In its first decade, cloud computing was disruptive to IT, but looking into the second decade, it is becoming mature and an expected part of most disruptions. For the past 10 years, cloud computing changed the expectations and capabilities of the IT department, but now it is a necessary catalyst for innovation across the company.
As it enters its second decade, cloud computing is increasingly becoming a vehicle for next-generation digital business, as well as for agile, scalable and elastic solutions. As will be discussed at the upcoming Gartner CIO & IT Executive Summit in Toronto, CIOs and other IT leaders need to constantly adapt their strategies to leverage cloud capabilities.
By 2020, anything other than a cloud-only strategy for new IT initiatives will require justication at more than 30% of large-enterprise organizations.
During the past decade, cloud computing has matured on several fronts. Today, most security analysis suggests that mainstream cloud computing is more secure than on-premises IT. Cloud services are more often functionally complete, and vendors now offer migration options.
Importantly, innovation is rapidly shifting to the cloud, with many vendors employing a cloud-first approach to product design and some technology and business innovations available only as cloud services. This includes innovations in the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
As the pressure to move to cloud services increases, more organizations are creating roadmaps that reflect the need to shift strategy. At these organizations, projects that propose on-site resources are considered conservative, as the reduced agility and innovation options decrease competitive agility. Enterprises will begin to pressure IT departments to embrace cloud computing.
Keep in mind that not all projects can utilize cloud services due to regulatory or security concerns or even the money that has been invested in the projects. Also, some enterprises might lack the correct skill sets and talent.
By 2021, more than half of global enterprises already using cloud today will adopt an all-in cloud strategy.
The key to an all-in cloud strategy is not to “lift and shift” data center content. Instead, enterprises should evaluate what applications within the data center can be replaced with SaaS, refactored or rebuilt. However, an all-in strategy will have more impact on IT compared to a cloud-first or cloud-only strategy.
By and large, companies that have shifted to all-cloud have not returned to traditional on-premises data centers, with even large companies embracing third-party cloud infrastructure.
Enterprises should begin to plan a roadmap for their cloud strategy, and ensure that lift and shift is only being done when necessary, such as part of data center consolidation efforts.
David Mitchell Smith is a vice president and Gartner Fellow at Gartner, Inc., where he leads the agenda for cloud computing and digital disruptors.
