Cloud computing is the future model of IT

The guys from Evolve IP, a cloud services company, recently conducted a survey of over 1,200 IT professionals to learn how their businesses are adopting cloud services in 2014. After reviewing the study, I decided there are some very interesting findings that help predict the future of cloud adoption, and it would be interesting to share it here.

In the mentioned study, Evolve IP uncovered data that spans topics including budget concerns, deployment issues and popular reasons for moving to (or avoiding) the cloud. Here are just a few examples of the data they collected, along with my comments and opinions:

• 88% of respondents believe cloud computing is the future model of IT – Basically 9 out of 10 professionals understand the value of cloud computing, and realize they need to focus and adapt in order to keep their business a success.
• 70% of Executives and 58.5% of Managers believe in the value of the cloud – That’s great news, but not at all surprising. The benefits are there, and the advantages are clear.
• One in four businesses that deployed to the cloud by themselves will use a third party the next time – The process of migrating to the cloud can be tricky, and can cause a lot of problems for any company, regardless of its size. Without proper planning, the process can prove to be time and resource consuming.
• 81% of all respondents have deployed at least one service in the cloud – Once again, this number doesn’t surprise me at all. In order to “survive” in almost any industry, you can’t be successful without the basics like: email, social media and collaboration.
• 55% of respondents plan to increase their budgets in 2015 for cloud services – That’s great news. Enterprises are starting to invest in cloud computing, realizing its necessity.
• The top 5 criteria in selecting a cloud services provider: Price (71%), Security (65%), Easy-To-Use Management System (51%), Ease of Migration (49%), Availability SLA (43%) – Price and resources will always be a key factor in choosing a cloud provider, even if I believe it’s not the most important. However, the numbers show that companies are choosing based on their needs, and that’s always good news.
• Disaster avoidance / recovery and business continuity, as cited by 73% of all respondents, was the number one expected benefit of moving to the cloud. Improved flexibility (65.5%) and scalability (65%) followed suit – Cloud computing should be about the future and how you can ease your business operations and activities, but it’s important to know that professionals acknowledge cloud as a necessity for business continuity.
• The top three concerns/ barriers to moving to the cloud: security (50.5%), legal/compliance (28.5%) and privacy (34.5%) – That’s not a surprise, but a fact. Security, compliance and privacy are important factors that need to be taken in consideration in every cloud migration.

The survey can be downloaded for free here. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.