Cloud computing technology has become one of the most disruptive forces sweeping across the business world. But while its benefits are widely lauded, it is still not being used as extensively as it could be.
The reasons for this are numerous, with some holding more weight than others, however, it is clear that copious amounts of evidence is being laid at the feet of businesses to show them why they should be using cloud.
Many businesses are using cloud technology with 44% of companies surveyed by Oracle saying that they already have a ‘cloud-first’ policy in place, while 29% have a ‘cloud-only’ policy in place. It would seem then that businesses have recognised the technology that they need to support future growth.
However, many businesses have faced a host of challenges such as:
– Increased IT complexity – 52%
– The development of data silos – 46%
– Increased integration costs – 46%
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– Complex application development and testing – 33%
– Only 2% of those surveyed had none of these problems.
Some of these problems are being caused by a growing divide between IT and businesses, which is causing many to take the wrong approach to cloud, the report said.
The research found that over 60% of businesses allow individual businesses units to purchase IT, rather than traditional IT departments. The result is that it is difficult for companies to benefit from the cloud services that they are using.
The report found that 95% of IT professionals said that lines of business investing in technology are a cause of complexity.
Another part of the problem is that most organisations are continuing to fund their IT investments without aligning with revenue potential and innovative projects. It was found that two in three business decision makers said that IT funding is too traditional and is stifling innovation, while one in three IT decision makers admit their organisations’ IT funding models are hindering them from innovating.
The disconnect between IT and the business is resulting in significant problems such as:
– Security concerns – 35%
– Diluting overall control of IT – 34%
– Spending too much – 33%
– Making funding harder to manage – 33%
– Simply buying the wrong things – 30%.
To overcome these problems the report says that it is necessary for the CEO to be in the driving seat, but that the CIO must be, “the navigator on the journey to the cloud.”
The report said: “Rather than being sidelined, the CIO needs to be an integral player in leading the business as it transitions to an enterprise cloud model, delivering a vision for a cloud-based business able to support rapid transformation and innovation.”
“With integration and data management still crucial, they must be able to see how to unravel the mistakes of the past, reducing cost and complexity, while putting the business onto an agile, progressive footing.”
The report continues by recommending that the CIO must work to unite the business and assure that a joined-up approach is better for everyone.
Successfully achieving this will help businesses to reach their ambitions of delivering improved customer experiences, remaining competitive, and becoming more efficient.
The report is based upon 600 senior IT and line of business decision makers in EMEA. The businesses respondents worked for ranged in size from 1,000 to more than 5,000 employees.
