Stan Lepeak, Director, Global Research, KPMG Management Consulting

Research on the subject of emerging trends in cloud computing usage for KPMG’s global cloud Pulse survey looked at what is driving the adoption of cloud computing by end-user organizations. A primary driver typically cited in the market today is reducing IT costs and this was supported by these research findings. This goal has of course had particular appeal to organizations during the difficult economic times that have pervaded western markets over the past four years.

KPMG firms’ consultants in the global cloud Pulse were asked to rank on a one-to-five scale, where one represents very unimportant and five very important, the importance of four sets of drivers for cloud adoption. These factors were:

• Economic (e.g. cost savings, shift capital expenditures to operational expenditures)
• Functional (e.g. speed to solution, functional capabilities, everywhere accessibility)
• Technical (e.g. flexibility, scalability, simplicity, security, advanced technology)
• Strategic factors (e.g. business process transformation, linkage to business partners, speed to market, focus on core competencies)

Drivers for Cloud Adoption

All four factors were ranked relatively equally (as they have been in other KPMG supported research). While it is good that, in the view of KPMG consultants, buyers have a well-rounded set of drivers for their cloud efforts, it is also important to determine and understand if any of the elements of the drivers are conflicting or contradictory. Typically, for example, it is harder to improve process performance while simultaneously reducing process costs than it is to simply cut cost; or specifically to the cloud, a functional factor such as everywhere accessible may challenge a technical driver such as security.

Results are based on surveys and interviews with over 400 of KPMG’s consultants across our global network of member firms from the Management Consulting and Risk Consulting service lines. Further information about the drivers of cloud computing adoption and other areas of cloud computing such as functional areas of adoption and end-user cloud skills and capabilities are available in the full cloud Pulse report.

The cloud Pulse complements and extends research findings from the cloud market study KPMG conducted with Forbes Insights. Further information about Pulse surveys is available here.

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Filed under: Cloud Computing, Market Trends and News by EquaTerra