Cloud Silos and Performance Pressures: Key IT Challenges Facing 2018

In December, a recent survey revealed that Infrastructure‑as‑a‑Service (IaaS) adoption nearly doubled between 2014 and 2016, and the trend is only accelerating. 72% of enterprises now run between two and five cloud providers, a clear sign that multicloud management will dominate IT budgets in 2018. The challenge? Keeping track of dozens of cloud instances, applications, and vendor contracts while avoiding costly redundancies.

Just as physical infrastructure silos have been dismantled, the industry must now confront “cloud silos.” The rapid deployment of SaaS apps means many organizations run parallel processes across multiple vendors. For IT teams, the balancing act is to select the right mix of applications—without overspending or over‑complexity—so end users enjoy a seamless experience. A Forrester report noted that 52% of software decision‑makers cite SaaS integration as a major hurdle.

Looking ahead, the focus will shift to the wide‑area network. IDC predicts that SD‑WAN revenues will hit $2.3 billion in 2018, growing at a 69% CAGR through 2021. Analysts anticipate “SD‑WAN 2.0,” where branch infrastructure is increasingly software‑driven. While SD‑WAN offers great potential, success still hinges on real‑world user experience at each branch.

Finally, a 2017 VMworld survey highlighted the top pressures on IT teams: performance (38%), data migration (36%), and budget constraints (35%). These priorities reflect the broader shift to SaaS and cloud—transforming both infrastructure and budget models and raising the complexity of IT operations. Modern monitoring tools and strategic cloud governance are essential to turn these challenges into competitive advantages.