Want root canal? No, then do cloud migration

SAN JOSE, USA: Without the proper cloud migration strategy, more than one third (38 per cent) of IT decision makers would rather get a root canal, dig a ditch, or do their own taxes than address network challenges associated with public or private cloud deployments, finds an international study announced by Cisco.

The 2012 Cisco Global Cloud Networking Survey reveals that updating the network is one of the top focus areas for cloud migration.

In order to successfully move more applications to the cloud, the majority of respondents cited a cloud-ready network (37 per cent) as the biggest infrastructure element required for further cloud deployments, ahead of a virtualized data centre (28 per cent) or a service-level agreement from a cloud service provider (21 per cent).

This data expands on the Cisco Global Cloud Index, which predicts that more than 50 per cent of computing workloads in data centres will be cloud-based by 2014, and that global cloud traffic will grow over 12 times by 2015, to 1.6 zettabytes per year -- the equivalent of over four days of business-class video for every person on Earth.

Other Key Findings

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) feel they are confident with enough information to begin their private or public cloud deployments. However, the remainder (27 per cent) feels they have more knowledge about how to play Angry Birds than the steps needed to migrate their company's network and applications to the cloud.

In a clear sign that many IT organizations are still considering and planning cloud migrations, nearly one quarter (24 per cent) of IT decision makers said that over the next six months, they are more likely to see a UFO, a unicorn or a ghost before they see their company's cloud migration starting and finishing.

Without proper processes and planning, more than one quarter (31 per cent) said they could train for a marathon in a shorter period of time than it would take to migrate their company's applications to the cloud.

A majority (76 per cent) predict their cloud applications are likely to be breached, yet only one quarter (24 per cent) are confident to the point in which they believe the odds are better for them to be struck by lightning than have their cloud applications breached by an unwanted third party.

Cloud Deployments Expected to Increase Significantly by the end of 2012

Currently, only five per cent of IT decision makers have been able to migrate at least half of their total applications to the cloud. That number is expected to significantly rise, as one in five (20 per cent) will have deployed over half of their total applications to the cloud by the end of 2012.

Most Critical Infrastructure for Cloud Deployments

In order to successfully move more applications to the cloud, the majority of respondents cited a cloud-ready network (37 per cent) as the biggest infrastructure element required for further cloud deployments, ahead of a virtualized data center (28 per cent) or a service-level agreement from a cloud service provider (21 per cent).

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Top Infrastructure Roadblocks to Cloud Migration

During the cloud migration process, data protection security (72 per cent) was cited as the top network challenge or roadblock responsible for preventing a successful implementation of cloud services, followed by availability/reliability of cloud applications (67 per cent), device-based security (66 per cent), visibility and control of applications across the WAN (60 per cent) and overall application performance (60 per cent).

Top Choice of Application for Cloud Migration

If given the choice of only being able to move one application to the cloud, most respondents would choose storage (25 per cent), followed by enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications to manage HR, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and project management systems (20 per cent). Email (16 per cent) and collaboration solutions (15 per cent) followed.

Reality Check: Status of Cloud Application Migration

When asked which applications have been moved, or are being planning to be moved to public or private clouds in the next year, the majority of IT decision makers cited email and Web services (77 per cent), followed by storage (74 per cent) and collaboration solutions such as Web conferencing and instant messaging (72 per cent).

Expected Length of Typical Cloud Deployment

When asked to anticipate the length of time the transfer of applications such as Web conferencing, storage and email would take to either private or public clouds, most respondents anticipated a private cloud migration to take longer than a public one.

Moreover, when asked to estimate the average length of time it would take to complete the cloud migration for their applications, most IT professionals indicated the deployment would take less than six months.

State of Virtual Desktop Deployments -- and Barriers

When asked about their plans to deploy virtual desktops, 79 per cent of IT decision makers cited it as part of their current or future plans.

Twenty five per cent are already using virtual desktops, with 35 per cent planning to do so within the next year. 20 per cent plan on deploying virtual desktops within one to three years.

Among the top barriers to keeping virtual desktop deployments from taking place, respondents cited cost (46 per cent) as the primary obstacle, followed by bandwidth requirements (45 per cent), virtual desktop (VDI) performance caused by WAN latency (37 per cent), integration of native with virtual desktops (34 per cent), and the overall complexity of the deployment (33 per cent).

When asked the reason behind their move to the cloud, 52 per cent of respondents claimed it was an imperative made by their business or CIO to in order to improve costs, productivity and agility; 41 per cent said they are simply following the industry or their peers; and 30 per cent are doing so because of customer requirements.

Source of Information When Making Cloud Decisions

Cloud service providers are the main source of intelligence or information about cloud services (25 per cent), followed by industry analysts (16 per cent), industry peers (15 per cent) and infrastructure vendors (14 per cent).

Personal Experience of IT Professionals Regarding Security and Network Performance

Nearly two in five participants (39 per cent) said they would not trust their own personal information -- such as medical records and Social Security numbers -- with the cloud provider they are currently using.

More than half (52 per cent) of IT decision makers said they have a better overall application experience at home with their personal networks than they do at work.