Analyzing the IDG Enterprise Cloud

Computing Study: State of the Cloud

IDG Enterprise has conducted an exhaustive online survey to measure the trends in cloud

computing technology among decision makers which include plans and usage across all types of

cloud services and deployment models. The survey also aimed at gauging the business drivers,

investments in cloud and its impact on business plans and strategies. All the survey respondents

were involved in at least one stage of the IT purchase process of the company. We will discuss

the findings in a six part blog series starting with the current topic of where does cloud

computing stand today.

According to the survey, majority of the organizations are continuing to explore cloud

opportunities. In fact, 56% of the respondents are still identifying which applications can be

hosted over the cloud, while 38% of them have identified the IT operations that can be hosted

over the cloud. When asked about deriving more agility of their cloud investments, 61% of the

respondents agreed that their organization is considering investments in adopting emerging

technologies such as network virtualization and SDN. At the same time, 62% of them believe

that it is very important for service providers to embrace network virtualization/SDN tools to

ensure that their organization gets the maximum agility out of their cloud investments.

Upon observing the trend regarding the adoption of cloud services, organizations gave out an

interesting trend. While 69% of the respondents told that at least one application or a part of their

infrastructure is in the cloud as of 2014, an 8% increase over 61% in 2013. However, the

percentage of companies planning to adopt them in the next twelve months came down to 18%

from 24% in 2013. Interestingly, 13% of the respondents plan to use cloud services over the next

three years. This marked decline in the percentage of organizations planning to adopt cloud

services is a clear indicator of the increase in adoption of cloud services.

The major drivers of adoption of cloud services according to the report include lower total cost

of ownership (TCO), speed of deployment, and savings on CAPEX, improving customer support

and services and enabling business continuity. It is also to be noted that cloud drives innovation

and improves IT agility as mirrored by the fact in 63% of respondents believing that it improves

agility and 61% believing that innovation capabilities are also enhanced. Additionally, 55%

believed that the IT complexity is increased with cloud services and 56% believed that there is an

increasing requirement for training on specialized skills.

Finally, among the key challenges to implementing a cloud strategy, the primary concern shared

was that of the security of information in the cloud services. In fact, 61% feel that IT security is

the primary concern pegging back the adoption. Concerns related to integration of cloud

applications and concerns associated with the ability of the cloud computing solutions to meet

the standards of the enterprise as well as the industry were also among the other factors

challenging the implementation of cloud strategies in an enterprise. In the next blog, we would

discuss as to why one should invest in Cloud services.

DoubleHorn is a leading cloud based Managed Services Provider, founded in January 2005 and

based in Austin, TX. We specialize in delivering Cloud Services, Managed Communications

and Consulting to the Enterprise, Government and SME (Small and Medium Enterprise)

sectors. If you are new to the cloud and not sure how to get started, contact us for a

complimentary initial assessment at solutions@doublehorn.com or (855) 61-VOICE.