New CIO Research Reveals Cloud Adoption Driven by Multiple Factors

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 19, 2012) - The results of an independent, global survey of almost 330 CIOs, business executives and other stakeholders on the drivers behind cloud adoption were announced today. The research was conducted by Dimensional Research, and sponsored by Host Analytics.

Cloud applications offer a myriad of potential advantages over on-premise applications. From reduced costs to simplifying maintenance to enabling compliance, there are many reasons to choose a cloud application.

"Our survey findings show business value is an overwhelming driver for cloud adoption among business executives, while CIOs cite a range of reasons for moving to the cloud," said Diane Hagglund, senior research analyst for Dimensional Research and the study's author. "Better compliance and increased competitive advantage were also identified as key drivers."

While value was the one priority for business executives (80 percent), it was less so for CIOs (53 percent) who listed a range of reasons for moving to the cloud, including compliance requirements (58 percent) and competitive advantage (51 percent). The results therefore suggest that business executives place overwhelming weight on business value over functionality in IT decisions, which is of greater concern to CIOs and other IT professionals.

Other interesting findings include the fact that employees like using modern, cloud applications, particularly those in IT. The vast majority of CIOs, 95 percent, reported that their employees perceived the ability to gain expertise with modern cloud applications as beneficial. Additionally CIOs acknowledged that they could easily find help for cloud applications (83 percent).

The survey also uncovered outdated on-premise software is common, with 61 percent of respondents reporting they have business-critical software that has not been upgraded recently. This presents significant missed business opportunity in leveraging the cloud to fill the void in ensuring use of the most to-do date critical applications.

A summary of key survey findings include:

Cloud adoption is driven by multiple factors.

• 80 percent of business executives cite better value as the a key driver for choosing cloud applications;
• CIOs report a wide range of reasons for adopting cloud applications, including compliance requirements (58 percent), better value (53 percent), and competitive advantage (51 percent).

Employees like using cloud applications.

• 79 percent of those surveyed say that experience with cloud applications is beneficial;
• 95 percent of CIOs say that IT employees want to gain expertise with cloud applications;
• 83 percent of CIOs say they have no problem finding technical help for cloud applications.

Outdated on-premise software is common.

• 61 percent of survey respondents say that critical applications have not been updated recently;
• 14 percent say that they have business-critical software that has not been updated in over four years;
• 28 percent of CIOs who have requirements for that business-critical software say they lack confidence in being compliant.

"Businesses are embracing the cloud and realizing it offers tremendous value and advantages over on-premise applications," said Keri Brooke, VP of Marketing at Host Analytics. "This new research reinforces the industry's shift to a more modern, effective and safe way of doing business. Sixty one percent of survey respondents cited critical business applications hadn't been updated recently. That's appalling and a 'thing of the past' when you move to the cloud."

This is the second in a series on cloud adoption surveys sponsored by Host Analytics. Released in June 2012, the first report, "Current Trends in Cloud Adoption: A Survey of CIOs and IT Executives" explored attitudes among CIOs to cloud adoption. Findings showed that the overwhelming majority of CIO and IT executives surveyed felt cloud solutions are good for business.

To access a complementary copy of the "Drivers of Cloud Adoption: A Survey of CIOs and Business Executives," report, go to: http://ow.ly/gcIoM

Host Analytics is one of Silicon Valley's fastest growing cloud companies. The company delivers the first and only complete suite of cloud CPM and business analytics applications to help finance executives drive faster and smarter decisions throughout their organizations. The company's solutions cover planning, budgeting, scorecarding, financial consolidation and reporting.

Survey Methodology
In November 2012, an independent group of CIOs, as well as other IT and business executives, were invited by Dimensional Research to participate in a Web survey on the topic of trends driving adoption of cloud applications. Respondents were not compensated for participating in this survey except to be offered a copy of the final report.

The 327 individuals who participated in the global survey represented a wide range of roles, company sizes, and vertical industries. CIOs and business executives from North America, Europe, and Asia were included in the survey, which was fielded in English.

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About Host Analytics

Host Analytics is the leader in cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) and provides the industry's only complete suite for financial planning, budgeting, consolidation, reporting and analytics in the cloud. Host Analytics customers benefit from faster deployments, increased security, a faster pace of innovation, reduced carbon footprint, and a greatly reduced total cost of ownership compared to traditional on-premises alternatives. World-class companies like AT&T, Marsh, Burlington Coat Factory, NEC, and Groupon trust Host Analytics to power their strategic financial processes. Host Analytics is a fast-growing, private company backed by leading venture capitalists and is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices around the globe. For additional information, visit http://www.hostanalytics.com.