Cloud spending set to soar

CA Technologies' latest EMEA Channel Index report reveals a boom in cloud take up, particularly in the UK

Cloud spending is set to rocket, according to an EMEA partner survey carried out by CA Technologies, with the UK leading the way.

In total 77 per cent of the vendor’s UK partners predicted an increase in cloud spending, compared with an EMEA average of 69 per cent.

The CA Technologies Channel Index report, which questioned more than 900 partners across EMEA, also revealed that 69 per cent of its UK partners’ customers are using some form of cloud service, with a further 24 per cent expected to do so by the end of this year.

Marco Comastri, EMEA president of CA Technologies, said: “Increased cloud spending as predicted by this year’s Channel Index reflects that the cloud model is a good response to the growing pressures modern business is facing. IT organisations are asked to deliver new applications and services to a growing number of internal and external users in a fast and cost-effective way.”

He added: "To quickly respond to those business and market demands, customers and partners are looking to different cloud models that help them drive innovation and generate new revenue streams, and we are committed to support them as they move into that new hybrid world where cloud services will combine with their existing systems.”

When questioned about key cloud benefits, 59 per cent of UK partners mentioned scalability, with 50 per cent highlighting increased agility. CA’s UK partners also reported that their cloud customers are realising savings of 12 per cent of their annual IT budgets, up two per cent on the 10 per cent reported in last year’s study.

Although the study revealed that the private cloud model is dominating the industry, with 54 per cent of partners saying their customers use it compared with 41 per cent for public and 23 per cent for hybrid, the latter model is set to take off over the next five years.

A total of 55 per cent predict the hybrid cloud model will be the most used in five years’ time. This is compared with 26 per cent opting for private cloud models and 20 per cent for public.