New research released today by CompTIA, the information technology (IT) industry association, reveals that more than 90 percent of companies are using some form of cloud computing, a clear indication that the cloud has quickly become an essential ingredient of modern IT.
But as users move beyond experiments and trials into more advanced applications, they're also facing more challenges, according to CompTIA's Fifth Annual Trends in Cloud Computing study.
"This may come as a surprise to some firms, as they may hold an expectation that the initial migration and integration posed the largest obstacles to smooth cloud operations," said Seth Robinson, senior director, technology analysis.
In fact, companies that have progressed through several of the adoption stages as defined by CompTIA find that the transition becomes more difficult as they move forward.
Among companies that have progressed from the first experimental stage to a non-critical use stage, 28 percent rated the transition as requiring significant effort.
But among users that have moved from full production completely through the progression to a transformed IT stage, 63 percent rated the final transition as requiring significant effort.
"The bulk of the cost and effort for any IT project is typically consumed by integration and cloud computing is no different," Robinson explained. "If anything, cloud integration may be even more challenging, as it requires web APIs that may be unfamiliar to the technical team. Integration may be further complicated by lines of business procuring their own applications without being aware of how they will fit into the overall system."
Still, users continue to report a wide range of benefits from cloud computing, led by the ability to cut costs.
The study also finds that more companies are relying on cloud computing for everyday business processes: 59 percent for storage; 48 percent for business continuity and disaster recovery; and 44 percent for security.
Another indicator that companies are expanding their reliance on the cloud is evidenced by the number of firms making secondary cloud migrations. In the CompTIA study:
44 percent of companies say they've moved either infrastructure or applications from one public cloud to another;
25 percent moved from a public cloud into a private cloud; and
24 percent moved from a public cloud back to an on-premise system.
The reasons for these secondary migrations vary. Users may be in search of better offerings and features, greater security, lower cost or a desire for open standards.