Enterprise use of cloud technology grew 90pc between January 2012 and January 2013, according to the latest State of the Enterprise Cloud report from US telco Verizon.
According to the report, the use of cloud-based storage has increased by 90pc during the period and cloud-based memory by 100pc – largely driven by the shift of business-critical apps to the cloud.
The number of virtual machines (VMs) being deployed is growing more slowly than memory and storage requirements – 35pc over the same period.
Businesses have moved directly beyond testing and development and are readily running external facing business-critical apps in the cloud, says Charles Milton, director service provider EMEA of Zscaler, the direct to cloud network provider.
“Mobility and cloud applications, such as Gmail, Salesforce.com and MS365, are eroding the network perimeter,” Milton explained.
“Employees are embracing these technologies and bypassing traditional network security devices to connect directly to cloud services. The concept of the everywhere enterprise is now a reality.”
The Verizon report concludes that enterprise cloud has reached a tipping point. “Organisations have seen the benefits the cloud can provide both in efficiency and cost – and are ready to move an increasing number of mission-critical applications to cloud-based infrastructure.
“However, in order for this to happen, cloud service providers must deliver to enterprise-grade availability and security,” Milton said.
