KPMG :Cloud Services Providers Confident

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Revenue from business users’ migration to cloud in the coming 2 years will be increasingly for data-intensive applications, such as business and data analytics, content management, customer care, and operations and manufacturing, say providers the 2012 Cloud Providers Global Survey from KPMG International.. They expect the shift to occur despite users’ ongoing concerns over loss of control and data security, which are in addition to the providers’ challenges of proving savings and the business case.

Nearly 6 out of 10 providers say cost reduction is still the chief reason most business users migrate to cloud, yet almost 4 out of 10 providers say proving cost savings is their biggest challenge. The challenge is further complicated by the fact that only 39 percent of providers believe that users have realistic expectations for cost savings in the migration to cloud, while 19 percent believe users do not.

“While providers are seeing the challenges of a maturing, yet still relatively young, market, we are at a pivotal point in the evolution of the cloud ecosystem as users become more comfortable with a variety of cloud applications,” said Gary Matuszak, partner, global chair and US leader for KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. “Leading cloud providers know they must evolve to provide a new level of scale, capacity, and capability.”