Majority of UK businesses currently completing or actively implementing Cloud migration

The overwhelming majority of UK businesses believe that move to Cloud based computing is one of the most important trends in IT over the next few years, according to research conducted by Cordys, the leading provider of software for business process improvement.

The research*, conducted at the recent Cloud World Forum in London, found that 59 per cent of those questioned thought that the advent of the Cloud was a pivotal issue for business.

The same sample found also that:
- 17 per cent had already migrated to a Cloud model;
- 39 per cent where actively implementing a Cloud strategy;
- 32 per cent was planning to implement in the next 6 to 12 months.

Peter Karsten, VP, UK Sales, Cordys, stated: “There will be many ways in which the Cloud will change businesses and the economy, most of them hard to predict, but one theme is already emerging. Businesses are becoming more like the technology itself: more adaptable, more interwoven and more specialised. These developments may not be new, but the advent of the Cloud will speed them up.”

“In many ways, the business benefits of the Cloud are obvious. The high-risk strategy in the current economic downturn is to batten down the hatches and do nothing. The lower risk strategy is to exploit the new Cloud capabilities to break the inflexibility of legacy, gaining process change, flexibility and agility, and the ability to take out operational costs – all vital in managing a business through very challenging times,” he added.

The Cordys research also highlighted the key business benefits organisations had identified as a result of migrating to the Cloud.  Just over a quarter (26 per cent) stated that reduced cost was the driver for migrating to the Cloud. Improved business operational efficiency was cited by 22 per cent and increased corporate flexibility was the driver for 21 per cent of those questioned.

“In the Cloud it is possible to handle any sort of business problem usually tackled by enterprise solutions, by leveraging the capability to associate virtually any number of Web services within the context of an application. Service provisioning is effectively an application generator within a process and is inherently more flexible, easier to provide, easier to manage and easier to use than traditional “ERP” type products,” continued Peter.

He continued: “It is all driven and controlled by well defined processes and process management techniques that utilize a Business Operations Platform, capable of orchestrating and provisioning services and resources on demand at exactly the right place at the right cost. Making the Cloud work effectively is all about control, change and speed.”

The advent of the Cloud means that the focus has moved up from the infrastructure implementations to mechanisms that access the capabilities provided. This means that the ultimate measure of success will be how the services are consumed and whether that leads to new business opportunities.

Cordys delivers comprehensive Business Process Management capabilities, SOA-based integration and Composite Application Development for cloud solutions, due to its ability to orchestrate processes and Web services over disparate systems, both within organizations and across organisational boundaries. These capabilities enable corporations to facilitate faster and more effective changes and business improvements.

Peter concluded: “What is certain though is that business has to embrace change.  That means the underlying business processes and operations must be both thorough and yet still quickly adaptable.”