Executives are beginning to see upfront costs as a barrier to private cloud adoption, according to a new survey.
The survey was carried out by supercomputing firm Platform Computing and looked at what is driving – or not driving – private cloud implementation.
In terms of what is holding adoption back, it seems that organisational culture, essentially meaning acceptance and understanding of cloud computing, is dropping down the list of barriers. Organisational culture was the biggest barrier to adoption in 2009, with 37% selecting it. That figure dropped by 10% in 2010 and fell even further this time to just 17%.
It seems that organisational culture has been usurped by worries about upfront cost of implementing a private cloud. The percentage of respondents concerned about how much the move to a private cloud would initially cost jumped from 6% last year to 21% this time.
Why is this? Platform reckons server shipments destined for private cloud infrastructures will see a compound annual growth rate of 22% to reach 570,000 by 2015. If companies have to spend that extra money it could well make a few reconsider their investment.
Worries about security have not gone away, rising slightly from 26% to 29% over the last year, the survey also found.
Those businesses that are looking to implement a private cloud said improving resource utilisation (31%) was the main driver, followed by the desire to ‘experiment’ with cloud computing (30%). Cost cutting followed on 24%, up from 17% in 2009 but down 1% on last year’s figure.
Overall the percentage of companies that are actively looking at a private cloud initiative has risen steadily if unspectacularly over the previous year, up from 28% to 33%.
"With a steady understanding of private cloud now established in European business and a growing number of organisations beginning to recognise that the technology is the next natural infrastructural step, it is logical that organisational culture has adapted accordingly," said Jay Muelhoefer, vice president of marketing, Platform Computing.
"Now the key concerns and drivers for uptake centre on logistical and practical considerations. As cost continues to grow in influence (both as a driver and a barrier for uptake), we expect that hybrid use-cases like cloud bursting to a cloud service provider will be more seriously considered as business solutions. The challenge here will be making sure that concerns, such as security, which are specifically linked to public cloud offerings, are effectively addressed to meet legislative and regulatory considerations," Muelhoefer added.
