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June 12, 2011

Half of IT pros perceive cloud as extension of remote networks: survey

26% of IT pros said that senior leaders view the cloud as a logical extension of IT development

By CBR Staff Writer

Most IT professionals view the cloud as an extension of long-term trends towards remote networks and virtualisation (47%), while 37% perceive it as a new way to think about their own IT function, accoring to a neww survey sponsored by Dell.

The survey was conducted by independent market research firm, Marketing Solutions.

In the survey of 223 IT professionals, only 26% of IT pros said that senior leaders view the cloud as a logical extension of IT development, while 37% deemed their business leaders mostly likely to describe the cloud as having "immense potential," contrasted with only 22% of the IT pros who said that was their own top descriptor.

The survey revealed that IT professionals think that business leaders are more inclined than they are to believe the cloud is just a passing fad.

In response to a question asking participants to name the top three ‘potential barriers’ to adoption of cloud-based offerings, above half (57%) of respondents said they perceived data security as a barrier, while 51% of respondents said they believe their business leaders thought so.

32% of respondents cited potential problems with industry compliance or governance; 30% said they believe their business leaders thought so; and disaster recovery concerns were third, at 27% and 22%, respectively.

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The survey highlighted that 66% of the respondents said their own IT department would both advocate for and benefit from cloud-based offerings, no other single business function generated support from more than 25% of the respondents, even such information-dependent functions as strategy and business development, R&D (both at 13%), and supply-chain management (only 5%).

Dell Services president Steve Schuckenbrock said it is clear that they as IT professionals must continue to develop a deeper understanding of what their businesses need, often stepping out of traditional comfort zones.

"We have the opportunity to meet the high expectations our business leaders have placed upon us by focusing less on the architecture of the offering private, public, hybrid and more on the critical business outcomes cloud can provide," Schuckenbrock said.

"We’ve reached an inflection point along the IT continuum, one that is shaping the way IT will lead and define long-term results for our organisations."

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