It's been nearly two decades when cloud was adopted, and artificial intelligence is further increasing cloud dependency. However, cloud investment levels are not aligned, with legacy applications and data holding back innovation, and only just 14% of organisations have reached the highest level of cloud maturity, a new study by NTT Data shows. It's a paradox that while 99% of organisations say AI is increasing demand for cloud investment, 88% say current cloud investment levels are putting AI, cloud-native and modernisation initiatives at risk.
While cloud is seen as essential for innovation, fewer than half of organisations are satisfied with its impact or with their modernisation progress — showing a disconnect between ambition and reality. Organisations that indicated they are “cloud evolved” — the most advanced in terms of cloud adoption and impact, with solid business performance — are significantly better positioned to capitalise on AI, the study noted.
The study was based on a global survey of more than 2,300 senior decision-makers across 33 countries.
AI Is Critical, But Adoption Is Uneven
The study suggests that cloud and AI strategies need to be developed in tandem. While AI demand is increasing, alignment is uneven. Chief AI officers are 22% more likely than chief information officers and chief technology officers to say AI increases cloud investment needs. Additionally, AI is cited as the top cloud skills gap.
Additionally, while AI is critical for helping organisations shift from technical to business metrics for cloud initiatives, adoption remains uneven. Almost 47% of cloud leaders used AI in their last cloud migration project, compared with 35% of all others.
While there is agreement that cloud should drive innovation, legacy applications and data platforms are holding it back, and modernisation is the top priority for the next two years. As investments stall and environments become more complex, more than half of respondents cited cloud cost management challenges, and organisations expect a threefold increase in fully managed cloud platforms.
Security is also a top cloud investment priority, but confidence remains uneven: 68% of leaders are highly confident, versus 36% of all others, the study noted.
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