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See How Your Peers Are Moving Forward in the Cloud

New research from CDW can help you build on your success and take the next step.

Oct 08 2024
Cloud

New CDW Research Report Highlights What’s Next in the Cloud

More than 900 IT professionals were surveyed for the report about how they are managing their cloud environments.

The cloud can improve workflow efficiencies and support artificial intelligence initiatives, but to reap these benefits, higher education institutions must evolve their cloud strategies. That’s according to new research conducted by CDW on cloud computing trends.

The report, which includes responses from more than 900 IT professionals across industries, explores how organizations are managing their cloud environments, business benefits created by cloud investments and how the cloud enables AI adoption.

As organizations consider the next steps in their cloud journey, it’s important for them to approach it strategically and holistically, according to the report. A lift-and-shift approach isn’t enough to prepare organizations for future needs while maintaining a strong cybersecurity environment.

Click the banner below to read the 2024 CDW Cloud Computing Research Report.

 

“Previously, many organizations took their on-premises bad habits and moved them to the cloud,” says Roger Haney, CDW’s chief architect for software-defined infrastructure, in the report. “The people who are starting to see benefits are the ones who have gone from lift-and-shift activities to lift-and-improve activities. Then there’s still a whole step to go, in which we modernize their workloads and move people into a cloud-native mindset.”

The research report also dives into challenges to cloud management efforts, such as lack of cloud governance or on-staff cloud skills. Visibility into cloud spending could also use improvement, as only 47% of respondents reported being very confident in their ability to track the costs of their public and private cloud systems.

Finally, the report highlights the complex relationship between the cloud and security. While many organizations have undergone cloud repatriation due to security concerns, nearly half of respondents cite improved security as a major business benefit from public cloud investment.

“People now understand how cloud security works. It’s much more of a whitelist security capability,” Haney says. “You have to define what you allow through instead of what you deny. As people start to understand it, they see that it works differently, but it works just as well.”

Discover more findings from the 2024 CDW Cloud Computing Research Report here.

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