Snow Software Study Uncovers the Realities vs. the Promises of Cloud
Two-thirds of organizations have a hybrid cloud strategy but are faced with a myriad of cloud management challenges from cybersecurity threats to skill gaps
Stockholm and Austin, Texas - October 27, 2021 Snow Software, the global leader in technology intelligence, today unveiled findings from its most recent survey, based on the input from more than 500 IT leaders from organizations with over 500 employees in the United States and United Kingdom to determine the current state of cloud infrastructure. The study found that while 68% of IT leaders now have a hybrid cloud strategy consisting of both public and private clouds, these organizations are immersed in the realities of what this deployment means for their organizations and are experiencing an array of cloud and infrastructure management challenges despite making this move. The data suggests that while cloud is positioned as a faster, more secure, and ultimately more affordable alternative to private and on-prem infrastructure, it is one piece of the IT management puzzle and not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Approximately one-third (33%) of IT leaders stated that mounting cybersecurity threats are their greatest infrastructure management challenge. Lack of integration between new and old infrastructure technologies (26%), meeting governance and compliance requirements (25%), and managing spend (24%) closely followed as additional areas they’re dealing with. Perhaps unsurprisingly, mitigating concerns about cybersecurity protections (24%) is at the top of IT leaders’ list of cloud management challenges they’d wish to solve in the blink of an eye – along with a lack of skilled IT staff (18%) and lack of cloud standardization (14%).
“Cloud infrastructure was positioned to IT leaders as the ultimate solution to many of their management challenges. While the promise of cloud—agile, fast, affordable, and more secure—can be realized, organizations often underestimate the full scope of what is needed to truly reap these benefits,” said Alastair Pooley, Chief Information Officer at Snow. “On top of that, organizations implementing a cloud infrastructure are not only dealing with technological complexities but are also challenged to find and retain the people with the right skills to effectively implement and manage cloud. More than ever, the scope of the challenge underscores the value of having end-to-end, hybrid infrastructure visibility across spend, governance, compliance and security – such as that provided by Snow’s Technology Intelligence platform.”
Additional key findings from the study include:
Cloud proved its worth during the pandemic, with no end to its growth trajectory in sight
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Scalability and flexibility are among the driving forces for cloud as we move toward a hybrid work era
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Cybersecurity protection is a driver for cloud adoption, but also a key concern
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We need to better enable IT staff with the right knowledge and skillsets required for cloud infrastructure management
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For more information about Snow’s latest survey, please visit: https://www.snowsoftware.com/blog/study-reaping-benefits-cloud-begins-facing-realities.
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