Cisco Study Reveals Many IT Professionals Have Ways to Go in Getting Their Networks Ready for Cloud Migration
May 8, 2012
As the role of cloud computing is growing significantly in its ability to deliver business applications, many IT decision makers are facing challenges with their existing network infrastructure to support the migration of their business applications to the cloud. An international study announced today by Cisco CSCO -1.97% revealed that without the proper cloud migration strategy, more than one third (38 percent) of IT decision makers would rather get a root canal, dig a ditch, or do their own taxes than address network challenges associated with public or private cloud deployments.
These research findings provide insight into the current state of cloud networking and the chasm between IT expectations and network realities. The survey also examines the experiences of IT professionals regarding the level of difficulty and time required to update their networks and migrate their applications to the cloud…
Among its findings, the 2012 Cisco Global Cloud Networking Survey reveals that updating the network is one of the top focus areas for cloud migration. In order to successfully move more applications to the cloud, the majority of respondents cited a cloud-ready network (37 percent) as the biggest infrastructure element required for further cloud deployments, ahead of a virtualized data center (28 percent) or a service-level agreement from a cloud service provider (21 percent).
This data expands on the Cisco Global Cloud Index, which predicts that more than 50 percent of computing workloads in data centers will be cloud-based by 2014, and that global cloud traffic will grow over 12 times by 2015, to 1.6 zettabytes per year — the equivalent of over four days of business-class video for every person on Earth.
Overview
— The 2012 Cisco Global Cloud Networking Survey, which included
participation from more than 1,300 IT decision makers in 13 countries,
was commissioned to measure the adoption of cloud services by IT
professionals globally, while examining potential challenges to their
cloud migrations.
— The survey was commissioned by Cisco and distributed by Insight
Express with the goal of helping businesses better understand the
challenges related to the network when moving to cloud services.
— The countries that participated in the survey were: Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain,
the United Kingdom and the United States.
— The complete findings are available at
http://www.cisco.com/go/cloudsurvey
Key Findings
Cloud Deployments in Perspective
— Almost two in five (39 percent) of those surveyed said they dread
network challenges associated with private or public cloud deployments
so much that they would rather get a root canal, dig a ditch, or do
their own taxes.
— At the same time, nearly three quarters (73 percent) feel they are
confident with enough information to begin their private or public
cloud deployments. However, the remainder (27 percent) feels they have
more knowledge about how to play Angry Birds than the steps needed to
migrate their company’s network and applications to the cloud.
— In a clear sign that many IT organizations are still considering and
planning cloud migrations, nearly one quarter (24 percent) of IT
decision makers said that over the next six months, they are more
likely to see a UFO, a unicorn or a ghost before they see their
company’s cloud migration starting and finishing.
— Without proper processes and planning, more than one quarter (31
percent) said they could train for a marathon in a shorter period of
time than it would take to migrate their company’s applications to the
cloud.
— A majority (76 percent) predict their cloud applications are likely to
be breached, yet only one quarter (24 percent) are confident to the
point in which they believe the odds are better for them to be struck
by lightning than have their cloud applications breached by an
unwanted third party.
Cloud Deployments Expected to Increase Significantly by the end of 2012
— Presently, only 5 percent of IT decision makers have been able to
migrate at least half of their total applications to the cloud. By the
end of 2012, that number is expected to significantly rise, as one in
five (20 percent) will have deployed over half of their total
applications to the cloud.
Most Critical Infrastructure for Cloud Deployments
— In order to successfully move more applications to the cloud, the
majority of respondents cited a cloud-ready network (37 percent) as
the biggest infrastructure element required for further cloud
deployments, ahead of a virtualized data center (28 percent) or a
service-level agreement from a cloud service provider (21 percent).
Top Infrastructure Roadblocks to Cloud Migration
— During the cloud migration process, data protection security (72
percent) was cited as the top network challenge or roadblock
responsible for preventing a successful implementation of cloud
services, followed by availability/reliability of cloud applications
(67 percent), device-based security (66 percent), visibility and
control of applications across the WAN (60 percent) and overall
application performance (60 percent).
Top Choice of Application for Cloud Migration
— If given the choice of only being able to move one application to the
cloud, most respondents would choose storage (25 percent), followed by
enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications to manage HR, customer
relationship management, supply chain management, and project
management systems (20 percent). Email (16 percent) and collaboration
solutions (15 percent) followed.
Reality Check: Status of Cloud Application Migration
— When asked which applications have been moved, or are being planning
to be moved to public or private clouds in the next year, the majority
of IT decision makers cited email and Web services (77 percent),
followed by storage (74 percent) and collaboration solutions such as
Web conferencing and instant messaging (72 percent).
Expected Length of Typical Cloud Deployment
— When asked to anticipate the length of time the transfer of
applications such as Web conferencing, storage and email would take to
either private or public clouds, most respondents anticipated a
private cloud migration to take longer than a public one. In addition,
when asked to estimate the average length of time it would take to
complete the cloud migration for their applications, most IT
professionals indicated the deployment would take less than six
months.
State of Virtual Desktop Deployments — and Barriers
— When asked about their plans to deploy virtual desktops, 79 percent of
IT decision makers cited it as part of their current or future plans.
25 percent are already using virtual desktops, with 35 percent
planning to do so within the next year. 20 percent plan on deploying
virtual desktops within one to three years.
— Among the top barriers to keeping virtual desktop deployments from
taking place, respondents cited cost (46 percent) as the primary
obstacle, followed by bandwidth requirements (45 percent), virtual
desktop (VDI) performance caused by WAN latency (37 percent),
integration of native with virtual desktops (34 percent), and the
overall complexity of the deployment (33 percent).
— When asked the reason behind their move to the cloud, 52 percent of
respondents claimed it was an imperative made by their business or CIO
to in order to improve costs, productivity and agility; 41 percent
said they’re simply following the industry or their peers; and 30
percent are doing so because of customer requirements.
Source of Information When Making Cloud Decisions
— Cloud service providers are the main source of intelligence or
information about cloud services (25 percent), followed by industry
analysts (16 percent), industry peers (15 percent) and infrastructure
vendors (14 percent).
Personal Experience of IT Professionals Regarding Security and Network Performance
— Nearly two in five participants (39 percent) said they would not trust
their own personal information — such as medical records and Social
Security numbers — with the cloud provider they are currently using.
— More than half (52 percent) of IT decision makers said they have a
better overall application experience at home with their personal
networks than they do at work.
Supporting Quotes
— Praveen Akkiraju, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco
Services Routing Technology Group: "As cloud adoption is increasing at
a rapid rate, businesses need to be fully aware of the necessary steps
when planning for a cloud model that is right for their organization.
The Cisco Global Cloud Networking Survey offers valuable insight into
what these organizations are experiencing in their cloud migrations,
and provides a real-world analysis to help businesses better
understand the challenges related getting their networks ready for
cloud services.