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The Cloud Computing Game Is Still Wide Open

The Cloud Computing Game Is Still Wide Open Customers Lean Toward VMware VMware’s dominance of the local data center extends to the cloud: 74% of survey respondents expressed a strong preference for a VMware-based cloud. Keeping Cloud Options Open Customers plan to expand the number of cloud service providers they do business with: 60% indicate […]

Written By

Michael Vizard

Jul 1, 2014

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The Cloud Computing Game Is Still Wide Open

Customers Lean Toward VMware

VMware’s dominance of the local data center extends to the cloud: 74% of survey respondents expressed a strong preference for a VMware-based cloud.

Keeping Cloud Options Open

Customers plan to expand the number of cloud service providers they do business with: 60% indicate an interest in adding cloud vendors, and 25% plan to switch vendors. But less than 20% plan to eliminate cloud providers at this point.

Rates of Cloud Success

VMware leads, but Microsoft Azure is not far behind. VMware vCloud-based service providers report the highest success (67%) and lowest failure rates (33%)—defined as stalled or unsuccessful (tried but failed) adoption. In terms of success, Microsoft Azure came in at 56%, Amazon Web Services at 43% and Rackspace at 37%.

Top Cloud Computing Challenges

It seems like customers are having a little trouble with everything. The top cloud computing challenges are pricing and performance, which are tied at 38%. Other challenges include support (36%), downtime (35%), management (33%) and scalability (33%).

Cloud Capabilities in Need of Improvement

Much work still needs to be done. Better management dashboards top list at 52%, followed by easier resource scalability (46%), better VMware vSphere integration (45%) and more transparent pricing (43%).

Top Reasons to Move to the Cloud

Agility is finally on a par with cost. Faster deployment of new workloads leads, with 48%, followed by faster scaling of existing workloads, at 47%, and reduced capital and operating expenses, at 47%.

Critical Cloud Advantages

Disaster recovery becomes a byproduct of the cloud. Disaster recovery topped list of cloud advantages, at 49%; followed by cost and rapid scalability, both at 48%; and deployment speed, at 45%.

Cloud Governance Matters

The Asia-Pacific region (100%); United States (97%); and Europe, Middle East and Africa (96%) said that the ability to target workloads toward data centers in specific regions to ensure compliance and data sovereignty is important or very important.

Professional Services Required

A full 80% required some professional services to get started. Areas needing professional services include security and compliance services, at 57%, followed by integration with the local data center (47%), disaster recovery (45%), ongoing management (40%) and general planning (40%).

Michael Vizard

Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a writer for publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight, Channel Insider and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.

The Cloud Computing Game Is Still Wide Open

Michael Vizard

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