Cloud computing used to be a trend that is common word for IT fanatics, but now is viewed as a tactical strategy to boost business sales and performance. Managers and professionals now agree that cloud computing is referred to as a strategic IT solution that can provide quick answers to business technical problems. It is now also seen as a vital component that will position any business on top of the game.
KPMG International and Forbes Insight recently released the results of their newest survey. The results showed that out of 900 executives, 81% said that one way or another they have moved some of their business solutions to cloud computing. The same survey projected that 2012 will “skyrocket” the cloud business providers as major companies move and upgrade to the cloud platform.
Improving the system’s processes according to 80% of the respondents is one of the most important factors in moving to the cloud; while 76% of the executives identified economic factors as one of the key drivers in cloud migration and also 76% said technical benefits is just as important.
KPMG sum up the transformative effects of cloud migration:
“Cloud is transformative in that it is creating new business opportunities as companies harness its power to efficiently facilitate new revenue, services and businesses. It is breaking down barriers in the supply chain, creating more effective and timely interaction between clients and suppliers. It is delivering speed, agility and cost reduction to IT and other functional areas within the enterprise. The transformative impact of cloud can readily be seen across the enterprise in areas from HR, CRM, and IT infrastructure.”
Almost 25% of the executives said that about 10% of their core IT now runs on the cloud platform; while less than 10% said that they do not have immediate plans to move to the cloud.
Overall, the executives gave the following factors that would also influence their migration to the cloud environment: 10% operational and infrastructure cost savings, 45% money’s worth for the investment, 34% revenue of at least 11 to 25% from the previous earnings of the company, and 10% to IT savings. The survey also showed that 46% of the cloud adopters have considered Software as a Service (SaaS) use such as Salesforce.com.
By and large cloud computing dominates not only the IT departments but also the company’s boardroom where business strategic investments are being decided upon.
Some interesting cloud and SaaS statistics and nice to see some facts at the centre of all the hype around the topics at the moment. I think the advantages of the cloud and SaaS model can be seen most clearly with SMBs. Because of the cloud and the SaaS pricing model our BI solution Bime – http://bimeanalytics.com/ levels out the market and let’s the small guys unlock the big data. Certainly within the BI market a solution is now a viable economic option to many more SMBs where it may not have been previously and I think this is largely because of the scalability of both the cloud and the SaaS model.