Only 13 percent of businesses use public cloud across the organization

Despite 77 percent of businesses using public cloud in some form, a new survey reveals that just 13 percent have a fully-fledged public cloud program across the entire business.

The study from transformation consultancy Contino finds 42 percent have multiple apps and projects deployed in the cloud, 24 percent are still working on initial proofs-of-concept and 18 percent are in the planning stage.

Security and compliance remain the biggest barriers for not adopting cloud even in uncertain times. 48 percent say that their biggest barrier for not using the cloud is security and 37 percent cied the need to remain compliant as the most prevalent blocker.

Other challenges perceived as barriers include a lack of skills (29 percent), being unable to make a business case (32 percent), large existing investments in on-premises data centers (31 percent), and a lack of leadership buy-in (19 percent). Concerns around vendor lock-in are also common, with 63 percent of IT professionals being 'somewhat' or 'very much' afraid of the commitment that can come with investing in the cloud.

Michael Chalmers, Contino's managing director EMEA, says:

It is evident from our report that the public cloud is firmly entrenched in the enterprise IT landscape, however, many of them are still in a period of transition with fully-fledged cloud programs a rarity.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of public cloud adoption in today's uncertain world. With difficult economic times ahead, the cloud can enable many businesses to adapt and find new ways of operating to protect their prospects. From our research, we can see that the public cloud is increasingly becoming a central element of enterprise IT.

Businesses decision-makers must overcome their fears and stumbling blocks to embrace a cloud-native mindset. Only then can they benefit from the opportunities it opens up to not only survive but thrive and scale.

You can get the full report from the Contino site.

Image credit: rozelt / depositphotos.com