Number of UK firms with a 'cloud first' strategy set to double by 2019
While "cloud only" is set to rise by 1,500 per cent
Companies in the UK operating a "cloud first" infrastructure strategy are set to double over the next three years, while those running cloud-only will rise by nearly 1,500 per cent over the same period, new research from Computing shows.
When 215 IT leaders were asked whether their organisation had a "cloud first" approach three years ago, only three per cent said this was the case. Today in 2016, 20 per cent said they considered themselves cloud first, but by 2019, 42 per cent of UK firms plan to operate with a cloud-first infrastructure.
In terms of an even more radical "cloud only" approach, three years ago in 2013, only one per cent of companies considered themselves cloud only, while now 2 per cent believe they are operating in this way today.
By 2019, 15 per cent of organisations believe they will run a cloud-only environment - a 1,500 per cent rise.
More than half - 52 per cent - of organisations told Computing Research that their cloud strategy was part of a bigger organisation-wide digital transformation strategy, while 34 per cent of respondents said that wider organisational reforms did not include cloud.
Some 77 per cent of respondents said that their use of cloud services will definitely increase over the next 12 months, with only 2 per cent believing use of cloud will decrease.
While 17 per cent believe their use of cloud will stay the same, this is an improvement on 2015's research, which showed 24 per cent of organisations believing their use of cloud would stay unchanged, and 73 per cent believing that their use of cloud would increase.