Cloud Spend Set to Rise, But Who’s Guiding the Way?

Organizations of all sizes are expecting to spend more on the cloud this year than they did in 2017. In fact, just 11% of enterprise-sized participants in RightScale’s 2018 State of the Cloud Report believe their cloud spend will hold steady or decrease while 24% of SMBs make a similar claim. There’s plenty of range regarding exactly what that growth is going to look like but, as far as the cloud goes, it appears the trend is onward and upward. Someone will have to manage those new cloud resources and, for many businesses, that responsibility remains somewhat up in the air.

Before we get into the challenge of managing the cloud, first let’s pull back and explore the scale of that projected growth more closely. According to the report:

  • 20% of enterprises and 17% of SMBs expect their cloud spend to grow by 100% or more
  • 17% of enterprises and 16% of SMBs believe cloud spend will increase by somewhere in the range of 50% – 100%
  • 34% of enterprises and 29% of SMBs think their cloud spend will go up between 20% – 50%
  • 18% of enterprises and 14% of SMBs see cloud spend rising by less than 20% this year

That brings us back to the issue of supporting all those new cloud investments. One way to do so is by consolidating the responsibility internally as part of a “central cloud team.” These groups function as something of an internal hub, housing the best practices, policies, and tools necessary to ensure cost-effective, efficient cloud usage. RightScale’s study also looked at how many organizations have such a team in place. Once again, the researchers broke their findings down by company size:

  • 57% of enterprises currently have a central cloud team while just 31% of SMBs have one
  • 24% of enterprises and SMBs respectively are planning to create a central cloud team
  • 19% of enterprises have no plan to implement a central cloud team, sharing that directive with 45% of SMBs

Without in-house experts driving intelligent cloud migrations, that increasing spend could fail to achieve full impact. Still, bringing that talent in-house can carry a sizeable price tag of its own. The good news is there’s another option.

Next Steps: Enjoy a smooth journey to the cloud and beyond

Arraya Solutions offers two Advisory Services designed to help organizations maximize the ROI they see on cloud investments. These services cover:

  • Cloud Strategy – Connects onsite IT personnel with our team of experts as part of an ongoing engagement designed to help businesses develop and execute their short and long-term cloud strategies. As part of this service, Arraya provides executive-level support covering documentation, best practices, and more. Our team can also get in the weeds, analyzing existing cloud infrastructure and tailoring recommendations for improvement based on unique business needs.
  • Productivity – Bridges the gap between what large corporations and SMBs can achieve with cloud-based productivity tools such as Office 365. Arraya’s team of experts can provide insight at the executive and the administrative level, ensuring a fully-optimized solution experience. Our team can search for procedural gaps, lead instructional demos, and serve as an internal cloud advocate. With Arraya’s help, businesses will be poised to overcome the challenges keeping them from achieving their cloud-enabled productivity goals.

Want to learn more about either of these services, or any of our full slate of cloud and on-prem offerings? Visit us today at https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/. Or, you can strike up a conversation with us on social media. Arraya can be found on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Be sure to follow us so you’ll stay updated on all of our latest industry insights, unique educational opportunities, and more.

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