3% of Enterprises Using a Single Cloud Provider

ARMONK, N.Y. — A new report shows a shift in the cloud computing market as 3% of enterprises are using a single private or public cloud, down from 29% in 2019 — and hybrid cloud stands as the “dominant” cloud architecture.  

The report, “Cloud’s Next Leap” by IBM, indicates that the cloud market has “entered” the hybrid, multicloud era and concerns around vendor lock-in, security, compliance, and interoperability “remain paramount,” according to the company last month.

Key findings in “Cloud’s Next Leap”

Cyber threats are at an all-time high

• Infrastructure complexity is creating cracked doors that cybercriminals are exploiting
• Yet, more than a third of respondents did not indicate improving cybersecurity and reducing security risks are among their largest business and IT investments
• At the same time, 80% said data security being embedded throughout the cloud architecture is important or extremely important, in most cases, to successful digital initiatives

Companies are denouncing vendor lock-in

• Nearly 79% of respondents said workloads being completely portable with no vendor lock-in is important or extremely important to the success of their digital initiatives
• Nearly 69% of respondents said vendor lock-in is a significant obstacle to improving business performance in most or all parts of their cloud estate

Public cloud adoption is evolving toward industry clouds

• Nearly 70% of respondents in the government and financial services sectors cited industry-related regulatory compliance as an obstacle to the business performance of their cloud estate

By industry

• Respondents in regulated industries, government (85%) and financial services (80%), cited governance and compliance tools being able to run across multiple clouds as important to success of digital initiative
• 1% of respondents in the electronics, insurance, manufacturing, telco, transportation, and travel industries, reported using a single private or public cloud in 2021

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“In the beginning of their cloud journey, many companies dabbled with several different clouds that created complexity and disconnected piece parts, potentially opening them up to major security threats,” said Howard Boville, head of IBM Cloud Platform. 

Boville added that the reports findings “reiterate that security, governance, and compliance tools must run across multiple clouds and be embedded throughout hybrid cloud architectures from the onset for digital transformations to be successful.”

See more: IBM Cloud Portfolio

Cloud recommendations

The report reveals that enterprises need to assess how they use the cloud, in terms of adoption, velocity, migration, speed, and cost savings opportunity. It also makes several other cloud recommendations:

• Focus on security and privacy: determine where critical workloads reside and scrutinize who and what has access to them. Regularly test that security controls and privacy policies are being adhered to, but also that improperly configured assets and software vulnerabilities are being promptly addressed.
• Ask which workloads should move to the cloud: take inventory of the IT environment to successfully determine which workloads and applications will yield the most value in the cloud and which are better suited to stay on-premises.
• Make data work: analyze workloads using artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools and best practices to determine where and how to put them in the right place for the right reason.
• Set a tactical approach: address the technology trade-offs, such as selecting the best approach to modernize specific applications and manage important issues, like security, governance, and disaster recovery.
• Determine the right team: put a cross-disciplinary team of people to work rethinking how the enterprise creates value for its customers.

Report methodology

“Cloud’s Next Leap” is based on a study by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) in cooperation with Oxford Economics, including a survey of almost 7,200 C-suite executives across 28 industries and 47 countries. 

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