Over half of Indian CIOs to increase cloud budget
54.8% of Indian CIOs will increase their cloud computing budgets in 2014, with software as a service (SaaS) the most common
Over half (54.8%) of Indian CIOs will increase their cloud computing budgets in 2014, with software as a service (SaaS) the most common service planned, according to research from TechTarget.
When asked which areas of IT budget will be increased next year, 218 of 398 respondents said cloud services.
Only software was ranked higher to receive increased budgets, with 247 (62.1%) stating that their budgets will increase in this area.
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The research also revealed the external cloud services that Indian businesses plan to use in 2014. SaaS was the number one choice with 47.7% of respondents planning to use it in 2014. Platform as a service was the next most planned cloud investment with 39.2% planning investments. (see box below).
Cloud strategy
According to Forrester’s Forrsights Survey for the final quarter of 2013, 40% of Indian CIOs are creating a comprehensive strategy and implementation plan for public cloud and other as-a-service offerings over the next 12 months. The analyst company also revealed that 35% of Indian CIOs are hiring new staff with cloud skills.
Gartner said public cloud services sales will be worth 24.54 billion INR in 2014, a 36% increase compared to 2012.
The analyst organisation said infrastructure as service (IaaS) is the fastest-growing segment of the market.
TechTarget research: External cloud software planned in 2014
- Software as a service - 47.7%
- Platform as a service - 39.2%
- Database as a service - 34.5%
- Collaboration - 29.5%
- Testing and development - 28.8%
- Security as a service - 24.9%
- Desktop as a service - 23.5%
- Analytics as a service - 19.9%
Gartner said the biggest segment of the market is Software as a Service (SaaS), which has 36% of the total cloud service market. Out of the 233 billion INR that will be spent on cloud computing between 2013 and 2017, 89 billion INR will be spent on SaaS.
Satya Ramaswamy, global head Digital Enterprise at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said the cloud is a natural fit for India. “This is because it gives you the ability to do new things without substantial investment in hardware.”
He said network connectivity can be a challenge to the take up of cloud services in rural areas.
“But mobile connectivity is becoming better and the metro areas where most IT investment is made there is broadband connectivity with 3G being rolled out these days,” he said.
