The good news is that the primary objections to cloud adoption are consistent and well-known — and are being overcome.
The bad news is that incumbent storage vendors are not as helpful as customers would like in adopting cloud storage.
Summary article by David Weldon of FierceCIO, original blog post by Joy Burd of Avere Systems.
Emphasis in red added by me.
Brian Wood, VP Marketing
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Cloud vendors can’t shake security shackles, survey finds
Despite all the predictions of increased activity in the cloud in 2014, security concerns just won’t go away for many organizations. That was one of the findings of a survey of participants at the AWS re:Invent 2013.
Cloud services provider Avere Systems, which offers enterprise storage for cloud enabled data centers, polled 95 attending organizations on their experiences in the cloud to date.
Not surprisingly, considering the event itself: “The overwhelming majority of attendees surveyed indicated that they currently or plan to use cloud for compute, storage, or application purposes within the next two to five years,” Avere reps said. “Cost savings and disaster recovery were found to be the factors most heavily driving cloud storage adoption.”
But the cloud was not seen as having all silver linings.
Security, performance and organizational resistance were cited as the largest barriers to cloud adoption. In addition, more than a third of attendees surveyed said that their primary providers of traditional on-premises storage equipment are not helping them with their efforts to adopt cloud storage.
Among the key findings of the survey:
– Cloud adoption: More than 90 percent of attendees surveyed currently or plan to use the cloud for compute, storage or applications purposes within the next two to five years.
– Barriers to cloud use: 60 percent of participants indicated that security concerns remain among the top barriers to cloud adoption, while organizational resistance-(cited by 53 percent) and performance issues (cited by 29 percent) were also identified as top barriers.
– Benefits of cloud storage: 60 percent of those surveyed say the main benefits of cloud storage are cost savings and disaster recovery and business continuity.
– Concerns about cloud storage: Even after overcoming barriers to cloud adoption, a significant percentage of participants said that performance is a critical component of cloud storage, as 38 percent of respondents said they require better performance from their cloud storage solutions.
http://www.fiercecio.com/story/cloud-vendors-cant-shake-security-shackles-survey-finds/2014-01-07
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“Are you ready for the Cloud?” Survey Results
The Avere “Are you ready for the Cloud?” survey* shows that businesses are receptive and currently utilizing cloud for processing/compute, storage and applications. Twenty-five to 31 percent of respondents not currently using the cloud plan to leverage it in the next 2-5 years. The survey highlights the benefits and the perceived barriers for cloud adoption.
Customers of all sizes have a growing need to adopt cloud technology for a variety of reasons. It’s the responsibility of the entire vendor community to help guide customers to understand the merits of cloud use and where it fits best within their businesses.
The survey numbers reflect that enterprises are moving to the cloud – something we’ve known for quite some time and was one of the reasons why we launched the microsite “Storage Reinvented.” The site contains content ranging from video clips to more in-depth white papers. It’s a destination for cloud adopters to better understand the shift taking place as we move into a new wave of storing and computing as well as how Avere supports that move.
Let us know your thoughts and if you agree with the feedback we’ve accumulated in this survey.
Survey results:
Cloud Adoption – More than 90 percent of attendees surveyed plan to use cloud for compute, storage or application purposes within the next 2-5 years.
Barriers to Cloud Use – 60 percent of attendees indicated that security concerns remain the largest barrier to cloud adoption, while for 53 percent of respondents the largest barrier was organizational resistance, and for 29 percent, performance issues. Cost is the lowest barrier to cloud adoption. Interoperability and uncertainty had the highest response rate and were neutral.
Benefits of Cloud Storage – 60 percent of those surveyed viewed the main benefits of cloud storage to be cost savings and disaster recovery/business continuity, indicating that organizations believe cloud storage has the potential to increase efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line for their business.
Concerns about Cloud Storage – Even after overcoming barriers to cloud adoption, 38 percent of the respondents are concerned with poor performance. The ability to optimize how/where data is stored is the second leading concern with 17 percent.
Avere’s FXT Series Edge Filer Solution addresses cloud performance and eases the management of where/how data is stored with a single Global Namespace.
Over a third of attendees surveyed indicated that they are still not receiving the proper education and training from incumbent storage providers to embrace the cloud despite that the majority are or are planning to use the cloud for computer, storage or application purposes within the next 2-5 years.
*Survey parameters: Avere Systems conducted an original cloud adoption survey during AWS:reinvent Global Customer and Partner Conference (Las Vegas, November 12-14, 2013). 95 participants completed the survey and received a t-shirt as a thank you. A self-guiding iPAD application was used.
http://info.averesystems.com/blog-0/bid/329418/Are-you-ready-for-the-Cloud-Survey-Results
