In
the wake of COVID-19, enabling remote work has required IT teams to
rapidly lean into cloud technologies to keep their businesses operating
smoothly. A new survey suggests that cloud usage continues to rise, and
what was a sudden shift will become a permanent pivot for most
organizations. Despite many countries planning for a return to physical
offices and workspaces, 60% of IT leaders are continuing to increase
their overall cloud usage and 91% are changing their cloud strategy as a
result of the current economic climate. The study, conducted by Snow Software,
the global leader in technology intelligence solutions, surveyed 250 IT
leaders around the world to find out how cloud usage and investment
decisions have evolved during the crisis.
Overall,
82% of those surveyed said they have increased their cloud usage over
the past several weeks in response to the pandemic. The majority of
respondents - 60% - said their cloud usage continues to increase,
indicating that cloud consumption patterns are still in flux even after
the initial surge in remote work. Additionally, 66% reported that they
will continue to use the cloud services and applications they
implemented during the crisis once employees return to the workplace.
Surprisingly, only 22% reported they saw an initial increase in cloud
usage but that it had leveled off.
While
Zoom and Teams dominated the headlines, cloud infrastructure was
actually the biggest driver of this increase. When asked about how their
company's use of cloud services and applications changed in response to
the current crisis, 76% said they have increased their use of cloud
platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and even
private cloud. More than half of respondents (55%) noted an increase in
collaboration tools like Slack, Teams or Google Chat, while 52% of those
surveyed indicated an increase in cloud-based video conferencing
software like Zoom, Cisco WebEx or GoToMeeting. While many companies may
have already relied on these productivity services ahead of the crisis,
the surge in cloud infrastructure represents a more fundamental shift
in how organizations operate.
Overall,
these trends hint at a larger change in enterprise cloud strategy. As
IT leaders face the concurrent challenges of continuing to support
remote work, enabling a return to the workplace and tightening budgets,
91% said they are altering their cloud strategy. Twice as many say they
are accelerating cloud migration (45%) and digital transformation (41%)
versus putting those initiatives on hold (22% and 21% respectively).
However, while usage and investment in cloud technologies continue to
increase, a third of respondents indicated that they are getting
creative with their budget - 32% of respondents are asking their cloud
vendors for extended payment terms and 31% are renegotiating their cloud
contracts. Around 10% of respondents indicated that they would not be
able to pay their cloud bills this month.
"The
COVID-19 pandemic has turned cloud into an essential service for many
organizations while also highlighting the complexities of managing cloud
cost and usage," said Jay Litkey, EVP of Cloud Management at Snow.
"This survey confirms what we are hearing from our customers - that
while many CIOs are being asked to trim costs, there will be continued
investment in technology that presents the opportunity for long-term
growth and stability. To weather the storm, IT leaders must take a
comprehensive approach to managing cloud, uncovering opportunities to
streamline costs while continuing to provide the infrastructure needed
to support their workforce and drive innovation."
Additional key findings include:
- 82%
of IT leaders surveyed said they have noticed positive changes in
employees' attitudes towards IT since the pandemic started.
- 47%
of respondents said they will feel comfortable returning to a physical
office once their company outlines a clear plan that ensures the safety
of employees. However, 43% would like their company to offer work from
home options even after reopening.
- When
asked about which applications - beyond core IT software - that have
been lifesavers, respondents said video conferencing apps like Zoom,
Cisco WebEx and GoToMeeting (73%) and communication apps like Slack,
Teams and Google Chat (65%).
For more details on the survey, please visit: https://www.snowsoftware.com/int/blog/how-new-normal-changing-cloud-usage-and-strategy.