India leads use of hybrid multi-cloud with 44% of companies using it: Study

As organisations continue to grapple with the complexities of moving applications and data across environments, there is a notable surge in the use of hybrid multi-cloud. The findings of the sixth annual global Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey by Nutanix showed that hybrid multi-cloud remains the dominant deployment model in India, with 44 per cent of companies using it, surpassing all other ECI countries surveyed.

Respondents in India identified data security and ransomware protection as their number one priority, followed by implementing AI strategies for 2024. As AI further takes centre stage for businesses, nine in 10 (90 per cent) organisations plan to increase investment in AI strategy support as per the report.

“Indian businesses are leading the global shift towards cloud-smart IT strategies,” said Faiz Shakir, MD at Nutanix India. “Our latest ECI report found that a staggering 99 per cent of Indian IT professionals surveyed are focused on this approach. This cloud-smart strategy, which involves using the optimal IT environment for each application, is critical for driving security and innovation, which our study also highlights as among the top priorities for Indian decision-makers.

Key findings for the Indian market:

Focus on cloud-smart deployments: 99% of IT professionals in India are focused on taking a “cloud-smart” approach to their infrastructure strategy.

Hybrid multi-cloud adoption is evolving in India: On-premises infrastructure use is expected to decline from 56% to 18% in 1-3 years indicating a preference for managed services for the on-premises component of the hybrid multi-cloud model.

Top challenges for Indian IT teams:
 

Data privacy (61%)

Ransomware protection and data security (60%)

Linking data from multiple environments (49%)

Following guidance on data storage and usage (e.g., GDPR) (47%)

Cloud cost control (44%)

Top 5 planned investment areas:

Data security and ransomware protection (55%)

Implementing AI strategies (48%)

Optimising operations (43%)

Implementing the right hybrid IT operations (42%)

Minimising cost/ Sustainability (39%)

Sustainability a top priority:
 

94% of respondents in India expect investment in sustainability efforts and technologies to increase

IT infrastructure modernisation (70%) and improvements in identifying areas for reducing waste products (69%) were among top two sustainability initiatives in 2023