Brightsolid releases results from 2019 Cloud State of the Nation survey

Brightsolid, the Scottish colocation and cloud solutions company, has found that almost three quarters (71%) of businesses across Scotland have adopted cloud computing, with 43% of this group considering their cloud journey as mature or mainstream.

Releasing results from its 2019 Cloud State of the Nation survey, the firm also found that 45% of the respondents are looking to implement a hybrid cloud strategy into their business, with 53% already investigating ‘best fit’ approaches over ‘cloud first’ and ‘cloud only’.

Elaine Maddison, CEO at Brightsolid, said: “This research validates our business positioning in offering the best fit hybrid solutions to our clients. It’s challenging to make one type of IT infrastructure fulfil the different performance, price and functionality requirements of a business; therefore, a mix of on-premise, private cloud and public cloud services is becoming more prevalent.

“IT infrastructure is intrinsic to delivering real business value and CTOs are ever more on the hook to justify technology through business outcomes. Hybrid cloud solutions therefore need to ensure that IT teams can obtain and share real-time management intelligence that allows them to demonstrate business value – not just simply orchestration, but true operational integration.”

According to Gartner, 90% of organisations will have moved to hybrid cloud infrastructure by 2020. Hybrid cloud offers a mix of on-premise, specialised and public cloud services with a management or orchestration layer. It encompasses holistic thinking on how cloud can fit into current IT infrastructure, including colocated environments and legacy kit, as well as licensing and support agreements.

However, despite the openness to the cloud, Brightsolid’s survey also reported that 40% of the respondents believe the top barrier to cloud is cost and recovering return of investment, followed by culture and skills at 30%, with focus on defining a cloud strategy, technical architecture, optimisation and compliance.

Elaine added: “While it is encouraging to see how advanced businesses in Scotland are on their cloud journey, there is still some way to go to achieve cloud nirvana. For example, our research also found that over a fifth (23%) of Scottish businesses remain unsure as to which type of cloud they will adopt in the future. It is therefore ours and the industry’s responsibility to ensure that organisations are clear on the financial benefits the cloud will afford them and ensure they have access to the skills and training needed to maintain their journey.”