Forrester's new primers define the infrastructure and platform layers of the AI-native cloud as separate market categories, and say enterprises will need both.
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Forrester Research (FORR) published two primer reports formalizing neocloud and neoPaaS as market categories. The firm introduced the AI-native cloud concept last year and flagged two paths it was watching: AI infrastructure cloud platforms, or neoclouds, and AI-centric neoPaaS. One year later, both are distinct categories in Forrester's taxonomy, and the new reports lay out the strategic business value and capability architecture of each.
Neocloud is the infrastructure layer of the AI-native cloud. Forrester defines these platforms as purpose-built for generative and agentic AI workloads, with a primary focus on GPUs and accelerators. Providers run compute, storage, networking, scheduling, and AI operations as a single integrated system, the firm said, aiming for predictable access to AI capacity, higher GPU utilization, fewer infrastructure bottlenecks, and clearer economics for AI workloads. Forrester expects the category to mature from GPU-as-a-service into full-stack AI infrastructure platforms that cover the whole AI lifecycle: training, inference, retrieval, and live agent execution.
Above that infrastructure sits neoPaaS, the platform layer. It is a Kubernetes-based, AI-centric platform as a service that makes knowledge management the foundation for agentic AI, reviving the original promise of PaaS for the AI era. Forrester said neoPaaS unifies the application lifecycle and agentic workload management inside a governed self-service layer. The platform turns fragmented data into governed knowledge products, standardizes agent lifecycles, gives developers a self-service experience, and applies workload-aware controls over inference and GPU consumption. Rather than force every enterprise to assemble its own agent stack from open-source components, neoPaaS packages those pieces into a repeatable platform model, the firm said. Who is liable when an AI agent acts on its own is a separate question; AI Rogue Agents: Who Bears Liability for Breaches examines the exposure.
Forrester said the two are not competing approaches. They address different layers of the same architecture. Neocloud supplies the AI-optimized execution environment; neoPaaS supplies the governed platform for building and operating AI-native applications and agents. Taken together, the firm said, they help enterprises balance performance, cost, governance, sovereignty, and developer productivity as agentic AI adoption accelerates.
The AI-native cloud is “no longer a future vision,” Forrester said; it is taking shape through these two categories. Technology leaders evaluating cloud strategy now have to weigh which neocloud and neoPaaS capabilities are required to support AI at scale, alongside the choice of cloud provider.
Forrester analysts, including Lee Sustar, are booking client inquiries on how to evaluate the two categories and redesign cloud strategies for enterprise AI, the firm said.
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