Introducing Neocloud And NeoPaaS: The Next Frontiers Of The AI-Native Cloud
The cloud infrastructure market is splitting: AI-native platforms are replacing the commodity playbook.
Why it matters
Forrester formalizes the market categorization of AI-native cloud platforms (neoclouds) and AI-centric PaaS, signaling that cloud vendors must choose between commodity infrastructure and purpose-built AI stacks — a strategic inflection for practitioners planning multi-year deployments.
The key facts
8 to knowTwo distinct market paths: AI infrastructure cloud (neoclouds) and AI-centric neoPaaS
Transition from commodity cloud toward generative AI and agentic AI platforms
Categories evolved from emerging concepts to distinct market categories in one year
Cloud industry moving beyond baseline infrastructure to purpose-built platforms
Forrester defines 'neocloud' as AI infrastructure cloud platforms — distinct from commodity cloud
Two emerging paths identified: neoclouds and neoPaaS
Concept introduced one year prior; now evolved into distinct market categories
Focus on platforms purpose-built for generative AI and agentic AI, not general-purpose infrastructure
Go to the source
Forrester Blogforrester.com
Publisher excerpt: Last year, we introduced the concept of the AI-native cloud, as we observed that the cloud industry was moving beyond commodity infrastructure toward platforms purpose-built for generative AI and agentic AI. We also identified two emerging paths in this transformation: AI infrastructure cloud…