IT leaders set to step up cloud investments over next two years, Colt research suggests

The next two years could see a rapid acceleration in the pace of cloud adoption by enterprises, according to research commissioned by datacentre network connectivity provider Colt.

In the firm’s third annual Cloud adoption report, 500 senior IT and C-suite decision-makers from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region were asked about their off-premise migration priorities for the years ahead.

Half of the respondents (50%) indicated that they plan to step up the amount they are investing in cloud over the next 24 months, with the intention of picking up the pace of their off-premise migration efforts.

In fact, 73% said they intend to spend the “biggest proportion” of their IT budget to date on cloud projects within two years, and 16% said they expected to do the same between three and five years from now.

The research also highlights the contrasting impact that Covid-19 has had on the approach IT leaders are taking to moving to the cloud, with nearly one-third (31%) confirming that their migration plans slowed because of the pandemic, while 38% said it caused them to accelerate their move off-premise.

“It seems there is a new divide between businesses rushing to the cloud due to the lasting changes of the pandemic and those that have slowed their implementation,” said Colt’s accompanying 19-page report. “Both approaches have their pros and cons and companies are taking more time to make the right decisions.”

Colt’s research further revealed how sustainability has become a core consideration for IT decision-makers when shaping their cloud strategies, with 74% of respondents describing it as an important part of their cloud operations.

“A company’s attitude towards its ESG [environmental, social and governance] commitments is now a deal-breaker for many businesses,” said the report. “Working with suppliers that contribute to your goals is critical.”

As well as a focus on sustainability, the research also showed where IT leaders tend to prioritise their time during cloud initiatives, with most splitting their attention evenly between the planning, testing, migration and optimisation elements of their projects.

Jaya Deshmukh, executive vice-president of strategy and transformation at Colt, said the firm’s research each year provides it with a better understanding of the challenges IT decision-makers face when moving to the cloud.

“This year’s report highlights that businesses plan to invest heavily in the cloud over the next two years and that some perceived challenges around cloud migration were largely unfounded,” said Deshmukh. “This was put down to the key role partners play in delivering successful cloud deployments – both in terms of set-up and optimisation.”