Tech Decision-Makers See Cloud as Key to IT’s future

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Cloud future

1 - The Future Is the CloudThe Future Is the Cloud

88% of respondents believe that cloud computing is the future model of IT. In terms of believing in the value of the cloud, 67% said they are “cloud believers,” 19% said they are “unconvinced” and 13.5% need more information.

2 - Cloud Adoption GrowsCloud Adoption Grows

Servers/data centers, Microsoft Exchange and co-location/backup are the top three adopted cloud services. A full 81% of respondents have deployed at least one service in the cloud with organizations, on average, deploying 2.7 services.

3 - Cloud Deployment PlansCloud Deployment Plans

On average, believers in the cloud deployed 3.3 services, while the unconvinced migrated only 1.4 services. However, 54% of the unconvinced expect to shift at least one service to the cloud in the next three years.

4 - Cloud Service on DeckCloud Service on Deck

75% of respondents expect to add new or additional cloud services over the next three years. On deck for migration include servers/data centers (34%), co-location/backup infrastructure (22%), phone systems (22%), Microsoft Office (21.5%) and Microsoft Exchange (21%).

5 - Moving to the CloudMoving to the Cloud

58% of respondents believe their IT staff can implement a cloud strategy independently; only 29% indicated that on-staff knowledge is a barrier to migrating services.

6 - In-House vs. Third-Party Cloud ProvidersIn-House vs. Third-Party Cloud Providers

43.5% of companies that migrated services handled the process internally, versus 56.5% that used a third party. However, of the companies that migrated to the cloud using only internal IT staff, 24% said they would use a third party next time.

7 - Valued Cloud PartnersValued Cloud Partners

For companies that used a third party to migrate services to the cloud, 42.5% worked directly with a cloud service provider, 20% used a consultant/VAR, and 18% worked with a data center/infrastructure provider. Other partners included MSPs, network providers and security vendors.

8 - Single Cloud Provider, PleaseSingle Cloud Provider, Please

62% of respondents prefer to rely on a single cloud provider to handle their variety of services, including servers/data centers, co-location, Microsoft Exchange, phone systems and desktops.

9 - Top 5 Reasons for Vendor SelectionTop 5 Reasons for Vendor Selection

71.5% of respondents said price was a top factor in vendor selection, followed by security policies (65%), easy-to-use management systems (50.5%), ease of migration (49%) and availability of service-level agreements (43%).

10 - Selecting a HypervisorSelecting a Hypervisor

82.5% of respondents using cloud services said VMware ESX was their hypervisor of choice; 26% deployed Citrix Xen and 6% deployed KVM.

11 - Disaster Avoidance and RecoveryDisaster Avoidance and Recovery

73% of respondents said disaster avoidance/recovery was the number one expected benefit from the cloud. Other big benefits cited include flexibility (62%), stability (61%) and lower total cost of ownership (60%).

12 - Top Barriers to Cloud RemainTop Barriers to Cloud Remain

The top two concerns or barriers are security (53%) and privacy (36%). The good news is cloud adoption barriers have declined overall, compared with 2013.

13 - Bigger Budgets for CloudBigger Budgets for Cloud

Budgets for cloud services are increasing year-over-year; 42% of respondents said their budgets increased in 2014, and 54% expect an increase in 2015.

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