**The Recipe for XaaS Success: How to be a Hybrid Cloud Winner**

In the age of digital transformation, harnessing the power of IT-as-a-service (ITaaS) with the infusion of artificial intelligence (AI) has become imperative for businesses to stay ahead. According to an IBM-sponsored IDC white paper, the shift to delivering ITaaS is fundamental, adding value to businesses and transforming IT infrastructure strategically. As per the white paper, IT infrastructure-related spending is projected to grow, with the highest spending in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), followed by software-as-a-service (SaaS) and IT services.

This article delves into four core imperatives highlighted by the IDC white paper for XaaS success and the recipe for being a hybrid cloud winner.

**1. Empowering Your Hybrid Cloud Strategy**
The modern IT environment demands a blend of private and public clouds for cost-efficiency, scalability, data privacy, and dependability. While a significant percentage of decision-makers have adopted a hybrid cloud approach, they struggle with making all their cloud environments work together seamlessly. Successful hybrid cloud strategies require a unified control and management plane for automated application deployment, improved cyber resiliency, and comprehensive observability.

**2. Building Confidence in Safeguarding Data**
Data security is crucial for modern businesses. A unified platform can allow organizations to draw on best-in-class cloud security and regulatory compliance technologies across all environments consistently.

**3. Scaling AI for Better Business Outcomes and Impact**
AI has evolved into a core business driver, demanding optimized infrastructure for high-performance AI workloads. Overcoming challenges involves addressing data ingestion bottlenecks, hybrid cloud AI model distribution, and robust model safeguarding through advanced encryption and governance.

**4. Fast-Track IT on Demand**
Modern IT organizations must shift towards delivering IT on demand, offering a centralized control plane for hybrid cloud services that consume resources as needed, optimizing infrastructure for specific workloads, introducing new technologies seamlessly, and ensuring agility and scalability.

**The Shift to XaaS and the Path Forward**
XaaS offerings simplify operations, enhance resilience, and accelerate digital transformation. According to IDC, a majority of IT organizations see XaaS offerings as a key part of their future strategy. Leading in this transformative era, IBM offers organizations the tools they need to thrive in a dynamically changing digital landscape, delivering IT through an XaaS foundation that focuses on flexibility, speed, and ease of consumption, ultimately aiming for outcome-driven success.

To learn more about XaaS, you can read the whitepaper on XaaS today [here](https://idcdocserv.com/US51430123).

*By Vice President, Growth and Transformation, IBM Infrastructure*

**FAQs**

1. **What are XaaS offerings?**
XaaS stands for “Anything as a Service” and refers to the delivery of various services over the internet as opposed to being provided locally or on-site. It encompasses different types of services such as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), SaaS (Software as a Service), and other “as a service” models.

2. **Why is IT-as-a-service (ITaaS) important for businesses?**
Embracing ITaaS is essential for businesses to stay ahead in the digital landscape and drive digital transformation. It offers flexibility, scalability, and the ability to consume IT resources as needed, allowing organizations to optimize their workflows, automate productivity, and accelerate business outcomes.

3. **How does XaaS contribute to digital transformation?**
XaaS offerings simplify operations, enhance resilience, and accelerate digital transformation by providing organizations with the tools and resources they need to thrive in a dynamically changing digital landscape, ultimately aiming for outcome-driven success.