Global Organizations Want SDN, Hybrid Cloud Solutions, Survey Shows

Written by Dan Kobialka 1
March 23, 2015

A new report revealed security that was the top concern among global organizations interested in cloud computing. The survey showed that more than 80 percent of respondents said they are using or plan to use hybrid cloud solutions at some point in the future.

Security remains paramount for global organizations interested in cloud computing, according to a new Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA) survey.

The ODCA’s fourth-annual member survey revealed that security was the top cloud adoption concern among global organizations. The survey also showed that more than 80 percent of respondents said they are using or plan to use hybrid cloud solutions at some point in the future.

Other survey results included:

For the past three years, the number of organizations with less than 20 percent of their operations in a public cloud ranged from 79 percent to 88 percent.
Over the past three years, there has been significant growth in private cloud implementations, with the greatest growth in organizations that have more than half of their services in private clouds.
In 2012, 18 percent of survey respondents said their organizations would house 60 percent of their operations in private clouds by 2016. Since then, that number has doubled.
63 percent said they expect 40 percent or more of their operations to be in private clouds by 2016.
There was a rising demand for software-defined networking (SDN) and hybrid cloud solutions, and many respondents indicated they are interested in solutions that blend public and private resources.

So what can organizations take away from the survey?

ODCA President Reyk Bederke said the survey results highlight the importance of interoperability between cloud vendors to expand enterprise adoption of cloud computing.

“Our members are working together to drive the market toward interoperable cloud services as they continue to push more operations into the cloud,” he said in a prepared statement.

Click here for Talkin’ Cloud’s Top 100 CSP list

Additionally, many options are available to help organizations control cloud security threats.

An ODCA spokesperson told Talkin’ Cloud that cloud services providers (CSPs) can help organizations develop and apply consistent risk management processes and bolster their cloud security as well.

The ODCA surveyed members between Dec. 2014 and Jan. 2015, and respondents included executives, IT architects and engineers and marketing professionals.

Full survey results are available here.

What are your thoughts on the new ODCA survey? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at dan.kobialka@penton.com.