Gartner coined the term web-scale IT to describe the ways that large cloud companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook deliver seamless user services on a massive scale. The concept allows them to reduce time to market for IT services and lower infrastructure costs while increasing agility, improving their ability to stimulate IT culture change and boosting quality of service.
Elements commonly accepted as key components of an effective web-scale approach include an open approach to hardware, new software architectures, agile processes, a collaboratively aligned organization starting with DevOps, and a risk-embracing culture.