Canopy, the Atos cloud powered by EMC and VMware, today reports that 75% of CFOs think their business is missing out on revenue opportunities by not having the right cloud applications and infrastructure in place to support digital business transformation, according to a recent survey of CIOs, CFOs and business decision makers (BDMs). The study found U.S. CFOs believe their business missed out on an average $41 million of revenue last year by not having the right cloud solutions in place to support their digital transformation. As a result, 81% of CIOs and CFOs fear their business will become uncompetitive with a large majority (74%) of them estimating this will happen as fast as the next 15 months.

Canopy's research conducted by Vanson Bourne, surveyed 950 CIOs, CFOs and business decision makers in mid-market and enterprise firms in the US, UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands (including 200 in the US). The findings show that digital transformation is touching all aspects of organizations from customer service, sales and business development through to innovation, product development and talent attraction.

US-based CFOs estimated that if enhanced cloud capabilities were in place in their company, double digit growth could be achieved in 2015 with an average $75M revenue boost. While the overwhelming majority (94%) recognized the need to embrace cloud based applications and infrastructure to deliver digital transformation, more than two thirds (68%) admitted that a lack of cloud investment was holding back vital digital initiatives.

"As our survey highlights, digital must be in the DNA of every department to help the business maximize market share and revenue," said Jacques Pommeraud, Canopy CEO. "While ‘digital' is a widespread term today, right now digital transformation is only happening in pockets. One key to unlocking digital transformation is cloud computing. From hospitality and retail to manufacturing, those emerging as winners are taking advantage of these digital capabilities."

Despite the maturity of cloud technology, the findings revealed many traditional barriers to cloud investment remain including:

• Concerns due to security (60%); data protection (40%); protection of intellectual property (26%); fears of vendor lock-in (36%)

Global CIOs acknowledged the missed opportunities and threats involved if IT doesn't move to a more cloud based approach in the next 12 months including:

• 38% globally(53% in the US) reported it would lead to reduced staff productivity
• 34% globally (37%in the US) reported increased time to market
• 33% globally(39% in the US) reported a reduced ability to service customers in new ways 
• 35% globally (33% in the US) reported a risk of data theft
• 35% globally (53% in the US) reported limitations to launching new products and services

Further, almost half of respondents in the global survey reported losing revenue due to a lack of cloud investment cited reasons including:

• 44% (57% in the US) reported IT department not being able to develop applications fast enough
• 42% (39% in the US) reported inability to complete enough product releases each day/week to keep their software highly competitive
• 41% (38% in the US) reported poor responsiveness of internal IT tools to on-board customers quickly

Industry analyst firm Gartner has reported on the positive impact digital transformation has on business. Ian Marriott, research vice president, Gartner, states that "IT sourcing strategies must be structured to enhance IT agility and address the needs of digital businesses. Organizations that don't adapt their strategies, and the competencies required to execute them effectively, will fail to achieve the value opportunities presented by a highly digitalized future."

Canopy is one of the largest European cloud services providers and operates globally. Backed by world leaders Atos, EMC and VMware, its mission is to enable organizations to become digital businesses by offering flexible, secure, enterprise-grade cloud solutions. For example, it is working with insurance companies to filter and analyze key data for better decision making, and with retailers to extend campaigns to mobile devices for joint in-store and on-line promotions. Canopy offers clients advisory and transformation services as well as its portfolio of solutions for IAAS, PAAS and SAAS.