Successful Business Model Types of Cloud Providers

Abstract

The acceleration of technical change in the fast moving electronics market increases the uncertainty and risk for IT providers. Influenced by new IT provisioning concepts such as cloud computing, providers are looking to identify stable guidelines and success factors within existing and new business models. The authors have conducted an intensive analysis of the business model characteristics of 45 providers in the cloud market that are critical to success. A cloud business model framework with 105 characteristics was used to systemize the business models, and the data was analyzed statistically in regard to indicators for success. The results revealed 42 success-related business model characteristics, and a cluster analysis led to three common combinations of characteristics that describe meta types of cloud business models. The most promising meta type is a specialized cloud provider with customer-oriented branch solutions, while small-scale newcomers with aggregation services experience difficulties to be competitive. To evaluate and verify the results and the success of each business model type, 12 expert interviews were conducted. The interview statements were aggregated and summarized to offer recommendations for action and a prediction for the success of cloud business models.

Success-Driving Business Model Characteristics of Iaas and Paas Providers

“…Whereas, for instance, Amazon Web Services is the leading provider of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), controlling about 52 percent of the sector [5], others, such as Cisco, Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, are examples for providers that already shut down their own public IaaS offering. The research on the success-driving business model characteristics of cloud providers and thus, the reasons for this performance discrepancy is, however, still limited [6][7][8].…”

“…So far, research has only provided one extensive analysis of cloud business models and their connection to economic success: Labes et al [6] derived abstract success factors by relating publicly available information regarding predefined characteristics of business model components of selected providers to their web visibility and profit. However, the study neglected that the cloud ecosystem allows the adoption of various roles and thus, cloud providers are characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity [9].…”

“…21 expert interviews with representatives from 17 cloud providers serve as central data collection method. The success-driving business model characteristics are, in contrast to Labes et al [6], collected impartially, this means without preselection, directly from the interviewed cloud experts.…”

“…The only holistic cloud-specific business model framework was developed by Labes et al [33]: their morphological box entails various categories representing the basic components of a business model, each broken down into design features that show possible design options [33]. Based on this, Labes et al [6] analysed the business models of selected cloud providers, matched them with the framework and identified four common patterns of cloud business models. Apart from that, researchers examined the fundamental impacts of the shift from delivering on-premise IT applications to cloud services with regard to business models (e.g., [1,2,45]).…”

Current cloud challenges in Germany: the perspective of cloud service providers

“…CSPs need to be aware of these customer requirements because they represent the body of challenges that CSPs must address to launch successful services [61]. By addressing the strategies and approaches of the user companies regarding CC, CSPs can identify and better understand the specific key requirements of their (future) customers [28].…”