TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Dec 3, 2014) - Canadian companies predict that more than half of their applications and services will be deployed on the hybrid cloud within an average of three years [Click to Tweet], according to global survey results released today by Avanade, a global business technology solutions, cloud and managed services provider. The study of 1,000 global C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision-makers in 21 countries also shows that while businesses of all sizes in all geographies view hybrid cloud adoption as a priority, there is much confusion about what exactly hybrid cloud means and what is required to prepare an organization for hybrid cloud implementation.
Despite concerns -- real or perceived -- about security and privacy, there is a clear tipping point for adoption on the horizon. Avanade's study shows that companies around the world expect hybrid cloud solutions to give them an edge over competitors in the field. Interestingly, with IT spending decisions continuing to move outside of the traditional IT department, C-level executives are the most optimistic about the value of hybrid cloud solutions, and the most motivated to adopt them. Indeed, they are 32 per cent more likely than IT leaders to advocate immediately moving critical applications including data and analytics, e-commerce applications and customer-facing services to hybrid cloud environments. [Click to Tweet]
However, the research also shows that businesses have not yet taken one important step toward realizing this competitive edge: most have not developed a strategy to use hybrid cloud as an integrated part of their corporate IT infrastructure.
News Highlights:
- Companies are investing in hybrid cloud solutions at a faster rate than private or public cloud, with 68 per cent (69 per cent globally) of Canadian companies agreeing that implementing a hybrid cloud strategy will be one of their biggest areas of focus in 2015. [Click to Tweet]
- Despite clear agreement that hybrid cloud adoption should be a priority, 57 per cent (58 per cent globally) of Canadian companies currently do not have a hybrid cloud strategy in place. [Click to Tweet]
- Few companies fully understand hybrid cloud's potential. Just 22 per cent (16 per cent globally) of Canadian respondents are able to identify the full range of benefits afforded by hybrid solutions. These benefits include the ability to integrate private and public clouds, place workloads in the cloud type of best fit, share workload on multiple public clouds and scale up or down as needed.
- Canadian companies overwhelmingly agree that hybrid cloud will enable their organizations to focus on issues which are core to the growth of the business (76 per cent Canadian; 74 per cent globally).
- Most companies are not yet developing applications to truly leverage cloud-native capabilities. 66 per cent (71 per cent globally) of Canadian companies are simply using the cloud infrastructure to run existing applications which means that they are not realizing the speed, scale and efficiency that cloud solutions offer.
- 52 per cent (53 per cent globally) of Canadian companies identified security and privacy issues -- real and perceived -- as top concerns to hybrid implementation, yet 55 per cent (60 per cent globally) of Canadian respondents admit that public cloud solutions are more secure than they were three years ago.
- In spite of their concerns, organizations are optimistic about the promise of hybrid cloud and its ability to differentiate them from the competition. Companies of all sizes and in all geographies expect that more than half of their applications and services will be deployed in a hybrid cloud environment within an average of three years.
"We are seeing an increasing number of companies evaluating, adopting and leveraging hybrid cloud solutions across Canada, as companies realize the speed and flexibility it can bring in helping drive growth and create a competitive edge," said Aziz Virani, North America President, Avanade. "As Canadian companies move towards digital business models, hybrid cloud presents a wealth of opportunities and benefits including delivering strategic business value in a secure and properly governed manner."
The research supports the findings of Accenture's High Performers in IT: Defined by Digital report, as well as the Gartner 2014 Cloud Survey, which indicates that 72 percent of companies will be pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy by 2015.
Avanade surveyed 1,000 C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision-makers in 21 countries. To learn more about Avanade's perspective on hybrid cloud adoption, visit www.avanade.com/hybridcloud.
About the Global Survey
Avanade's survey was conducted in October 2014 by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com), an independent research firm. It surveyed 1,000 C-level executives, business unit leaders and IT decision-makers, at the top companies in the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
About Avanade
Avanade helps customers realize results in a digital world through business technology solutions, cloud and managed services that combine insight, innovation and expertise focused on Microsoft technologies. Our people have helped thousands of organizations in all industries improve business agility, employee productivity and customer loyalty. Avanade combines the collective business, technical and industry expertise of its worldwide network of experts with the rigor of an industrialized delivery model to provide high quality solutions using proven and emerging technologies with flexible deployment models-on premises, cloud-based or outsourced. Avanade, which is majority owned by Accenture, was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation and has 22,000 professionals in more than 20 countries. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.
Avanade and the Avanade logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Avanade Inc. Other product, service, or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.