Moving to the Cloud is Costly and Challenging, Survey Finds

Audit firm KPMG polled more than 650 business and IT leaders about their company's cloud plans.

Companies using cloud services are finding moving to a cloud environment is more costly and challenging than anticipated, according to a new report from audit and advisory firm KPMG.

KPMG surveyed more than 650 business and IT leaders across 16 major global markets and found more than half of the organizations are already working in the cloud. However, the survey found that about one-third of respondents reported the costs of moving to the cloud were higher than expected, and a similar number noted significant implementation challenges.

"One of the most important lessons uncovered by this research is that business process redesign needs to be done in tandem with cloud adoption, if organizations hope to achieve the full potential of their cloud investments," said Rick Wright, KPMG's Global Cloud Enablement Program leader. ""Simply put, executives have found that simultaneous process redesign is central to addressing the complexities that often arise in the implementation and operational phases of cloud adoption."

According to KPMG, cost savings is not anymore the primary reason businesses are moving into the cloud, and they are looking at other long-term benefits such as more efficient overall processes, flexible operating models, and faster speed to market. KPMG's survey found that that two of the top three cloud objectives identified by more than 20 percent of business executives were to enhance new market entry and drive business process transformation.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio