A new study from Verizon uncovered that 65 percent of enterprises are now using some combination of cloud technology, services and solutions as part of their information-technology (IT) infrastructure.

Particularly revealing, however, is the fact that IT departments – specifically the CIO/CTO – control more than 80 percent of total cloud spending within the organization. The CIO/CTO personally oversees nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of cloud purchases, Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ “State of the Market: Enterprise Cloud 2014” says.

The second annual report provides original data and analysis of cloud usage within the enterprise and its impact on the IT organization and business at large.

“When it comes to enterprise IT and cloud computing, the discussion has decidedly shifted from ‘if’ to ‘how’ and ‘what,'” said Siki Giunta, senior vice president of cloud services for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “Customers are now coming to us with more detailed, stringent requirements and questions about where and how to use cloud to transform their businesses and mission-critical workloads, instead of whether or not to use it.”

The report also revealed that customers are getting more confident about security. Seventy-one percent of Verizon cloud customers are using cloud for mission-critical applications, up from 60 percent in 2013.

Enterprise spend on cloud is up 38 percent year over year. An overwhelming majority (84 percent) of cloud adopters ranked uptime as the most important factor in selecting a cloud service. Only 14 percent of enterprises cited cost reduction as the main motive in moving to the cloud.

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