven global regions)
Did not rank in top 15 of Customer Interest Indicator
Did not meet mandatory feature requirements

Q: What differentiates Ability to Execute vs. Completeness of Vision?

A: Ability to Execute evaluates a vendor's current performance and capabilities in delivering and supporting their DHI solutions, including product quality, sales success, customer satisfaction, and operational effectiveness. It focuses on present-day execution and market presence. Completeness of Vision assesses a vendor's forward-looking strategy and ability to anticipate and shape market direction, including their understanding of future customer needs, innovation roadmap, product strategy, and long-term business planning. It emphasizes strategic direction and future potential rather than current execution.

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