Cloud providers may benefit from moving focus away from costs

Cloud providers may benefit from moving focus away from costs

Cloud cost savings are less of a concern for businesses than expected, according to research by Everest Group and Cloud Connect.

The researchers, who talked to 346 executives, found that 57 per cent already used Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), while a further 38 per cent had adopted Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technology. This suggests that cloud computing is already very widespread. However, the survey also discovered that cost savings are one of the benefits cited less often than one might expect, as a reason for adopting cloud technology.

Right at the top of the list of reasons for adopting Saas and Paas services is their ability to “bring down enterprise’s time to market for applications, solutions and products,” according to the researchers.

Cloud technology is most heavily adopted in application/development test environments (54 per cent) and for recovery and storage purposes (45 per cent). 41 per cent of respondents also use the cloud for email and or collaboration, while 35 per cent use it for business intelligence and analytics.

Although cloud providers continue to promote the potential cost savings, or cost spreading benefits of SaaS and PaaS, this is cited just fifth on the list of reasons for adopting the cloud. Cloud users cite less time for provisioning and greater flexibility in their infrastructure capacity as the two most highly anticipated benefits. In fact, some 61 per cent said that the cloud is already helping them to achieve these goals.

The evidence from this fascinating research study suggests that cloud providers should start to focus on flexibility and less time for provisioning, instead of cost reductions, as the main reasons for adopting the cloud.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.