Only about 18 percent of IT professionals believe their existing cloud infrastructure meets the needs of their organization, revealing a significant gap between aspirations and reality when it comes to cloud adoption.
According to SolarWinds’ survey of 272 global IT professionals, the reality check reveals that despite the cloud’s promises of scalability and cost savings, many IT groups are left feeling uncertain: only 25% believe their organization’s approach to the cloud is carefully considered and successful, while a concerning 23% admit that their hybrid cloud strategy has created a very complex IT environment. Only approximately one-fifth (21.6%) of the respondents have opted to outsource their cloud migration endeavors by partnering with external IT service providers.
Among the survey’s respondents, nearly one-sixth (16%) have taken the step of reining back on their reliance on public clouds by migrating some or all of their workloads back onto premises-based infrastructure. Meanwhile, a further 12% of respondents admit that hasty and ill-conceived cloud migrations have already led to sustained financial consequences for their companies. Rushed cloud migrations can lead to costly rectifications or even reverse engineering?
Despite the proliferation of cloud services, nearly half (46%) of IT professionals still store their most sensitive data on-premises due to lingering concerns about cloud security, underscoring a lack of trust in cloud protection. Notwithstanding, the research highlights a sustained focus on cloud technologies aimed at reducing costs. Approximately one-third (29%) of those surveyed stated that they are currently prioritizing cloud migration as a means to significantly reduce operational expenses.
As Sascha Giese, global tech advocate for SolarWinds, noted: “In truth, navigating the intricacies of hybrid-cloud environments proves to be a daunting task.” While the cloud’s promise of scalability and cost savings remains, a widening gap between anticipation and achievement is increasingly apparent. As companies gaze out at the vast landscape of their digital footprint, they often find themselves wrestling with outdated and overly complex infrastructure, struggling to keep pace with the ever-changing demands of a rapidly shifting world.
In today’s complex hybrid cloud environments, where multiple networks, methods, units, and functions coexist, effectively managing microservices and containers is crucial to resolving this issue. Without thorough planning and comprehensive visibility, organizations risk stumbling into a precarious situation. Device sprawl, data silos, and alert fatigue can collectively lead to a suboptimal cloud experience, impeding efforts to identify the root causes of complex issues.
“To overcome these hurdles, IT executives must adopt a more strategic and informed approach to cloud migration, focusing on tools that are reliable, secure, and accelerate modernization processes.” One significant advantage that organisations can capitalise on to effectively manage their hybrid cloud environments is comprehensive observability. Gaining real-time visibility across every tier of the IT infrastructure, IT teams can leverage machine learning algorithms and AI-driven analytics to take proactive measures. Cloud infrastructure typically serves as a powerful catalyst for innovation, but its true potential can be hindered by a complex array of disparate tools and limited transparency, making the path ahead inherently challenging.
The IT Group Pulse survey’s findings are primarily rooted in data gathered during September 2024, with a response rate of 272 participants drawn from the SolarWinds THWACK community.
This includes IT professionals holding various positions, from practitioners to supervisors and directors, across Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific regions. Respondents come from a diverse range of private and public sector organizations, spanning small, medium, and large entities.