Vendor Predictions for 2018, Part 2: AI, the Cloud, and (Inevitably) More on Security

Broadly speaking, most big-time cloud software and infrastructure vendors take an all-things-to-all-people approach to product development at present. 2018 will be the year they start tailoring their offerings to the needs of specific verticals, according to John Engates (pictured right), chief evangelist at managed cloud provider Rackspace.

“So many industry sectors have unique needs, demand certain capabilities, and must comply with various regulations that it was inevitable they would begin to seek not just multiple cloud platforms, but clouds tailored to their individual industry,” he says. “More cloud service providers—the smart ones, anyway—will create cloud offerings with industry-specific features, compliance requirements, and certification demands built in.”

Count Salesforce among the smart ones. The cloud CRM giant sees big things ahead for vertical clouds too.

“In 2017 we saw that cloud vendors started formulating industry-specific solutions in the healthcare, financial services, and retail sectors,” says Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh (pictured left), the company’s senior vice president of partner & industry innovation. “Many of these vertical markets still remain largely underserved and untapped—offering a significant opportunity for channel partners to capitalize on and specialize in those markets.”

She’s not kidding about the opportunity being significant either. IDC expects global cloud spending in the healthcare and financial services sectors to reach $10.64 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in 2018, and to grow at rates exceeding 20 percent.