Cloud will be main platform by 2014, say IT leaders

02.07.2011
The majority of chief information officers across Europe believe the cloud will provide their main IT operating channel by 2014, according to research.

While few businesses said they have company-wide implementations of cloud computing to date (16 percent), many enterprises believe the cloud will be their most significant IT operating method by 2014 (60 percent).

Communications provider Colt commissioned research among 500 CIOs in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Benelux region, with 100 CIOs from the UK taking part.

The findings from the research also reveal the key challenges for cloud adoption as companies look to take advantage of the scalable resource planning the cloud can offer.

The research found that 58 percent of respondents reported ease of transition as the key challenge for cloud adoption, while quality assurance (55 percent), cost justification (55 percent) and regulation on security and control of customer data (54 per cent) were also key challenges.

"Whilst the absolute deployment of cloud services is very difficult to establish, the trend is clear," said Mark Leonard, executive vice president responsible for the CIO office at Colt. "Companies are evaluating and deploying cloud services at a higher rate year-on-year, driven by the need to be more agile and responsive in today's business climate."