- 93% of UK financial decision makers believe cloud computing will be important for business success in the next 12-18 months. The vast majority of senior finance executives across countries surveyed agreed. - 96% of financial executives think cloud computing provides quantifiable benefits like reduced IT costs, improved process efficiency, and increased productivity. - 67% of financial decision makers said their company already uses cloud services or plans to, recognizing cloud computing gives competitive advantages. However, only 15% of executives are fully informed on cloud computing.

1. Vanson Bourne asked 460 financial decision makers in international
organisations with 500 employees or more, across a range of private
industry sectors, how they viewed Cloud computing. Their answers
may surprise you. [Vanson Bourne, March 2012]
THE IMPORTANCE OF
CLOUD COMPUTING 100%
Sweden
10%
93% of UK financial decision makers believe
Cloud computing will be important to the 99%
Italy
success of their business over the next 12 to 13% 48%
18 months.
94%
In all countries in which the research was Spain
3%
performed, the vast majority of senior
decision-makers within the finance function 93%
Netherlands
believe that Cloud computing will be 10%
significant to how their business performs.
United 93%
91% tell us that Cloud computing is about the
Kingdom 8%
benefits to the business as a whole rather
than purely being a technology issue. 87%
France
Even among those who say that their 8%
organisation has no plan to adopt Cloud
computing, 78% report that Cloud computing Cloud computing is important Cloud computing is purely
to the success of my business a technology issue
will be important to their success. in the next 12 to 18 months
“It is apparent that Cloud computing is
considered important to organisations, even if
they themselves are not adopting it.”
THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF Reduced IT maintenance costs 48%
CLOUD COMPUTING
96% of financial decision makers asked think Reduced IT spend 44%
that Cloud computing provides their business
with quantifiable benefits.
Reduced operational costs 41%
These benefits include:
Reduced IT maintenance costs – 48%
Improved process efficiency by
32%
Reduced IT spend – 44% better internal collaboration
Reduced operational costs – 41% Increased employee productivity
by better internal collaboration 30%
Improved process efficiency by better internal and access to information
collaboration – 32%
Reduced M&A integration costs 22%
“Those using cloud computing are experiencing
significant quantifiable benefits across a wide Enabling fast growth by delivering scaled up
range of areas.” infrastructure and thereby integrating 15%
companies brought together through M&A activity
Getting new products/services
to market faster
15%
I don’t see Cloud computing delivering any
4%
of these business benefits

2. EXTENT OF CLOUD
COMPUTING ADOPTION
67% of financial decision makers surveyed
confirm that their company has already
implemented Cloud services or plans too. 11%
The majority of companies surveyed are
11%
either investing in Cloud computing already or
38%
planning to do so shortly. Yes
Any enterprise needs to be investigating Cloud
12% No, but making plans
computing as their competitors are probably
already reviewing it. No, but evaluating
Cloud computing is not just an academic 29%
No, and no plans
proposition – it is a differentiator that many
organisations are adopting to give them a I don't know
competitive edge.
“Financial decision makers need to understand
what Cloud computing is in order to understand
how it can effectively help the entire enterprise.”
CFOS ARE AWARE OF CLOUD BUT
FEW ARE FULLY INFORMED
Just 15% of financial decision-makers have total
United
familiarity with the Cloud. Kingdom 12% 71% 17%
Cloud computing is: France 14% 71% 15%
Where we can gain access to a shared IT
resources through the Internet, so we only Spain 18% 70% 12%
use as much applications and computing
capacity as we need Italy 8% 75% 17%
A complementary component in our IT Netherlands 13% 77% 10%
strategy, where we gain access to shared
scalable IT resources which are integrated into Sweden 17% 73% 10%
our existing on-premise IT infrastructure
No familiarity with Some familiarity with Total familiarity with
“Financial decision makers around the world Cloud computing Cloud computing Cloud computing
are taking an active interest in technological
innovation and change, though it is likely that
they have not had the concept fully explained to
them.”
WILL CLOUD COMPUTING
REDUCE THE IMPORTANCE OF
IT DEPARTMENTS?
58% of senior financial decision makers believe
Budget 34% 43% 23%
the Cloud increases the IT department’s ability
to contribute to corporate strategy. Ability to
innovate 61% 15% 25%
41% of those surveyed believe that CFOs will
Contribute to 58% 12% 30%
become more influential over IT procurement. corporate strategy
However, very few financial decision makers Headcount 30% 35% 35%
believe that the adoption of Cloud computing
will result in decreases in the IT department’s
Increase Decrease No change
importance.
The majority of financial decision makers
believe that Cloud computing will either
increase IT budgets and headcounts or leave
them unchanged.
“Financial decision makers believe cloud
computing will empower the IT department to...
‘forget about the plumbing’ and explore the
potential of new and emerging technologies.”
Source: Vanson Bourne Report: The Business Impact of the Cloud.
According to 460 Senior Financial Decision-Makers. March 2012.