Welcome to the nClouds State of Cloud Services 2023 report, where we delve into the latest survey results and statistics that illuminate the current landscape of cloud services. 

As cloud technology continues to shape the business landscape, we’ve conducted an in-depth survey to understand the preferences and challenges faced by businesses when it comes to cloud adoption and management.

Here are some of the headline statistics from the survey: 

• Businesses are proactive in modernizing their cloud-based applications, with 44.55% planning to modernize up to 25% of their applications within the next 24 months.
• A well-balanced approach is seen in the distribution of work between in-house teams and third parties, with 44.56% planning to perform more than 50% of the modernization in-house.
• AWS (50.41%) takes the lead as the most utilized cloud platform, followed by Microsoft Azure (38.61%) and Google Cloud Platform (41.58%).
• Businesses are focused on modernizing applications (37%) and migrating additional workloads to the cloud (28.87%) as their top priorities for the rest of 2023.
• A vast majority (77.23%) of businesses want to achieve improved performance and efficiency from their most important cloud initiatives.

We’ll dive into the rest of the survey results, as well as information on who the respondents are and where they came from, below.

Cloud Modernization and Transformation

Modernization Plans

The survey delved into the plans of businesses to modernize their existing cloud-based applications over the next 24 months. 

• Businesses are proactive in modernizing their cloud-based applications, with 44.55% planning to modernize up to 25% of their applications within the next 24 months.
• 33.66% of businesses are planning on modernizing up to 50% of their applications within the next 24 months, and 16.83% are planning to modernize more than 50% of their applications. 

In-house vs. Third-Party Involvement

When it comes to modernization initiatives, businesses are often opting for a balanced approach between harnessing in-house capabilities and leveraging the expertise of third-party partners. 

• 10.89% of organizations are placing their complete trust in external partners for modernization, leveraging their specialized knowledge and skills.
• 22.77% of businesses are retaining 1–25% of the modernization process in-house while seeking external support for the rest.
• 22.77% are adopting a more evenly distributed strategy, with 26–50% of modernization efforts being managed internally.
• 44.56% of respondents are planning to perform more than 50% of the modernization in-house.

Cloud Platform Preferences

Most-Used Cloud Platforms

1. AWS (59.41%)
2. Microsoft Azure (38.61%)
3. Google Cloud Platform (41.58%)
4. Oracle Cloud (14.85%)
5. VMWare (12.87%)
6. RedHat Openshift (2.97%)
7. Other (4.95%)
8. No cloud platform (0.99%)

Preferred Cloud Platforms

1. AWS (40.59%)
2. Microsoft Azure (26.73%)
3. Google Cloud Platform (19.8%)
4. Oracle Cloud (5.94%)
5. Other (3.96%)
6. VMWare (1.98%)
7. No cloud platform (0.99%)
8. RedHat Openshift (0%)

Cloud Priorities and Business Outcomes

Top Cloud Priorities

• The top cloud priority for businesses in 2023 is to ensure cloud workloads are sufficiently secured. 
• Other top priorities include modernizing operations, making cloud implementation cost-efficient, and operating/monitoring the cloud environment more effectively. 

What Businesses Hope to Achieve

• 77.23% of businesses want to achieve improved performance and efficiency from their most important cloud initiatives. 
• 55.45% of businesses want to achieve improved security and compliance from their most important cloud initiatives. 
• 51.49% of businesses want to achieve improved cost optimization from their most important cloud initiatives. 
• 39.6% of businesses want to achieve enhanced scalability from their most important cloud initiatives. 
• 32.67% of businesses want to achieve innovation and competitive advantage from their most important cloud initiatives. 
• 25.74% of businesses want to achieve improved time to value from their most important cloud initiatives. 

Cloud Service Company Expectations

Businesses have several specific expectations from cloud service companies. 

• When assessing cloud service companies specializing in constructing and overseeing modern infrastructure solutions, 38.61% of respondents place a priority on continuous support for management services. 
• 21.78% emphasize the importance of tactical assistance for executing short-term projects. 
• 13.86% recognize the value of augmenting their internal teams by collaborating with external experts. 
• 25.74% of businesses consider a strategic and trusted partnership with a cloud service company as significant for their cloud journey.

Expectations of a Strategic Partner

When businesses seek to enlist the help of a cloud service company for cloud initiatives, they have several key priorities. 

• When considering the expectations of a strategic and trusted partner, 39.6% of businesses seek a high-level consultant for market guidance. 
• 43.56% value the involvement of a highly engaged consultant in architecting AWS infrastructure within the overarching cloud environment. 
• 50.5% emphasize the importance of having an expert implementation partner. 
• 44.55% are looking for partners that are experts in the intricacies of the AWS ecosystem. 
• 34.65% recognize the need for a cost-optimization consultant to maximize their AWS investments. 
• 40.59% expect expertise in individual AWS services. 
• 40.59% envision a long-term strategic partnership to navigate the complexities of modernization.

Likelihood of Engaging Service Providers

Businesses are keen on engaging service providers for various cloud activities.

• 51.49% of respondents indicated it was likely for them to use a service provider for cloud architecture and design.
• 50.5% of respondents indicated it was likely for them to use a service provider for ongoing monitoring and management.
• 46.53% of respondents indicated it was likely for them to use a service provider for build and implementation on the cloud. 
• The primary factor for businesses to engage with a service partner is “headcount constraint,” while “cost-effectiveness” holds lesser importance.

Survey Snapshot: Understanding the Players

Business Types 

The survey garnered insights from 101 respondents from a diverse range of businesses, highlighting the following distribution:

• Small or medium-sized business (1–499 employees): 37.62%
• Startups (1–499 employees): 12.87%
• Large Startups (500–1,000 employees): 13.86%
• Enterprises (1,001–5,000 employees): 12.87%
• Large Enterprises (5,000+ employees): 14.85%
• Public Sector (Government): 0.99%

Business Roles

Here is what the respondents’ roles were in their companies:

• CTO/CIO: 3.96%
• IT Director/Manager: 28.71%
• Architect: 0.99%
• Developer: 26.73%
• Administrator: 14.85%
• Engineer: 12.87%
• Other: 11.88%

About nClouds

nClouds is an award-winning Amazon Web Services (AWS) Premier Tier Services Partner focused on helping organizations accelerate innovation. We partner with our customers to migrate, modernize, and manage cloud operations initiatives to support their digital transformation journeys. We provide high-performance consulting and support solutions for every stage of the cloud journey, enabling our customers to improve business agility and innovation velocity, reduce operational costs, and improve workforce efficiencies.

nClouds’ core practices include cloud migration, application modernization, cloud optimization, managed services, and DevOps. Learn more at nclouds.com.