No clear leader among cloud vendors

THE cloud distribution method for computing services is creating a new battleground for tech vendors, and is overturning the traditional IT vendor market, according to McKinsey & Company partner Abhijit Dubey.

Speaking at the Parallels Global Summit in New Orleans, Mr Dubey said the market is wide open right now, with no clear winner leading in the cloud vendor space.

A variety of company-types distribute cloud services. This ranges from IT vendors such as Microsoft or IBM, to telcos which bundle them with connectivity services, to a new breed of cloud companies which sell directly to end-users.

Traditionally, most companies bought their technology from channel distributors such as systems integrators (SIs). These tech vendors took care of the implementation of their customers' systems, bringing a spread of di…