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Commissioned by Citrix and carried out by Censuswide, the research quizzed 750 IT decision makers in companies with 250 or more employees across the UK to pinpoint the current state of cloud adoption and the future of cloud in the enterprise. A separate survey of 1,000 young people aged 12-15 was run in conjunction with this research to identify the next generation’s perspective on cloud, outlining the future workforce’s awareness of and interactions with cloud technology.
The research offers a snapshot of current cloud strategies in the UK and the extent to which the term ‘cloud’ is already dying out as it becomes firmly embedded in business processes.
2025: The cloud dissipates
A quarter (26 per cent) of IT decision makers in the UK believe the term ‘cloud’ will be obsolete by 2025. Of those who don’t see a future for the term, more than half (56 per cent) believe that cloud technology will be so embedded in the enterprise that it will no longer be seen as a separate term. One third (33 per cent) believe that employees will refer to cloud-native apps, such as Salesforce, specifically – with no consideration of where the data is hosted in future.
The possible extinction of the term ‘cloud’ is also mirrored in the next generation of workers due to start entering the workforce in 2021. Three in ten (30 per cent) 12-15 year olds in the UK don’t know what the term ‘cloud’ means while one third (33 per cent) never use the term outside of ICT classes at school. While they may not regularly use the term, the benefits of the cloud are already deeply embedded in teenagers’ lives. When asked what the cloud meant to them, 83 per cent of 12-15 year olds in the UK recognised that it was where they stored their photos and music while two fifths (42 per cent) confirmed that they used the cloud to share data, such as photos, music and documents for schoolwork, with friends.
Current state of cloud adoption
Nearly two fifths (38 per cent) of large businesses in the UK currently store more than half of their data in the cloud. Yet, almost three in five (59 per cent) still also access and manage data on premises. The majority (89 per cent) of large UK organisations agreed that cloud is important to their business. For most large UK companies (87 per cent), improving productivity is a key benefit of cloud adoption.
Further education about the benefits of the cloud is required in the enterprise, particularly at a board level. Over half (52 per cent) of UK IT decisions makers thought middle management within their organisation had a good understanding of cloud, while the figure stood at 39 per cent for board members. As cloud adoption continues within the business, this lack of awareness at board level could become indicative of the fact that the term ‘cloud’ is dying out and neither management nor the C-suite now need to know the ‘ins and outs’ of the technology.
Despite this relatively low level of understanding, businesses are serious about the cloud – 91 per cent have implemented a cloud strategy or plan to put one in place imminently. However, these strategies are in their infancy. Only 37 per cent said this plan was “incredibly detailed” and aligned to business objectives.
Security concerns
When it comes to public and hybrid cloud, security concerns still exist. Three in 10 (31 per cent) UK IT decision makers are not confident that a public cloud set-up is able to handle their organisation’s data securely. This figure stands at 19 per cent for hybrid cloud set-ups.
Large organisations in the UK are most confident when it comes to private cloud – 88 per cent are quite confident or highly confident that this cloud set-up can handle its data securely. In light of this, it is not surprising that private cloud is the most prevalent model – used by 61 per cent of large UK businesses. Around one third of UK-based organisations also use public cloud (36 per cent) and one quarter (25 per cent) have implemented a hybrid cloud model.
Darren Fields, Regional Director, UK & Ireland at Citrix, said:
“Much like BYOD before it, this research indicates that cloud as a term may soon have had its day and be relegated to the buzzword graveyard. This has nothing to do with its relevance in the IT industry but everything to do with the evolution of technology and the ubiquity of cloud services to underpin future ways of working.
“Most IT budget-holders agree that cloud can improve productivity, lower costs, ensure security and optimise performance, as part of a digital transformation agenda. However, there is still more education required to effectively communicate the benefits of cloud services – and there’s still a gap to be bridged between boardrooms and IT decision-makers in relation to this.
“Arguably a level of mistrust and misunderstanding still holds back UK businesses. And it is clear a cultural and educational shake-up is needed for cloud and digital transformation to deliver on its potential. Once this awareness stems from IT to the board and beyond, there should be fewer barriers to hold cloud adoption back.”
