Hybrid multi-cloud computing Nutanix has announced the findings of its sixth annual Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey and research report.

The study is intended to measure global cloud adoption and related trends. The 2024 report reveals that the majority of respondents are adopting a ‘cloud smart’ stance i.e. placing the applications and workloads in datacenters, multiple clouds, the network edge and wherever they feel is the best match for them.

Hybrid multi-cloud models are set to now increase alongside the use of multiple public clouds, which is also set to increase.

Top five cloud drivers

The top five drivers of deployment platform choice are performance (55%), cost management (53%), data sovereignty/privacy (44%), ransomware/malware protection (33%) and flexibility (33%). Other factors included support for sophisticated data services such as backup and snapshots, ability to deploy AI optimally, and sustainability.

Another key criterion was application migration support with 85% of the audience indicating that they swapped platforms for apps in the previous 12 months for reasons including costs, capacity management, data security, performance and access to innovation.

Sustaining sustainability suitably

The survey also saw a burgeoning interest in IT’s role in sustainability with 55% saying that remote working had enhanced measures, 44% claiming to have modernised IT infrastructure for improved ecological results, and 43% saying compliance with sustainability measures had been a focus.

As for threats, ransomware remains a key concern with 50% of respondents listing it as a key C-level concern and 42% saying recovering from attacks can take days or even weeks.

“The research shows IT in a state of flux,” said Rowen Grierson, senior director and general manager, UK&I at Nutanix. “Leaders have a host of factors competing for attention from the menace of ransomware to data, workload and application manageability and the sustainability mandate. The solution many are pursuing is the ultimate flexibility of hybrid multi-cloud. This is a progressive and pragmatic position to hold but they also need the management consoles and controls to orchestrate and secure their estates.”

Key findings from this year’s report include the suggestion that the UK will far surpass the global average in the next one to three years when it comes to use of multiple public clouds. Their use is forecast to increase to 46% over the next 1-3 years, compared to 26% globally.

Nutanix says that IT decision makers indicate a unique set of priorities, ranking “capacity concerns” and “cost concerns” as their top two reasons for application migration. Globally and across EMEA, 95% of organisations say they moved/migrated applications in the last 12 months.

Ransomware recovery

When looking at ransomware recovery by region, distribution of recovery times is relatively similar with slight differences in the proportions of organisations able to recover within hours vs days. The UK indicates a significantly higher proportion of respondents saying their organisation recovered from a ransomware attack within hours, at 59%. In fact, it was the highest incidence of this choice out of any country surveyed by a wide margin.

For the sixth consecutive year, Nutanix commissioned a global research study to learn about the state of global enterprise cloud deployments and what organisations’ biggest IT infrastructure and cloud-related data management initiatives and challenges are.

To learn more about the report and findings, please download the full sixth Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Index, here.