UNISYS | Don’t Talk to Me About Cloud: What CIOs Really Want to Know

© Unisys 2021 3 Cloud, in and of itself, is meaningless. If you’re like a lot of CIOs, you may be tempted to post a sign on your door that says, Don’t Talk to Me about Cloud. environments as security worries diminished and benefits emerged to fund expansion. Despite these cautious approaches, cloud usage has exploded. IDC estimates that global spend- ing on cloud will surpass $1 trillion in 2024 while sustaining a double-digit Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.7%. So CIOs don’t need to be coaxed to adopt cloud solu- tions. But they do need three things if they are to choose, with any degree of efficiency and confidence, the right cloud approach for the highly specific current and future needs of their business. Extolling the benefits of the cloud is like cham- pioning dietary supplements: Unless you know the precise nutrient deficiency to be remedied, you’re asking for trouble. The wrong supplement endangers health and wastes money. The wrong approach to cloud squanders its vast potential, runs up an organi- zation’s costs, complicates its IT ecosystem, and leaves its business needs unsolved. Rare is the CIO who hasn’t already invested heavily in cloud solutions and intends to do much more of the same. To be sure, many early cloud debuts consisted of toe-in-the- water, risk-averse, security-conscious internal cloud initiatives, only venturing further into hybrid “Cloud” is an empty termwithout context; the wrong approach not only squanders the cloud’s vast potential, but also can run up costs, complicate IT, and leave business needs unsolved. of enterprises worldwidewill rely on hybrid cloud 90% By 2022, over 1/3 of IT budgets go to cloud services Source: IDC https:/ www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prMETA46165020 92% of organization’s total IT environment is at least somewhat in the cloud today Source: IDG 2020 Cloud Computing Study Source: Spiceworks Ziff Davis