Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 25 | Page 80

EDITOR’S QUESTION ARE MORE ORGANISATIONS ADOPTING A MULTI- CLOUD APPROACH? IF SO, WHY? V eritas Technologies, a leader in multi-cloud data management, has announced the results of a global survey spanning 13 countries indicating that the majority of global organisations (56%) operate with a cloud-first mentality when it comes to deploying new applications and managing workloads. Only one percent of organisations reported that they will not be adopting cloud over the next two years. However, the study reveals that significant misconceptions exist on the responsibility for data management, with 69% of organisations wrongfully believing data protection, data privacy and compliance are the responsibility of the cloud service provider. The Truth in Cloud study, commissioned by Veritas and conducted by Vanson Bourne, surveyed 1,200 global business and IT decision makers and revealed that customers are embracing the multi-cloud as a key component of their business strategies. Within the survey, customers indicated they use a variety of cloud service providers, including public clouds and hosted private clouds. With respect to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) specifically, over two- INTELLIGENTCIO 80 80 INTELLIGENTCIO thirds (67%) of organisations state they use, or plan to use, two or more cloud providers. Forty-two percent say they are using, or plan to use, three or more cloud providers, with common goals of improving resiliency and data security as well as reducing capital expenditures (Capex) and operating expenses (Opex). As customers embrace the cloud, the research explores three key areas of focus: misconceptions of data management in the public cloud, rise in multi-cloud adoption and future cloud trends. Rise in Multi-Cloud Adoption The Truth in Cloud research also shows that on average, organisations are using, or plan to use, multiple cloud platforms, ranging from public clouds to hosted private clouds. However, many organisations continue to face challenges getting to the cloud regardless of whether it is a public cloud or a hosted private cloud. The common barriers are: • • • • • Complexity with cloud migration (37%) Legacy technology limitations (36%) Lack of in-house skills (38%) Lack of a clear strategy (32%) Data silos (27%) Currently, 75% of organisations work with an IaaS public cloud provider and surprisingly, 16% of respondents say that they use, or plan to use, five or more cloud providers. Respondents stated that data privacy, security and compliance, workload performance and uptime are the top deciding factors impacting cloud provider selection. “We are living in the age of multi-cloud, where organisations require a policy- driven data management strategy to protect valuable data assets across multiple data centres, public and hybrid clouds. In the Middle East, we see concern over the ability to manage and protect data slowing some cloud adoption decisions,” said Johnny Karam, vice president emerging market at Veritas. “Data Management in the cloud is critical to helping customers ensure compliance and protection of their data while extracting maximum value. Our opportunity is to communicate this to customers and provide the reassurance to help address concerns and realise the full potential of cloud.” We asked three experts about the challenges of adopting a multi- cloud strategy. n www.intelligentcio.com www.intelligentcio.com