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Multi-cloud infrastructure automation software provider, HashiCorp, has issued its first ‘State of Cloud Strategy’ report, which polled over 3,000 IT professionals on the state of cloud adoption. With 76 percent of survey respondents reporting that their organization has already embraced a multi-cloud approach, multi-cloud overwhelmingly seems to be the standard operations model for IT organizations of all sizes, in all regions, and in every industry.
According to survey replies, this number is predicted to rise to 86 percent in two years. A multi-cloud approach has helped 53 percent of respondents meet their organization’s business goals, with large organizations seeing the most value from multi-cloud right now.
Respondents mentioned digital transformation (34 percent) as the most important reason for multi-cloud adoption, followed by avoiding single vendor lock-in (30 percent) and cost savings (28 percent). Large organizations, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and the financial services vertical all placed first in digital transformation.
AWS was the most popular cloud provider among respondents among the big three public clouds (88 percent). However, respondents anticipate no change in their use of AWS during the next two years. In terms of use or expected use, Microsoft Azure came in second (74 percent), while Google Cloud Platform came in third (64 percent).
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Cloud Spending – and Overspending
Cloud budgets turn out to differ depending on the size, vertical, and geographic region of the company. Forty percent of respondents’ companies spend $100,000 to $2 million on cloud computing each year, while 27 percent spend less than $100,000. Eighteen percent of businesses spend between $2 million and $10 million each year, while 15% spend more over $10 million.
Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents stated their company overspent on cloud because of changed objectives (29 percent) or unforeseen COVID-19 demands (21 percent). Cloud Centers of Excellence (CCoE) were more common among firms with bigger cloud budgets, with 66 percent of organizations with an annual cloud budget of $5 million to $50 million having one, compared to 40 percent of all organizations questioned.
Cloud Program Challenges and Inhibitors
While the poll found that the cloud – specifically multi-cloud – is crucial to achieving business objectives, it also indicated many areas of worry for businesses. Cloud inhibitors and obstacles differ by area, industry, and organization size, as well as by technological stack component. Survey respondents stated the top inhibitors to multi-cloud programs are cost concerns (51%), security concerns (47%), and lack of in-house skills (41%).
Businesses are having trouble putting multi-cloud into practice. Skills shortages (57 percent), budget limits affecting staff (27 percent), uneven workflows across cloud environments (33 percent), companies and teams working in silos, and poor cooperation or overly complex processes are among the most common reasons (29 percent).
Security – Both a Driver and Deterrent to Cloud Adoption
Cloud security was seen to be both a driver and a hindrance to multi-cloud adoption in the survey. The top cloud security concerns, according to respondents, are data and privacy protection (40 percent), data theft (33 percent), and regulatory compliance (31 percent).
When asked about the most significant cloud security challenges, respondents ranked staffing and expertise shortages first (26 percent). Inadequate tooling, as well as a lack of real-time visibility and understanding, ensued (12 percent each).
Cloud Isn’t Just a Reaction to COVID-19
The effects of COVID-19 on cloud adoption in enterprises yielded some unexpected consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has not accelerated cloud adoption, according to 46% of respondents, while COVID-19 has had some impact on their cloud adoption timetables, according to 54%. It had a modest impact on 19% of respondents, who said it accelerated efforts by six to 12 months, and a moderate impact on 26% of respondents, who said it accelerated efforts by one to two years. The epidemic, according to 9% of organizations, has advanced their efforts by more than two years.
Infrastructure as code (49 percent), container orchestration (41 percent), compliance and governance, and network infrastructure automation were the top infrastructure efforts that were accelerated as a result of COVID-19 (33 percent each). However, COVID-19 resulted in 39 percent of respondents increasing their use of open-source software.
About the Survey Methodology
In February 2021, the HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey was performed. HashiCorp contacted roughly 300,000 persons who had provided us with their opt-in email addresses. We presented an incentive lottery to promote responses. Although not all respondents answered all 34 questions, the company received 3,205 responses from all across the world. North America (39%) was the most popular option, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (34%), Asia-Pacific (20%), Latin America (6%), and no response (1 percent).
To learn more about this Cloud Strategy Survey, visit HashiCorp’s website here.
