Cloud spending accelerates as users realise business benefit

Tuesday 1 May, 2012

The 2012 Channel Index surveyed 902 CA Technologies partners from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Middle East, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and UK.

Spending increase in cloud computing expected for the fourth year running say CA Technologies partners.

Over two thirds (67%) of cloud users experience scalability and 54% agility benefits.

EMEA partners say that cloud customers are realising savings of 11.5% of annual IT budgets.

For the fourth year running, spending on cloud computing is increasing, according to the 2012 CA Technologies Channel Index, the annual study tracking the IT industry outlook of CA Technologies EMEA channel partners. Over two thirds (69%) of EMEA partners predict an increase in cloud expenditure this year, up from 60% in 2011 and 48% in 2010. Partners report that almost two thirds (62%) of customers are now using some form of cloud service, with a further 20% expected to do so by the end of this year. The survey findings strongly indicate that organisations are turning to cloud to achieve higher business agility and scalability.

“Increased cloud spending as predicted by this year’s Channel Index reflects that the cloud model is a good response to the growing pressures modern business is facing. IT organisations are asked to deliver new applications and services to a growing number of internal and external users in a fast and cost-effective way.” said Marco Comastri, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, CA Technologies. ”To quickly respond to those business and market demands, customers and partners are looking to different cloud models that help them drive innovation and generate new revenue streams, and we are committed to support them as they move into that new hybrid world where cloud services will combine with their existing systems.”

When asked about key customer benefits of cloud, two thirds (67%) of CA Technologies EMEA partners pinpointed scalability: businesses using the cloud are experiencing greater flexibility to extend or contract IT services as required. A further 54% highlighted the significance of increased agility, again emphasising the importance of being able to deliver new services in a shorter period of time.

A recent Gartner report* notes that “the cloud promises to deliver a range of benefits, including a shift from capital-intensive to operational cost models, lower overall cost, greater agility and reduced complexity. It can also be used to shift the focus of IT resources to higher-value-added activities for the business, or to support business innovation and, potentially, lower risks.”

The 2012 CA Technologies Channel Index also explored the cost savings to be gained from cloud services. It found that EMEA partners say that cloud customers are realising savings of 11.5% of annual IT budgets, up from 9.7% reported in last year’s study. Their move to cloud is directly combating the need for companies to reduce costs.

The research illustrates that the cloud computing market is maturing. Although private cloud presently dominates the industry, with 51% of partners saying their customers use it compared with 33% for public and 22% for hybrid, it is the hybrid model that is expected to really take off. When asked what type of cloud will be predominantly used in five years time, almost half (47%) answered hybrid cloud, compared with 37% for private and just 16% for public. The hybrid cloud model combines the best of both worlds by allowing customers to maximize their existing infrastructure and keep it under internal control, but with the ability to use public cloud resources as needed.

*Gartner, Inc., “Five Cloud Computing Trends That Will Affect Cloud Strategy Through 2015”, David W. Cearley and David Mitchell Smith, 10 February 2012