Enterprises paying too much for cloud as economic climate bites

A new global survey of 600 IT decision makers finds that 54 percent say the cloud is vital to balancing their IT spending, however, 44 percent are actively looking for ways to reduce and/or control their cloud spend due to economic conditions.

The study, from database platform Couchbase, finds that on average enterprises spend $28.91 million on cloud services, resulting in an overspend of approximately $6.5 million.

"Cloud is an essential component of the modern technology stack, offering enterprises the scalability, reliability and agility they need," says Rahul Pradhan, VP of product and strategy at Couchbase. "More than ever, service providers need to deliver highly secure and scalable solutions, alongside flexible deployment options that deliver the right price-performance ratio for businesses. This approach gives customers agility and control over their cloud choices, helping them get the most out of their resources, freeing them to concentrate on driving and accelerating their business."

Interestingly 53 percent are moving their cloud spending from capital to operational expenditure, with an average 25 percent of their CapEx spend switching. Also by 2026, enterprises are planning for 31 percent of their total IT spend to be in the public cloud.

Among other findings 88 percent have either begun using or plan to use low-code and no-code technologies to help other business units develop applications with minimal input from IT. 88 percent are also taking a similar approach with serverless computing so other departments can directly purchase their own cloud services, and 90 percent are providing or will provide training for other departments in order to help them use cloud services more effectively.

"The cloud is at the heart of the evolution of IT into a more consultative role, which is becoming even more important with the rising wave of AI-driven applications," adds Pradhan. "For instance, IT and developer teams can offload database management duties thanks to fully managed cloud services, but in turn they will need to educate and advise other departments on how to use cloud technologies effectively, responsibly and safely -- from developing simple applications, to choosing cloud services in a way that doesn't lead to cost overruns or increase risk. Cloud usage and therefore costs will continue to rise to keep pace with innovation. It's up to enterprises to invest wisely in tools that will lead to more efficient operations. Modern tools that are both cost-effective and flexible will enable organizations to gain meaningful ROI on cloud technologies."

You can find out more about the research findings on the Couchbase blog.

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