The cloud is rapidly becoming a star in the IT strategies of organisations throughout the world. Companies of all sizes are waking up to the benefits of moving some or all Oracle application to the cloud, reducing the need for up-front capital investment in order to accelerate return on investment, as well as gaining greater business insight and an excellent user experience.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Some organisations are still cautious about moving business-critical applications to the #cloud”]
Blazing a trail
The reality of today’s cloud technology is now matching – or even exceeding – the hype of a few years ago. However, some organisations are still cautious about moving business-critical applications to the cloud, based on perceived risks that are often overstated and based on outdated concerns. To allay these fears, we can draw on the experiences of early adopters, such as Reading Council, to prove the value of migrating Oracle applications to the Cloud.
Organisations today are under increasing pressure to embrace new technology, both in order to demonstrate innovation and to improve performance. Within the Oracle community, organisations are at different stages in migrating their business-critical applications but more and more are embarking on – or at least planning their route for – the journey to the cloud. A key driver is that the cloud reduces the need for specialist skills in-house, liberating IT departments from systems maintenance and empowering them to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Organisations today are under increasing pressure to embrace new technology, both in order to demonstrate innovation and to improve performance
The state of play
Claremont’s recent survey on The Future of Oracle-based Applications delivers a fascinating insight into the state of play in Cloud migration.
The survey asked: Has your business migrated any of its Oracle-based applications to the Cloud?
- 13 per cent have migrated some Oracle-based applications to the cloud
- 13 per cent are in the process of migrating Oracle-based applications to the cloud
- 74 per cent of businesses have not migrated any Oracle-based applications to the cloud
- 40 per cent say they will move to the cloud within 12 months, 60 per cent within one to three years
While only 26 per cent are actively engaged in the cloud at present, perhaps the most interesting result is in the intentions of the 74 per cent who have not yet migrated. With 60 per cent planning on moving to the cloud within three years, organisations are clearly excited about the benefits of the cloud, making late adopters an ever-diminishing minority.
The survey also asked organisations who engaged in the cloud about which applications they have moved. HCM/Payroll is currently the most common application, with 62.5 per cent of organisations moving it to the cloud. In future, this looks is set to change, with 80 per cent of organisations keen to move ERP, once any apprehensions have been dispelled (18 per cent currently host ERP in the cloud).
Conclusions
Moving business-critical applications to the cloud only makes sense if you see clear benefits. The mass migration over the next one to three years demonstrates that the vast majority of organisations see them very clearly indeed. This movement towards the cloud is surely influenced by the experiences of early adopters. For instance, the survey indicates that 75 per cent of organisations who have moved their Oracle applications have reduced their operating costs as a result, with 63 per cent saying their system is now easier to upgrade and maintain. Perhaps even more impressive, 63 per cent cite their move to the cloud as enabling new business models for the organisation.
[easy-tweet tweet=”The movement towards the #cloud is surely influenced by the experiences of early adopters”]
The organisations who believed in the promise of the cloud have blazed a trail and have proven the value of moving some or all Oracle applications to the cloud. The right hosting partner will be able to work with you to determine if moving to the cloud is right for you and to help make that journey as seamless as possible.
Mark Vivian, Managing Director, Claremont
Mark has over 20 years of experience of working with Oracle enterprise applications. Having joined Oracle Consulting Services in 1993, Mark successfully led numerous Oracle E-Business implementations in the UK and mainland Europe.
He continued this role at Fulcrum Solutions, taking responsibility for driving best practice project delivery across the organisation. Subsequently, Mark joined Edenbrook, where he co-established the Oracle E-Business consultancy practice, founded and successfully grew the Managed Services capability, and led the Oracle Business Solutions group through the acquisition by Hitachi Consulting, whereupon he became Vice President, with Testing Services added to his responsibilities.
Mark joined Claremont in 2011 as Services & Operations Director, and became Managing Director in 2012.