Enterprise cloud computing is set to explode over the next two years, according to research.
The study by 451 Research predicts that enterprise-level use of cloud will grow rapidly, with the amount of infrastructure and SaaS application use doubling over the last six months to represent between 30% and 33% of platforms supporting company projects.
Two-thirds of respondents see cloud computing as the natural evolution of IT service delivery, and therefore do not have a separate budget for cloud.
Of those that do, 69% expect to increase their spending in 2014 compared to this year.
Despite this, 83% of the 100 IT professionals interviewed say they face roadblocks to deploying cloud computing initiatives, 9% more since the end of 2012.
While IT-based obstacles have dropped to 15%, obstructions from other areas of the company have risen to 68%.
Predictive analytics firm Romonet believes that more companies would adopt cloud services if IT staff were able to assess how much their services are currently costing to run.
CEO Zahl Limbuwala said: "From a financial perspective one of the attractions of using a cloud-based service is that it is easy to understand exactly how much it costs the company – any reputable service provider will make that quite clear.
"Conversely, it’s much less likely that a business can pinpoint the exact TCO (total cost of ownership), taking into account energy use, management and support time, IT infrastructure used and other factors, for a service provided in-house.
"This in turn presents a fundamental problem when deciding whether to keep services in-house or outsource them. While an in-house service may truly be the most cost-effective, a business will need clear, concrete evidence to base its decision on.
"If the IT department can’t predict and present the exact TCO of both options, how can they convince the CFO and the business as a whole which is the best course of action?"
