A large majority of organizations employ more than one cloud automation solution, and this practice creates significant challenges that are resulting in delays and added costs for businesses, according to Why companies lose efficiency and compliance with cloud automation solutions from Broadcom. Not surprisingly, the research also found the majority of companies have consolidation efforts underway, a trend that has nurtured an important emerging role in the IT organization, that of Cloud Architect.
"The modern IT organization is highly complex with multiple cloud platforms, environments, and cloud automation solutions.These 'islands of automation' have become a big challenge," said Aline Gerew, Head of Automation Agile Operations Division, Broadcom. "These survey findings demonstrate a growing need to abstract the complexity from hybrid cloud automation processes and provide a single view of all automation processes."
Chaos in the Cloud
As businesses' reliance on cloud has increased, so has the need for various cloud automation tools to help manage cloud workloads. And with many companies utilizing several cloud platforms, it's not surprising they also use multiple automation tools. In fact, 81% of companies use more than one cloud automation solution, many of which are cloud native. These tools are also deployed in numerous environments — public clouds, on-premises, and SaaS based solutions, which makes coordinated automation a challenge.
70% of those surveyed reported that using multiple cloud automation tools has created significant challenges. Among the biggest issues are:
■ increasing the time to automate (59%)
■ time to report (52%)
■ time to remediate automation problems (52%)
Nearly half of respondents indicated compliance is more difficult. Using multiple automation solutions also adds costs, makes trouble shooting more difficult, and delays delivery.
Consolidation Is Complex
Given the many challenges of using multiple cloud automation solutions, it is not surprising that 78% of respondents' companies have consolidation plans underway. However, the process is not simple and requires careful planning to ensure the remaining cloud automation tools can support multiple different environments.
Additionally, companies continue to utilize various approaches when moving existing application functionality to the cloud including:
■ SaaS (57%)
■ lift and shift (56%)
■ cloud native replacements (46%)
■ refactoring (41%).
These diverse platform and functionality needs drive a long list of requirements for cloud automation tool selection with 62% citing operational costs as the most important factor followed by performance (53%), and operational efficiency (49%). Other criteria include supported environments, ease of use, and advanced features such as dashboards, analytics, and SLAs.
Rise of the Cloud Architect
An interesting outcome of the trend toward consolidation is the growing role of the Cloud Architect. This role is tasked with addressing the challenges of too many cloud automation tools and leading the work to find a single solution that meets the diverse platform and functional needs of the organization. The survey found 67% of companies currently have a cloud architect on staff with another 33% planning to hire one. The Cloud Architect has broad reach, influencing numerous automation projects across various teams within the organization including IT, development, and security.
Methodology: IT, cloud and deployment professionals at companies of all sizes representing all seniority levels were invited to participate in a survey on their company's cloud automation practices. The survey was administered electronically by a third party, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 535 qualified participants from five continents completed the global survey.
The Latest
The use of hybrid multicloud models is forecasted to double over the next one to three years as IT decision makers are facing new pressures to modernize IT infrastructures because of drivers like AI, security, and sustainability, according to the Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) report from Nutanix ...
Over the last 20 years Digital Employee Experience has become a necessity for companies committed to digital transformation and improving IT experiences. In fact, by 2025, more than 50% of IT organizations will use digital employee experience to prioritize and measure digital initiative success ...
While most companies are now deploying cloud-based technologies, the 2024 Secure Cloud Networking Field Report from Aviatrix found that there is a silent struggle to maximize value from those investments. Many of the challenges organizations have faced over the past several years have evolved, but continue today ...
In our latest research, Cisco's The App Attention Index 2023: Beware the Application Generation, 62% of consumers report their expectations for digital experiences are far higher than they were two years ago, and 64% state they are less forgiving of poor digital services than they were just 12 months ago ...
In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 5, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses the network source of truth ...
A vast majority (89%) of organizations have rapidly expanded their technology in the past few years and three quarters (76%) say it's brought with it increased "chaos" that they have to manage, according to Situation Report 2024: Managing Technology Chaos from Software AG ...
In 2024 the number one challenge facing IT teams is a lack of skilled workers, and many are turning to automation as an answer, according to IT Trends: 2024 Industry Report ...
Organizations are continuing to embrace multicloud environments and cloud-native architectures to enable rapid transformation and deliver secure innovation. However, despite the speed, scale, and agility enabled by these modern cloud ecosystems, organizations are struggling to manage the explosion of data they create, according to The state of observability 2024: Overcoming complexity through AI-driven analytics and automation strategies, a report from Dynatrace ...
Organizations recognize the value of observability, but only 10% of them are actually practicing full observability of their applications and infrastructure. This is among the key findings from the recently completed Logz.io 2024 Observability Pulse Survey and Report ...
Businesses must adopt a comprehensive Internet Performance Monitoring (IPM) strategy, says Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), a leading IT analyst research firm. This strategy is crucial to bridge the significant observability gap within today's complex IT infrastructures. The recommendation is particularly timely, given that 99% of enterprises are expanding their use of the Internet as a primary connectivity conduit while facing challenges due to the inefficiency of multiple, disjointed monitoring tools, according to Modern Enterprises Must Boost Observability with Internet Performance Monitoring, a new report from EMA and Catchpoint ...
