According to 451 Research, 60% of enterprises want to become cloud-first firms by 2020.

The research companies report suggests information processing is a good reason to switch to the cloud, instead of on-premise solutions.

It appears business intelligence, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data are the most popular area’s firms want to use cloud-based infrastructure for.

Despite this, the report found more than 60% of enterprises don’t have the strategy to drive a successful transformation.

Data optimisation and analysis

Melanie Posey, research vice president and general manager of 451 Research’s Voice of the Enterprise division, said to ITPro: “The survey suggests that many – but certainly not all – organisations are finally reaching the point where they can focus on endeavors that help differentiate the business, instead of merely keeping the lights on.

“In 2018 we expect to see much of this effort focused on a new set of approaches to data optimisation and analysis.”

451’s survey respondents believe Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are to become the biggest strategic suppliers of cloud technologies to the enterprise.

Written by Leah Alger