Companies still want to do more with cloud, but security remains a key concern

• Rackspace report find scompanies are reverting from public cloud environments
• Hybrid and on-prem is increasingly favored
• Security and cost are to blame for change in position, report notes

New research from Rackspace has revealed just how much companies want to speed up their AI adoption – with more than nine in 10 of organizations planning significant changes to their cloud strategies over the next two years.

However, the same key hurdles continue to slow them down, with many citing security as a key concern.

Moreover, Rackspace revealed a changing trend in the world of cloud, with more companies looking to reduce their reliance on public clouds.

Cloud adoption is changing

Two in five firms said they were planning to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption (22%) and private cloud adoption (20%), which Rackspace suggests could be a move designed to improve flexibility, adaptability, and resilience.

More than two-thirds (69%) said they’ve considered repatriating some of their workloads from public clouds back to private clouds or even on-prem infrastructure.

Data security and compliance requirements (50%), integration with existing systems (48%), and cost saving (44%) are all to blame for the evolving trend, painting the picture public cloud providers aren’t doing enough to retain existing customers.

“As AI continues to drive rapid advancements, IT leaders are reevaluating their approach to workload management," noted Rackspace Technology President for AI, Technology, and Sustainability, Srini Koushik. "Instead of updating existing infrastructure, they are designing entirely new cloud strategies to meet evolving demands.”

AI was identified as a key catalyst for evolving cloud developments, with 84% confirming they’d taken steps to integrate and streamline their AI and cloud strategies.

Of the more than 1,400 ITDMs surveyed, an overwhelming majority (96%) have established procedures and policies in place for data privacy and compliance, and the fact that they’re changing how they tailor their cloud computing strategies is indicative of some unease with current systems.

Rackspace VP for Technology and Sustainability Ben Blanquera added companies are also hiring workers with skills in Kubernetes, serverless architectures, and cloud security, which aligns with the increased focus on security.

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