Seven in 10 businesses worried about managing cloud
- 04 April, 2011 17:14
- Comments 1
Seventy one percent of businesses are concerned about managing cloud computing, according to a survey.
The companies are worried about the potential complexity of controlling a software as a service setup, the survey found. Additionally, over half of IT directors said they feared they would lose control of infrastructure if they shifted systems to the cloud.
Nevertheless, the research demonstrated changing perceptions around the usefulness of cloud computing, and around the best ways to set it up.
Some 91 percent of firms consider a hybrid model as the most suitable option for them, reflecting the attitude of many traditional software providers that offer clients an on-premise and cloud mix.
Many businesses, however, still have concerns around the cloud, with 57 percent struggling to establish whether it is suitable for their strategy.
"The results of this survey say a lot about the current state of cloud computing," explained Nathan Marke, chief technology officer at IT services firm 2e2, which commissioned the Vanson Bourne survey. "Based on the fact that 91 percent of those surveyed want a hybrid model, it's clear the vast majority of businesses understand the different options that are available."
He added: "By and large, the cloud concept is understood. The concern now is how to make it work for the business and how to manage cloud based services once they are implemented."
Some 68 percent of the 200 IT directors at large firms who were surveyed said there were significant risks in migrating to the cloud because of the complex and interdependent nature of their in-house IT infrastructures.
Over half also said they feared losing control over their IT infrastructure if they moved applications to the cloud.
The first step for businesses in controlling their IT when moving to the cloud, Marke said, is to "audit the infrastructure and get a clear view on the interdependencies of different IT services".
"From here, organisations can make decisions about how to rationalise IT and whether cloud can play a part in that. It's understandable that organisations are worried about control. However, by auditing their infrastructure and services and understanding how critical they are to the business they can put themselves in the driving seat."
The survey also highlighted that current maintenance, support and managed service contracts act as a barrier to moving IT services into the cloud. Some 57 percent of respondents noted that these contracts would lead to delays in them deploying some cloud services.
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Comments
Roy Pater
1
If one buys pure "bare metal" IaaS servers and storage in the cloud then a business has nothing to fear regarding any loss of visibility or control of their systems. All they have done is removed a Capex cost and replaced it with an Opex cost.
This should be anyone's first step into the cloud if you are sceptical or have a sceptical customer.