Unreliable cloud services discourage companies

Stats suggest that confidence in cloud solutions is low in the UK

Only 18 per cent of UK companies think that cloud solutions are a strategic advantage, according to new research.

The Global Cloud Study figures, released by Alcatel-Lucent, further reveal that two thirds of IT bosses agree that guaranteed cloud performance is essential for operations.

Stability, response time and end-to-end availability are the main factors putting companies off cloud adoption, along with security, cost and ease of use.

Despite the pessimistic figures, 44 per cent of the 3,886 IT decision makers questioned are optimistic that the weaknesses in cloud services will be ironed out in the next three years.

The global cloud market is predicted to be worth $177bn by 2015.

Migrating to cloud services is a big step for companies, according to Dor Skuler, vice-president of cloud solutions at Alcatel-Lucent.

He said: "A typical large enterprise supports between 250 and 750 IT applications, so before it decides to move them to the cloud, it must be confident of a smooth migration.

"It needs to ensure there are substantial efficiencies to be gained, risks to its operations are minimal, it's easy to use and that cloud performance is guaranteed with service level agreements."

The results show that two thirds of IT decision makers don't use the cloud for their essential business applications for fear of service outages, while 46 per cent of those surveyed find current cloud service system delays unacceptable.