2. Respondent
Profile
917 professionals
who do not work in computer
services or computer software
completed the survey.*
22% of them
have primary responsibility
for Cloud management or
planning Cloud initiatives
within their company.
Another 52% of them
share that responsibility.
73% of
respondents
have more than 100 employees
at their organization. 58% had
more than 500.
The most often cited industries were Health
Care, Education, Finance, and Banking each
with 8% of response.
2
3. Principal
Findings
Cloud adoption is widespread
and has evolved far beyond
early stage technology. The
majority of respondents (70%)
report using Cloud services.
31% are not using Cloud now;
Of those, 29% are planning to
use Cloud in the future.
(Approximately 78% use or will
be using Cloud.)
Cloud types used: The most
commonly chosen were Public
Clouds or Hosted Private
Clouds, each at 49%.* Hybrid
and On-premise followed, at
37% and 36% respectively.
• Analysis revealed that use of On-Premise
Private, Hybrid, and Multi-Cloud types
increased substantially with the number
of employees. (From those with less
than 100 employees, to those with more
than 1,000.) **
• Regarding plans for Cloud types, Hybrid
Clouds were the most common choice
(25%).***
Most popular cloud services:
Software as a Service (61%)
was used by the majority of
respondents, followed by
Infrastructure as a Service
(47%).****
Leading cloud benefits:
Respondents selected business
continuity, IT efficiency, and
operational cost savings (On a
1 – 5 scale, rated an average of
3.68, 3.51, and 3.44,
respectively.)
3
4. Principal
Findings
Top three
challenges
Security/Privacy in the cloud is
the chief concern of professionals
(On a 1 – 4 scale, rated an average
of 2.84.) System and application
integration (2.75), and increased
cost followed (2.71).*
Management
responsibility
The majority of respondents indicate
that internal IT staff has responsibility
for cloud security, disaster recovery,
and performance and capability
management (over 70%)—as
compared to Cloud service providers
(between 29% and 34%).**
Cloud strategy
Many organizations selectively
migrate applications to the
Cloud on an ad hoc basis (42%);
fewer (29%) have a centralized
strategy/center of excellence to
proactively plan and manage
applications that are migrated
and deployed to the Cloud.
Cost
Just over half the respondents
noted that Cloud has cost their
organizations more than anticipated
(53% Yes, 47% No). Of those that
spent more than anticipated,
migration and management
were the primary drivers
of increased cost.***4
5. Conclusions
Cloud use is pervasive, and
IT leaders view it as offering
great business benefits for
organizations, particularly
in IT management:
business continuity (preventing
business interruptions), IT
efficiency, and operational
cost savings.
Even though Cloud market
appears well established, certain
aspects are still evolving and will
challenge companies in years
to come:*
• Strategic thinking about Cloud is
needed. IT organizations most
common practice is the selective
and ad hoc migration of data/
applications to the Cloud. Fewer
have a centralized strategy to plan
and manage migration of
applications to the Cloud.
• Unsurprisingly, data and
application security/privacy in the
cloud are the chief concerns of
respondents.** More data and
applications are moving outside
the corporate firewall, indicated by
the majority’s use of SaaS, and
their fairly common use of IaaS
and PaaS.
• Professionals also perceived
system/application integration and
increased cost of the Cloud as
challenges.***
Though Cloud is a game-
changing tool, professionals
still have work to do—adopting
technologies, practices, and
methods to make their Cloud
initiatives more strategic and
secure.
5
6. • 49% of respondents use a Public Cloud or
Hosted Private (each). 37% use a Hybrid
and 36% an On-Premise Private.
• Only 14% use Multi-Cloud
6
Cloud Types Using
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
Public Hosted
Private
Hybrid On-Premise
Private
Multi-cloud Don’t know Other
(please
specify)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Does your company currently use any of the
following Cloud types? Select all that apply.
7. Regarding their Cloud strategy,
42% indicated that We selectively
migrate/deploy applications to
the cloud on an ad-hoc basis.
39% indicated We expect to
always have a data center, with
a hybrid model.
Only 14% reported that We
prefer Cloud-native solutions.
7
Cloud Strategy
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
We selectively
migrate/deploy
applications to
the cloud on an
ad-hoc basis.
We expect to
always have a
data center,
with a hybrid
model.
We have a
centralized
strategy/center
of excellence to
proactively plan
and manage
what
applications we
migrate and
deploy to the
cloud.
Our goal is
standardization.
Our goal is to
eventually
adopt an all-
cloud strategy.
We have a
Cloud-first
strategy.
We prefer
Cloud-native
solutions.
Other (please
specify)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Which of the following describes your organization’s
Cloud strategy? Select all that apply.
8. • 61% of respondents use SaaS and 47%
use Iaas (Infrastructure as a Service).
• Only 8% use Capacity Management as
a Service.
8
Cloud Services
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Does your company use any of the following
Cloud services? Select all that apply.
9. • 22% of respondents reported that they
have no plans to use DRaaS.
• 14% are currently using it. Another 10%
indicated that they will adopt it in less
than a year and 17% will adopt in the
next 1 to 2 years.
9
DRaaS Use
We are
currently
using DRaaS
We plan to
adopt DRaaS
in less than a
year
We plan to
adopt DRaaS
in 1-2 years
We plan to
adopt DRaaS
in 3-5 years
We plan to
adopt DRaaS
in 5 years or
more
We have no
plans to adopt
DRaaS
I don’t know
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
What are your organization’s plans regarding implementing
Disaster Recovery as a Service
(DRaaS) in a ground to cloud, cloud to cloud,
or cloud to ground configuration?
10. The top organizational concern regarding
DRaas was Privacy concerns (49%). This
was followed by Regulatory compliance
issues at 37%.
Only 9% of respondents reported Lack of
IT knowledge as a concern.
10
DRaaS Challenges
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
What challenges does your organization face in
using or considering cloud solutions for DRaaS?
Select all that apply.
11. Regarding Cloud responsibilities, over 70%
of respondents indicated that the Internal IT
organization was responsible for Security,
Disaster Recovery and Managing Capacity
& Performance.
The figures for Cloud Service Providers in
these areas were around 30%.
So the figures for Internal IT were roughly
more than double those of Cloud providers.
11
Cloud Responsibilities
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
Security Disaster Recovery Managing Capacity and
Performance
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Who is responsible for each of the following
areas of cloud? Select all that apply.
Cloud service provider
Internal IT organization
Don't know
Other
12. • The most often used Big Data tool for
the Cloud was Azure SQL (25%).
• 15% reported using Spark and 14%
selected Azure Event Hub.
• Only 4% use Impala.
12
Big Data Tools
for Cloud
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Which of the following “Big Data” tools and frameworks
does your company use in the Cloud? Select all that apply.
13. • 40% of respondents indicated that they
connect On-premise Data Warehouse(s)
to the cloud. This was closely followed
by On-premise RDBMS with 34%.
• The remaining options received 16%
response or less.
13
Data Sources for Cloud
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
On-premise
Data
Warehouse
On-premise
RDBMS
On-premise
Hadoop
Cluster
On-premise
NoSQL
Database
Mainframe IBM i server Other Cloud
sources
Other
(please
specify)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
What data source(s) do you connect to the Cloud?
Select all that apply.
14. Respondents were asked to rate a set of areas
of Cloud computing as representing No Challenge,
Minimal, Moderate or Major Challenge.
Responses were tallied on a 4-point scale
(1=No Challenge...4=Major Challenge).
The area with the greatest average challenge
was Data and application security/privacy at 2.84.
Integrating with existing systems and/or applications
followed at 2.75 and Increased cost at 2.71.
Vendor lock-in with one Cloud service provider
had the lowest average at 2.47.
14
Cloud Challenges
Ratings
2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9
Data and application security/privacy
Integrating with existing systems and/or
applications
Increased cost
Government/Industry regulatory compliance
Increased complexity
Internal skills/resources
Data governance and lineage
Performance/latency
Capacity and application performance
planning/management
Data availability/disaster recovery
Keeping data in sync with on-premise systems
Ensuring SLAs and incident response time
requirements are met
Vendor lock-in with one Cloud service provider
Please rate the amount of challenge to your organization
for the following areas of Cloud computing.
15. Respondents were also asked to rate benefits
of Cloud computing and their responses
were tallied on a 5-point scale
(1=Not Important...5=Highly Important).
The benefit with the highest average was
Business continuity (3.68) followed by IT
efficiency at 3.51 and Operational cost
savings at 3.44.
Convenience for the development teams
had the lowest average benefit at 3.00
15
Cloud Benefits Ratings
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Business continuity
IT efficiency
Operational cost savings
Elastic capacity – scale up, scale down as needed
IT capacity on demand
Capital expense cost savings
Ability to rapidly launch new products and services
Controlled, auditable document and data sharing
Ability to supplement in-house skills and resources
Improved collaboration
Convenience for the development teams
What does your organization view as the
most important benefits of the cloud?
16. Just over half of respondents indicated
that the cloud cost their company more
than anticipated (53%).
16
Cloud Cost More
Than Anticipated?
Yes No
40%
45%
50%
55%
Has the cloud cost your company
more than anticipated?
17. Of those who reported that costs were
more than anticipated, the two leading
drivers were Migration costs (62%) and
Management costs (57%).
The lowest sources of cost were
Purchasing too much capacity (19%)
and Availability/Recovery issues that
impacted the business (17%).
17
What Driving Up
(Cloud) Costs?
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
In the previous question, you noted that the Cloud
cost your company more than anticipated.
What is driving up the costs? Select all that apply.
18. • One-quarter of respondents
reported that they will begin
using a Hybrid cloud.*
• 20% (each) will begin using a
Public or Hosted Private cloud.
• Only 12% will use a Multi-cloud.
18
Cloud Type Plans
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%. Hybrid Public Hosted
Private
On-Premise
Private
Multi-cloud We have no
plans to
begin using
these Cloud
types.
Don’t know Other
(please
specify)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Does your company plan to BEGIN using any of the
following Cloud types? Select all that apply.
19. Regarding plans for Cloud services, 24% of
respondents indicated that they will begin
using Software as a Service and 21% will
use Infrastructure as a Service.
Only 8% reported that they will begin
using Capacity Management as a Service.
19
Cloud Service Plans
Note that this was a select all that apply
question so responses will not total to 100%.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Does your company plan to BEGIN using any of the following
Cloud services? Select all that apply.
Editor's Notes
*Note: These are the General results for all respondents, minus the computer services and computer software industries.
*Analysts’ observations on Cloud Types: “The worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 21.4 percent in 2018 to total $186.4 billion, up from $153.5 billion in 2017,” according to Gartner, Inc. April 12, 2018.
**Note on Cloud Types: These Cloud schemes may demand large-company resources for planning, implementation, and ongoing management.
***Note on Plans for Cloud Types: Given respondents’ concerns about privacy, we might expect the trend toward hybrid clouds to continue. Hybrid clouds are a solid way to span traditional data center practices. Companies can store regulated customer information and intellectual property in a Private Cloud, but locate less critical information in a Public Cloud.
****Note on Cloud Services: Findings showed that although DRaaS was not very popular, it would gain traction in the future. In addition to the approximately 14% of respondents that currently used DRaaS, 10% will adopt it in less than a year, and another 17% said they planned to adopt it in the next 1 – 2 years. However, the adoption curve appears to be gradual.
Analysts’ observations on Cloud Services: “Software as a service (SaaS) remains the largest segment of the cloud market, with revenue expected to grow 22.2 percent to reach $73.6 billion in 2018. Gartner expects SaaS to reach 45 percent of total application software spending by 2021. The fastest-growing segment of the market is cloud system infrastructure services (infrastructure as a service or IaaS), which is forecast to grow 35.9 percent in 2018 to reach $40.8 billion.” April 12, 2018
*Note on Cloud Challenges: We know that Syncsort is interested in compliance in the Cloud and is helping customers to deal with this issue. Government/industry regulatory compliance was the 4th challenge of respondents, receiving an average of 2.70.
**Note on Management Responsibility: This finding needs context and should be viewed in light of the type of service an IT organization uses. We examined the offerings of several Cloud providers, including Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Most Cloud providers have shared responsibility models, typically outlined in an SLA, which defines accountability, depending upon the type of service used. Examples of Azure’s and AWS’ definitions of responsibility are shown in the links below.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/security-management-and-monitoring-overview
https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/
***Note to the team on Cost: As mentioned during the survey development process, we are not fans of these binary yes/no questions, since they typically don’t get at the nuances of the customer’s situation. The way the question is worded might capture respondents’ general impressions, but the responses are not really concrete. (There is a classic example of the pitfalls of this type of yes/no question, concerning the death penalty, which we can discuss some time.)
*Note on Cloud evolution/benefits and challenges: Cloud has emerged as the foundation of business infrastructure and services, yet IT leaders continue to grapple with the strategy and complex decisions it presents. They’re juggling potential risks, such as data privacy and integration with benefits, such as business continuity and IT efficiency.
**Note on Security/Privacy in the Cloud: Though data and application breaches are not unique to Cloud computing, IT professionals clearly need the capabilities to make cloud schemes more secure.
IT professionals are no doubt aware that Cloud infrastructure is an attractive target for sophisticated cybercriminals seeking data.
“In 2018 alone, Tesla’s cloud servers were infected with cryptocurrency miners, and FedEx sensitive customer data was compromised.” ComputerWeekly.com, July 13, 2018, Warwick Ashford.
***Note on System/Application Integration: Team, you might emphasize that strategy is a key part of the integration puzzle, although fewer respondents indicated having strategic plans for Cloud in place. Integration is a natural concern according to industry watchers, “Businesses have to contend with making cloud a functional part of the architecture…This problem goes hand in hand with the painful transitions from legacy systems, as IT pros figure out exactly which systems should be migrated to the cloud, which systems should be rebuilt for the cloud, and which systems are best left alone (at least for the time being).” CompTIA, 2018 Trends in Cloud Computing, May 2018.
As noted previously, you can mention regulatory compliance as the fourth most commonly chosen challenge among professionals.
*Note: There is a slight discrepancy between the percent of respondents indicating that DRaaS is one of their cloud services (previous slide) and the percent reporting that they are currently using DRaas here. We believe that this is due to the fact that this question focuses on DRaaS plans and use, whereas the previous question asked respondents to think about the broader mix of cloud services.
Note: Please see our comments regarding responsibility. As our review of vendor materials showed, responsibilities can vary, depending upon the type of Cloud service used.
*Note: All respondents (those who use Cloud and who do not use Cloud) answered this question and the following one.