Managed cloud services platform Rapidscale, which is owned by Cox Business, released a research study entitled “The Cloud Migration Reality Check.” This report is based on a survey of 500 IT decision-makers in North America. This analysis identifies the causes behind cloud project delays, how cloud complexities deliver less than the desired results, and the importance of partnering with cloud migration experts, as well as the factors impacting project timelines, talent management, and overall business strategies.
It was noted that strategic planning with an experienced service provider is “vitally necessary” to achieve the business benefits that the cloud can deliver, with 90 percent of IT leaders surveyed rely on service provider assistance for successful cloud migrations.
Other key findings:
- While 47 percent of respondents expected improved application performance and operational efficiency, 90 percent underestimated the complexity of cloud migration.
- Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported that less than half of their IT environments had been migrated to the cloud, and 35 percent reported stalled cloud initiatives. Top reasons for delays included: concerns about data and IT security (43 percent), followed by the increased complexity of the migration process (42 percent).
- Migration process complexity is causing 31 percent of applications to underperform.
- Forty percent experienced unexpected costs for supporting on-premise, cloud operations and cloud sprawl. Over one in three IT decision-makers found that manually working on cloud issues led to unforeseen expenses.
- Ninety seven percent of respondents faced talent tradeoffs, with more than half pulling talent off projects to work on cloud issues and 46 percent delaying or canceling projects due to changes in cloud strategy.
- Respondents largely preferred working with service providers specializing in application development/modernization, cloud infrastructure design and deployment and database migration or application refactoring. Fifty-nine percent of respondents favor app modernization partners, and 54 percent opt for cloud infrastructure partners.
“RapidScale plays a pivotal role in providing expertise across a spectrum of services, from application modernization to cloud infrastructure design, simplifying IT and unleashing innovation for businesses,” said Duane Barnes, vice president/general manager of RapidScale. “Organizations that leverage expertise and resources offered by proficient partners like RapidScale can mitigate risks and capitalize on the potential that the cloud can deliver.”
To access the full Cloud Migration Reality Check report, click here.