Two-thirds of organisations implementing hybrid cloud report they’re already gaining competitive advantage from their hybrid environments and are nearly three times as likely to use it to assemble data assets or monetise data.
This is according to findings of a new global study of hybrid cloud, “Growing up Hybrid: Accelerating digital transformation” from the IBM Center for Applied Insights, which surveyed 500 hybrid cloud implementers from 13 countries and 23 industries.
The study identified a leading group of organisations – 26% of the respondents – that are gaining competitive advantage through hybrid cloud and managing their environment in an integrated, comprehensive fashion for high visibility and control.
With a hybrid cloud approach, organisations can be selective about when to use cloud and when to use traditional IT infrastructure – delivering the best functionality while meeting speed and flexibility needs, as well as resiliency, security and regulatory requirements.
In addition, the study found that the leaders are using hybrid cloud to jumpstart “next-generation” initiatives. Leaders are almost three times more likely than other implementers to use hybrid cloud for commercializing insights (eg, assembling data assets or monetising data). They are also five times more likely to be using hybrid cloud for cognitive computing (eg, predictive intelligence and machine learning capabilities). Finally, over a third of the leaders are already using hybrid cloud to enable Internet of Things.
Findings about these leaders and benefits of hybrid include:
• * Nine out of 10 leaders report hybrid cloud is crucial to their business strategy and success; and
• * 85% of leaders report that a hybrid approach to cloud is accelerating the digital transformation in their organization.
“We live in a world where companies must take advantage of all of their resources to succeed and deliver services and apps in an as a service model regardless of whether they reside in a public or private cloud or on their existing infrastructure,” says IBM Global Technology Services GM for systems services Laura Sanders. “Not surprisingly, clients are seeing great value from hybrid environments in driving business results and transformation. It’s a positive balance of optimization with flexibility and agility. Our goal continues to be the ability to help clients leverage those hybrid capabilities reliably and securely.”
As this study highlights, hybrid clouds are gaining widespread market adoption because they leverage existing IT resources while integrating into public and private cloud environments. This gives organizations greater control of their data, improved application performance and efficiencies, enhanced collaboration all while helping to centralize IT management. As a result, businesses not only reduce costs but achieve greater efficiencies.
IBM is also providing brokerage services that help organizations reduce complexity and exposure to risk. In addition, it improves efficiencies with cloud suppliers and enables quicker, informed choices. This approach underscores IBM’s move from a traditional systems integrator to a cloud services integrator, helping clients manage the services and underlying infrastructure in an integrated and unified platform.
Additional findings from the IBM Growing up Hybrid: Accelerating digital transformation study include:
* Leaders bring both IT and business leaders to the table – eight in 10 leaders believe hybrid cloud helps reduce the amount of shadow IT within the organization, and 85% of leaders believe hybrid drives more collaboration between IT and line of business;
* Leaders are better at managing security and the complexity – 85% of leaders believe open technologies are essential for hybrid portability and interoperability, leaders are over five times more likely to be using prescriptive or predictive real-time analytics to manage hybrid environments, and over three-quarters of leaders use advanced automation to manage their hybrid environments;
* Leaders are better at improving security & protecting data – Eight in 10 leaders are improving security and reducing risk with hybrid, eight in 10 leaders believe hybrid helps ensure availability and access to critical data, and 62% of leaders believe hybrid helps them meet compliance requirements.