iland, a leading VMware-based cloud
services provider for application hosting, data protection and disaster
recovery, today released the findings of its research into customer confidence
in cloud services. It found that despite the increase in cloud adoption due to
the
pandemic, three quarters of
organisations surveyed say hyperscaler IaaS instance types may not meet their
cost and performance needs for mission-critical applications, while more than
one in five are not satisfied with key features of cloud provision such as
security, performance, availability and support.
The research also found that
a lack of migration resources is delaying or preventing cloud projects for more
than 80% of organisations surveyed.
The
research: The Hidden Pitfalls of Working with Hyperscale Clouds was
conducted among 501 senior IT executives, including CIOs, CISOs and CTOs, in
the UK and US by independent research organisation, Opinion Matters, in June
2020. Participants were asked for their views on security, performance,
compliance and their overall level of confidence in the cloud services they
have invested in.
Key research findings
include:
- 83% say lack of migration resources
and/or time has delayed cloud migration. Among those, 12% say it has
entirely prevented migration.
- 75% say a T Shirt size or
hyperscaler instance type does not meet all their performance and cost
requirements.
- 24% are not confident that
hyperscale clouds can meet performance and availability requirements for
specific applications.
- 23% are not confident that
production data is protected via backup or disaster recovery in the event
of data loss with their cloud service provider.
- 24% are not confident they can get
the support they need from their cloud service provider.
- 53% say security is the top factor
in cloud supplier selection.
- 76% agree CSPs should assist or
actively manage customer data compliance.
Commenting on the research
findings, Researcher Charles Moore said: "While cloud adoption has seen a
significant uptick due to the pandemic, the lack of migration resources for
many customers has delayed or prevented deployment. Customers need to choose a
cloud vendor that can fill the internal resource gaps that can hinder success."
Justin Giardina, iland Chief
Technology Officer, added: "The business benefits of moving to the cloud are
indisputable, but with 83% of those surveyed saying that migration resources
are necessary to achieve those benefits it's clear that customers need to look
beyond just the cloud platform and ensure their vendor can offer the supporting
services that can reduce risk and improve time to value."
"Hyperscale cloud services
are missing the mark for a significant proportion of the organisations
surveyed," continues Giardina. "Having trust in critical cloud features is
fundamental to realising its benefits, so with more than one in five
respondents lacking confidence in aspects such as performance, availability,
backup and support points to the hidden pitfalls of hyperscale clouds."
Security, management,
visibility, and control are priority customer requirements for cloud solutions
The study also found that
key requirements for cloud service provision include common or unified
management across all services; this is a priority for 73% of those adopting
multi-cloud solutions. Similarly, infrastructure visibility and control are
must-have features for 71% of respondents. Many were looking to the future,
with 89% saying it was important or critical that they can write to their CSP's
API for future software development and deployment.
Security is a primary
criterion for cloud provider selection, with 53% saying it is the leading
consideration and a further 43% saying it is a major factor. Three quarters of
customers also want to see cloud service providers helping manage data
compliance.
The survey found that the
majority (74%) of respondents felt it was important that CSPs preserve their
company's existing networking environment when they move to the cloud. This
reflects the current landscape, where many organisations are being forced to
accelerate their cloud adoption programmes due to the pressures of supporting
large-scale remote working. Giardina notes: "When organisations are being
rapidly pushed out of their comfort zones and forced to shrink deployment
schedules to the absolute minimum, being able to maintain the familiar
networking environment in the cloud is an advantage that is appealing to
under-pressure IT departments."
Read the full iland research
report here.