The cloud is emerging as a platform of choice for IoT applications. The Cisco-sponsored study reports that 29 percent of cloud adopters have deployed one or more cloud-based IoT application. (Image courtesy of Cisco.)
All Are Trying To get into the Cloud
The global study was based on primary market research conducted with IT executives from over 6,100 organizations across 31 countries. It found that nearly 68 percent of the organizations are using the cloud to achieve their business goals, which is more than double the figure from last year’s study (the first year it was conducted). The increased cloud usage is being fueled by cloud-native applications as well as Internet of Things (IoT) cloud-based solutions.
Some Are Benefitting from the Cloud
However, in spite of the increased cloud adoption, 69 percent of organizations do not have mature cloud strategies. Here, mature refers to companies “in the repeatable, managed, and optimized stage of cloud adoption”. Worse yet, only 3 percent of organizations have “optimized cloud strategies generating superior business outcomes” (a statistic that is less vague in the context of the actual report ).
Few Are Maximizing the Cloud’s Value
Of the few organizations that are making effective use of the cloud, the most “cloud advanced” organizations are seeing real profits from their usage of the cloud. The study found that these organizations are seeing annual benefits of $3 million in revenue and $1 million in cost savings per cloud-based application. The revenue increases are due largely to sales of new products and services, the quick gain of new customers and an enhanced ability to sell into new markets.
There are two clear questions that IoT engineers should be asking after seeing these results: Why are so many organizations failing to get the most out of the cloud, and how can my organization do better? The first question is addressed by the study: there are a number of obstacles that stand in the way to achieving cloud maturity, including skill gaps, lack of well-defined strategies, legacy and siloed organizational structures, and information technology/line of business (IT/LOB) misalignment.
Fortunately, Cisco has an answer for the second question as well. Using the IDC’s results, Cisco has developed the Cisco Business Cloud Advisor Adoption Report, a brief survey offering free personalized reports on an organization’s current cloud adoption and business benefits. Cisco is also offering up a new set of Cloud Professional Services aimed at helping businesses extract the most value from their cloud usage.
Whether or not you make use of Cisco’s tools, it’s important to understand the challenges of cloud adoption and how to use the cloud effectively. You can learn more about these topics by reading this article on cloud security benefits, or discovering the cloud strategies of IoT heavyweights.