Alternative clouds are having a moment

Bill Doerrfeld | August 25, 2025

My latest for InfoWorld explores why alternative clouds are in vogue

Alternative clouds are having a moment. Nearly 75% of orgs are using two or more alt clouds beyond the hyperscalers, according to a HostingAdvice.com report.


Today for InfoWorld, I dive into this trend in my article What alternative clouds are good for, exploring what's driving the shift. Alt clouds are filling gaps left by the big three in areas like AI workloads, developer experience, edge computing, and private clouds — often at a lower cost.


As CloudBolt Software's Kyle Campos shares: "Organizations are rethinking an 'all-in' strategy with the big three cloud providers."


The thinking is hyperscalers won't be replaced anytime soon, but hyperscaler loyalty is dipping and "optionality by design" is in. Check out the story below for the whole enchilada.

Read: What alternative clouds are good for

Other Blog Posts

By Bill Doerrfeld July 7, 2026
Big surprise: it's way easier to generate new code with AI than to reuse old code. But what are the long-term effects?
By Bill Doerrfeld June 25, 2026
Agentic coding tools have become the default. "When we've taken that away accidentally from people, they scream."
By Bill Doerrfeld June 17, 2026
My latest for LeadDev considers how engineering leaders should respond in the wake of uncertainty in the AI model market.
By Bill Doerrfeld June 10, 2026
I'm working with Zuplo on some new content around their MCP Gateway release. First up: a deep comparison of MCP gateways on the market!
By Bill Doerrfeld June 10, 2026
The constant barrage of AI layoffs is overshadowing the economic reasons behind these cuts, as well as the net-positive talent redistribution happening at large.
By Bill Doerrfeld June 8, 2026
My latest for InfoWorld reviews MCP servers and agent-ready tools for connecting AI agents with popular database styles.
By Bill Doerrfeld May 29, 2026
For my latest DirectorPlus edition, Joel Carusone from NinjaOne shares how engineering leaders can build the muscle for making tough calls.
Close-up of a glowing laptop keyboard in blue light, viewed at an angle with the screen above
By Bill Doerrfeld May 25, 2026
My latest InfoWorld feature explores how Model Context Protocol (MCP) supports context engineering for AI-assisted coding.
A set of metal keys on a keyring resting on a wooden surface.
By Bill Doerrfeld May 22, 2026
My latest for Nordic APIs explores 10 API key security risks and what to use alongside keys for stronger API security.
By Bill Doerrfeld May 18, 2026
The yearly API conference, apidays New York, is a hotbed for solid discussion on what's top of mind in the API space, and as MC I had a front row seat.