Australia, New Zealand enterprises lead cloud adoption: Infosys research

The survey found that European and US enterprises were more open to adopting public cloud

To help drive better investments in the IT sector, Infosys carried out a global research on cloud adoption in enterprises. The study found as many as 94 per cent of the respondents having an enterprise-wide cloud strategy, validating the idea that the cloud is well-entrenched in enterprises. 

To understand the specifics of cloud initiatives, Infosys surveyed 876 executives from organisations with over $1 billion in revenues across the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The aim of the study was to identify and understand major cloud initiatives, both from strategic as well as implementation perspectives. 

The survey further found that European and US enterprises were more open to adopting public cloud. Australia and New Zealand led the respondents looking at a well-balanced cloud model. Among industries, while telecom is most inclined towards private cloud, high-tech enterprises are most inclined towards public cloud.

Fifty-eight per cent of Australian and New Zealand enterprises who participated in the study were at the forefront of adopting cloud as these enterprises adopt newer technologies faster. 

Among the enterprises that preferred private cloud, over 61 per cent had 25-50 per cent of their workload on private cloud.  21 per cent of these firms had over 50 per cent of their workload on it. Similarly, among enterprises that prefer public cloud, 56 per cent said they have 25-50 percent of their workload on public cloud model. Legacy systems are still prevalent in most enterprises and 59 per cent said it was a top challenge. 

Manufacturing, financial services and insurance, consumer goods, retail and logistics industries are fast adopters of the cloud. 

"There are multiple challenges that will emerge, but investments in cloud transformation initiatives by enterprises have demonstrated long-term benefits as they aspire to win the digital race and achieve significant business performance improvements by building a robust Cloud ecosystem. The findings of this survey elucidate the multiple facets of Cloud implementation which will help enterprises derive their strategy and embark on a digital transformation journey with cloud at the core for optimum business benefits," said Narsimha Rao Mannepalli, EVP and Head, Cloud and Infrastructure, Infosys.

European enterprises comprise 25 per cent of the group that is eager to adopt cloud. In Europe, rates of cloud adoption differ across countries. For example, the UK and Scandinavian countries adopt the cloud significantly faster than France and Germany, the study found. 

"Multiple challenges will emerge, but investments in cloud transformation initiatives have demonstrated achievement of long-term benefits," the study found.