As the world becomes more digital and continues to define what a post-pandemic "new normal" looks like, the way businesses approach the cloud becomes increasingly important. The Flexera 2022 State of the Cloud Report provides key insights into how organisations are tackling the complexities of the cloud, for example:
- Cloud usage is now mainstream in Europe. More than half (58%) of European respondents use cloud heavily, compared to 63% globally. The emergence of COVID-19 increased cloud usage. 65% of European respondents reported cloud usage that was somewhat or significantly higher than planned.
- Today, organisations are progressively more comfortable with putting sensitive data in the cloud, reflecting increasing confidence in the security of the cloud.
- More than half of respondents are now considering moving at least some of their sensitive consumer data or corporate financial data to the cloud.
Multi-cloud strategies remain dominant, but the way they take shape varies. Hybrid approaches are adopted by approximately four out of five respondents, most commonly among enterprises with a mix of various public and multiple private clouds. Notably, usage of cloud configuration tools is shifting as well. Native cloud tools are most used today, and as the reliance on native tooling grows, the usage of third-party tools declines.
Companies continue to adopt FinOps practices as cloud spend is wasted and optimisation remains a priority. For the sixth year in a row, saving on costs by optimising the existing use of cloud is the top initiative. Wasted spend on cloud is growing, and as the need to maximise every dollar spent grows, so does the importance of FinOps.
One thing for certain, is to remain competitive and maximise the available advantages. Organisations must make strategic decisions about cloud architecture, usage of public clouds, effective tooling and cloud cost management. And the siloed and disjointed approaches of yesterday will no longer be effective in today's fast-evolving digital world.
Migrating to the cloud has become a top initiative for most European organisations, with 69% of organisations admitting to migrating more workloads to the cloud. Following this, 68% of organisations are planning to optimise existing cloud usage, in order to save on costs. But as for intentions, many are challenged with assessing technical feasibility (51%) and selecting the right cloud provider (29%). There are many opportunities out there, but not making the first steps is hindering not only your organisation financially but stalling future progression.
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