New Research: Cost Savings and Security Are Top Cloud Computing Benefits for Government
Chantilly, Va. (PRWEB) October 21, 2014 -- A new research study from Market Connections, Inc., finds cloud computing addresses two key government concerns: cost savings and security.
The survey shows more than half of respondents (53%) cite decreasing IT operating and infrastructure costs as the top drivers of cloud adoption. Nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) agree the migration to cloud-based services results in lower capital expenses compared to in-house deployment of infrastructure.
About two-thirds (64%) of participants name secure infrastructure as a top benefit of cloud computing, while one-third (31%) identify improved security as a key driver of adoption. At the same time, security also represents a top perceived risk, with 69% expressing concern about data leaks or unauthorized data access and 65% naming potential security defects as a concern.
“Less than one-third of survey respondents were concerned about performance-based issues, but these areas pose enormous risks to budgets and productivity,” said Damian Whitham, senior director of cloud computing solutions at General Dynamics Information Technology, who commissioned the research. “When considering a migration to cloud services, agencies need to examine overall impact on performance and the end user’s experience, such as application migration, data segregation, vendor lock-in and maturity of the technology.”
Almost three-quarters of respondents (71%) do not consider migrating applications to a cloud environment (application readiness) a top-of-mind concern and only slightly more than one-third (37%) are concerned with application performance in general. Less than half (45%) are concerned about data recovery if the cloud hosting vendor fails. Less than one-quarter (23%) cited vendor lock-in and lack of technology maturity as critical issues.
“Many of the unanticipated issues of cloud services revolve around performance and vendor lock-in,” Whitham said. “A successful deployment requires a forward-thinking, agency-wide strategy that prepares for future changes while also ensuring performance and ability to deliver on the mission.”
A white paper from Market Connections and General Dynamics Information Technology outlines four keys to successful cloud migrations and includes detailed research findings. Download the white paper at http://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/index.php/White-Papers/keys-to-cloud.html.
Research Highlights Include:
• Two-thirds of government respondents are using, planning to use or researching and considering cloud services, while one-third have no plans. Software-as-a-Service tops the list of cloud computing services in use.
• Government organizations are using significantly more private clouds (65%) over public (37%), community (35%) and hybrid models (27%).
• Government organizations are more likely to migrate collaboration, file storage, email and standard office applications and less likely to migrate financial and mission-critical applications. Defense respondents are significantly less likely to migrate mission-critical applications to the cloud than their civilian counterparts.
• CIOs and CTOs make cloud migration decisions in more than half (53%) of organizations, while mission-oriented department heads make the decision 37% of the time. Other decision-makers include CFOs (13%) and COOs (9%).
• Government IT decision-makers overwhelmingly want security (86%), technical support (83%) and federal experience (80%) from cloud providers, as well as customized solutions (77%) and a cohesive, forward-thinking cloud strategy (71%).
About the Study
Leading government market research firm Market Connections, Inc. conducted the blind study of 150 federal government IT decision makers and influencers in April 2014 on behalf of General Dynamics Information Technology. Respondents represent civilian (54%), defense (32%), and legislative (11%) agencies, are knowledgeable about their organization’s cloud-related initiatives and are involved in IT decision-making and recommendations.
About Market Connections, Inc.
Market Connections delivers actionable intelligence and insights that enable improved business performance and positioning for leading businesses, trade associations, and the public sector. The custom market research firm is a sought-after authority on preferences, perceptions, and trends among the public sector and the contractors who serve them, offering deep domain expertise in information technology and telecommunications; healthcare; and education. For more information visit: http://www.marketconnectionsinc.com.
Monica Mayk, Market Connections, Inc., +1 202-262-3340, [email protected]
Share this article