Mid-market firms push for hybrid cloud as budgets are hit by inflation

New research from Node4 into the IT priorities of mid-market businesses in the UK shows hybrid cloud adoption has increased by 11 percent since last year.

Inflationary pressures have led to a re-examination of cloud adoption models and a desire to access more predictable, stable costs -- as well as a wider choice of pricing models. Hybrid cloud is seen as a viable long-term, and potentially more flexible, option that combines the best aspects of public and private cloud.

The Healthcare sector has shown the biggest comparative uptake in hybrid cloud over the last 12 months, with 19 percent more companies having adopted the strategy. Online retail companies on the other hand are most likely to reduce their public cloud investment during 2023.

Paul Bryce, managing director at Node4, says, "Investment in public, private and hybrid cloud -- as well as managed and co-location services -- was central to facilitating the pivot to remote working during the pandemic. And those companies that were further along their cloud transformation journey when COVID hit, coped better. The same is true this year; those with more mature cloud transformation strategies, such as those that have led the way with hybrid cloud consumption models, may be better placed to cope with the uncertainties surrounding the rising costs of fuel, energy, goods and services."

The research also suggests that over the last 12 months, mid-market companies have reprioritized a range of other IT investment plans to deal with the challenges posed by the rising cost of doing business and adjusting to long-term hybrid working. For example, last year, respondents said delivering access to additional tools and services was their top driver for IT infrastructure investment, but this year, productivity and security are tied for first place.

It's also clear from the findings that firms are aware that a hybrid workforce will present an even bigger security challenge this year. As such, any vulnerabilities resulting from the speed at which remote working was introduced during the pandemic now need to be addressed as a key priority.

"A lot of mid-market businesses will be trying to drive productivity improvements through the additional tools and services they delivered to enable homeworking during the pandemic," Bryce adds. "This will go some way to ensure that hybrid working doesn’t hamper long-term growth targets or shorter-term productivity -- which, given the financial pressures faced by businesses right now, has never been more important."

You can get the full report from the Node4 site.

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