Despite the rise in cloud adoption, two-thirds of large enterprises have yet to realize the full benefits of their cloud migration journeys according to new research from Accenture.
The company surveyed 200 IT professionals from large businesses around the world to compile its “Perspectives on Cloud Outcomes: Expectation vs. Reality” report which suggests that the cloud migration journey is more complex that many businesses anticipated.
The vast majority of companies surveyed reported that they had achieved some level of their desired cloud outcomes with overall satisfaction levels exceeding 90 percent on average. However, only around one-third of companies reported that they had fully achieved their expected outcomes across cost (34%), speed (36%), business enablement (35%) and service levels (34%).
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Senior managing director of Accenture Cloud for Technology Services, Kishore Durg explained why businesses need to approach their cloud migration journeys strategically and with patience, saying:
“Like most new technologies, capturing the intended benefits of cloud takes time; there is a learning curve influenced by many variables and barriers. Taking your cloud program to the next level isn’t something anyone can do overnight — clients need to approach it strategically with a trusted partner to access deep expertise, show measurable business value and expedite digital transformation. Also, if IT departments fail to showcase direct business outcomes from their cloud journeys, they risk becoming less relevant and losing out to emerging business functions, like the office of the chief data officer, that are better able to use cloud technologies to enable rapid innovation.”
Realizing the benefits of a cloud migration journey
When asked about the barriers to realizing the benefits of cloud, respondents identified security and compliance (65%), complexity of business and organizational change (55%), legacy infrastructure and application sprawl (43%) and lack of cloud skills within the organization (42%) as the barriers holding them back.
To overcome this barrier, Accenture's report suggests that IT teams consider having a managed service provider run cloud services on their behalf with 87 percent of the surveyed executives saying they would consider the use of managed cloud services.
The report also found that the cloud model employed by organizations appears to have an influence on their ability to capture expected cloud results. Companies using private clouds tend to lag behind their counterparts employing public cloud or hybrid models when it comes to fully achieving their expected outcomes (28% vs. 42% and 38% respectively).
Kishore added: “Our Accenture research also shows that when it comes to cloud technology, the more clients consume, the greater value they’ll see in return. Specifically, as clients expand their use of cloud applications and footprint across different functions, divisions and geographies, they’ll increase the areas to which the technology can bring value; in short, the more widespread your adoption, the greater the value lift, creating an upward curve in return on investment.”
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