IT AI Index

Index › Function 03 of 6 · October 2026 Edition

October 2026 Edition

Cloud and infrastructure

Where workloads run and how they are secured and paid for: hosting, posture management, containers, Kubernetes, infrastructure as code, cost, backup and storage. 12 of 14 categories scored, 2 planned.

Standing in cloud and infrastructure

First-choice share across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, all fourteen models, for the twelve cloud and infrastructure categories scored in the October 2026 Edition.

Cloud and infrastructure

Infrastructure as code

One leader in all three segments

TerraformClear leader

55%▲+7Since September 2026: 50% → 57%, +7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

57%▲+15Since September 2026: 46% → 61%, +15 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

53%▼−4Since September 2026: 58% → 54%, −4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Small business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.

Backblaze B2Clear leader

47%▼−9Since September 2026: 60% → 51%, −9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

46%▼−1Since September 2026: 46% → 45%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Amazon S3Clear leader

44%▲+14Since September 2026: 30% → 44%, +14 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Cloud cost management

Small business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.

VantageClear leader

41%=heldSince September 2026: 41% → 41%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

45%▼−9Since September 2026: 54% → 45%, −9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

IBM Apptio CloudabilityClear leader

49%▲+1Since September 2026: 45% → 47%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Managed Kubernetes platforms

Mid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.

DigitalOcean KubernetesClear leader

55%▲+15Since September 2026: 39% → 54%, +15 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

Google Kubernetes EngineClear leader

43%▲+3Since September 2026: 39% → 42%, +3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

31%▼−3Since September 2026: 33% → 30%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Server virtualization platforms

Small business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.

Proxmox VEClear leader

Nutanix AHVContested

Cloud and infrastructure

Backup and disaster recovery

Mid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.

Acronis Cyber ProtectContested

23%▼−18Since September 2026: 41% → 23%, −18 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

Veeam Data PlatformContested

38%▲+6Since September 2026: 32% → 38%, +6 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

32%▼−10Since September 2026: 41% → 31%, −10 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Cloud security posture management

Mid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.

Microsoft Defender for CloudContested

21%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Prowler (21%) replaces Microsoft Defender for Cloud (31% then, 19% now), 2 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.

WizClear leader

37%▼−5Since September 2026: 43% → 38%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

54%▼−6Since September 2026: 58% → 52%, −6 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Cloud-native application protection

Mid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.

Aikido SecurityContested

29%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Aikido Security (31%) replaces Microsoft Defender for Cloud (46% then, 27% now), 4 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.

WizClear leader

37%▼−11Since September 2026: 46% → 35%, −11 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

48%▼−6Since September 2026: 49% → 43%, −6 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Mid-market and enterprise share a leader. Small business differs.

DigitalOcean DropletsContested

34%▼−8Since September 2026: 40% → 32%, −8 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Amazon Web ServicesClear leader

32%▲+1Since September 2026: 29% → 30%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

42%▼−14Since September 2026: 57% → 43%, −14 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Container and Kubernetes security

Small business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.

TrivyContested

22%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Snyk Container (21%) replaces Trivy (28% then, 19% now), 2 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.

22%↗new leaderNew leader since September 2026: Trivy (22%) replaces Sysdig Secure (29% then, 18% now), 4 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.

Prisma CloudContested

25%▼−4Since September 2026: 29% → 25%, −4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

Cloud and infrastructure

Colocation providers

A different leader in every segment

InterServerContested

TierPointContested

EquinixClear leader

Cloud and infrastructure

Enterprise storage systems

Small business and mid-market share a leader. Enterprise differs.

Dell PowerStoreContested

Pure Storage FlashArrayClear leader

Next in cloud and infrastructure

Planned categories are in the build queue and are scored exactly like every other.

Bare metal and edge compute plannedVirtualization and private cloud planned

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