Enterprises planning widespread deployment of multi-Cloud IT architectures in 2015

Equinix, Inc. has announced the results of a survey conducted by Dimensional Research that uncovers global trends in information technology (IT) strategies for 2015. The survey of more than 650 IT decision makers in Australia, Brazil, Germany, United Kingdom, North America, and Singapore found that the vast majority (77 percent) plan to implement multi-cloud architectures in the coming year. The survey also shows these same decision makers are seeking interconnected colocation data centre environments because they offer direct connections to multiple cloud providers for increased security, reliability and performance.

Executive Summary – From One Cloud to Many
Survey respondents indicate they plan to deploy multiple, geographically dispersed clouds in 2015, and 74 percent are budgeting for a multi-cloud migration strategy. Over the next 12 months, a significant number of business applications such as storage/backup, disaster recovery and business intelligence, among others, will be deployed to the cloud, and many of those workloads with third-party colocation providers. A key challenge associated with moving business applications into the cloud is security, with 85 percent of respondents listing it as their top concern, followed by performance and reliability. The majority of respondents indicate that direct connections to the cloud – those that bypass the public internet – are highly valuable with improved security being the top attribute associated with directly connecting to cloud services.

Interconnected Data Centres Critical to Multi-Cloud Deployments
The survey results underscore that interconnection – either high-bandwidth interconnection to other customers or via direct connect to cloud services – is key to realising the promise of the cloud. In a multi-cloud architecture, enterprises must have the seamless ability to privately and securely connect multiple clouds across multiple sites using multiple forms of access. For enterprises using cloud services, an interconnected cloud environment provides the security, performance and choice required for IT decision makers to confidently rely on the cloud for mission-critical business. For cloud service providers, it provides the fastest route to cloud revenue by rapidly connecting business partners and customers while creating higher-performance, more differentiated service offerings.

Key Facts
· Decision makers surveyed, comprised of IT executives (44 percent), IT managers (54 percent), and IT service providers (2 percent), stated:
- 77 percent plan to deploy to multiple clouds in the next 12 months
- 91 percent of new cloud-based offerings will be deployed in their organisation over the next 12 months
- 45 percent of new cloud-based apps will be deployed at a third-party colocation provider
- 87 percent indicate that interconnection is required to meet cloud performance objectives
- 85 percent indicate that direct connections to cloud providers are highly valued; security being the top attribute associated with direct connections
- 74 percent expect a larger budget in 2015 for cloud services

Equinix pioneered direct cross-connects to cloud services, including enabling secure virtual connections to multiple, global cloud services via one physical port. It is home to the world’s leading businesses including 450+ cloud service providers such as Amazon, Box, Microsoft and Salesforce.com and the industry’s most interconnected cloud ecosystem. Additionally, Equinix provides access to more than 1,000 public and private networks – more than any other data centre colocation provider. The company’s expert cloud consultants work with customers inside Equinix’s global Solutions Validation Centres to help them align their enterprise applications and data workload requirements with the right cloud and networking strategies.