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Studies show cloud preparation essential for businesses

Cindy Cheng, ​Sr. Director of Marketing Communications, EMEA, Appian
July 17, 2013

The cloud is quickly becoming the top IT trend for businesses in every sector, and it is up to companies to be prepared for it. A recent study performed by Evolve IP found that IT managers are far less smitten by cloud services and benefits than executives and IT directors. While the latter feel that cloud solutions have deep value for their enterprises, IT managers are more concerned about the feasibility of wide-spread adoption and implementation.

The main take away from the study showed that about 70 percent of executives and IT leaders consider themselves "cloud believers," while only 53 percent of IT managers said the same. While still a majority, IT managers are still not sold on the scalability and flexibility of cloud offerings. However, 62 percent of executives noted plans to increase spending on the cloud - meaning these IT managers may need to ramp up their planning in order to accommodate commands from above.

"Most businesses already have at least one hosted service running but in some organizations not everyone is in complete alignment regarding putting multiple services in the cloud," Guy Fardone, general manager and chief operating officer of Evolve IP, noted in a press release. "Executives want the cost and disaster avoidance benefits while security, privacy and compliance are typical initial concerns brought up by the managers responsible for implementation."

In order to streamline cloud adoption and ensure smooth sailing for the business as a whole as it migrates from in-house and legacy services to hosted ones - regardless of if they are communications or data storage activities - firms need to invest in high-end enterprise cloud BPM software. Business process management solutions will help firms streamline the adoption of other cloud services and keep general operations smooth as changes are implemented.

Adopting BPM software as the initial phase of a cloud strategy can provide immediate ROI as well, which will boost satisfaction with the services and help firms finance future investments with ease. Cloud BPM will also provide improved feedback on what processes need the biggest boost, helping firms prioritize cloud service adoption and choose whether or not to focus on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or another cloud solution first.

There are still barriers to cloud adoption in the forms of compliance, privacy and performance in integrated system, according to the study, but Appian BPM can help streamline adoption and push efficiency and productivity through these barriers to keep firms on track. Despite IT manager's worries, cloud is certainly here to stay, and adopting the right strategy will help encourage understanding and acceptance in the workplace, ultimately fostering a stronger foundation to launch future improvements from.

Cindy Cheng

Director of Product Marketing

Cindy Cheng