IT Innovators: When It Comes To The Hybrid Cloud How Do You Stack Up Against Your Peers?

Over the course of the past few months we’ve talked about a range of topics related to the hybrid cloud. But if you’re like me, you want to know if anyone is listening, or in your case, if your peers are listening and therefore, you should be too. As it turns out, a lot of your peers are doing more than just listening to the talk and writings about the hybrid cloud, they’re actually moving forward with its’ implementation.

Let’s consider the stats. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2017, nearly half of the world’s large enterprises will have implemented some type of hybrid cloud. This year, the hybrid cloud ranks as the third top investment priority for enterprise CIOs. And, according to a cloud market study conducted by Forrester Research just last year, the industry is already moving into the second wave of cloud adoption.

The study, which surveyed 200 IT leaders in the U.S., Europe and Latin America, inquired about the leaders’ current cloud computing deployments and plans for the next two years. Nearly 90% of respondents indicated that they have already begun migrating their systems to the cloud. Moreover, it turned out that “the advantages of more quickly implementing and iterating applications—with the focus of better engaging customers—trumps all, including security, in deciding to move more systems of record to the cloud within the next 8 quarters.” Of those IT decision makers surveyed, 65% are currently using or implementing cloud platforms, 26% are evaluating cloud platforms and 9% are piloting cloud platforms.

While the specifics of all of these studies may focus on different aspects of the cloud, one thing is abundantly clear. IT leaders have seen its benefits and are moving quickly to leverage it. Some of those benefits are obvious, such as its ability to provide a large scaling capacity, improve IT security, enable faster delivery of software projects, and reduce IT operations cost. Others may not be as obvious, yet they are none the less critical. For example, by adopting the cloud, enterprises can make their promised software delivery dates much more predictable, reliable and transparent; they can modernize older applications and they can more easily globalize their business processes.

So how do you stack up against your peers when it comes to the hybrid cloud? Send me your thoughts at [email protected]. And don’t forget to check back here each week for more information on the hybrid cloud and other important IT-related topics.

This blog is sponsored by Microsoft.

Cheryl J. Ajluni is a freelance writer and editor based in California. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Wireless Systems Design and served as the EDA/Advanced Technology editor for Electronic Design for over 10 years. She is also a published book author and patented engineer. Her work regularly appears in print and online publications. Contact her at [email protected] with your comments or story ideas.