Oracle Users Says ‘Yes’ to Cloud

With many companies expressing concerns about committing to cloud computing one group of users appears to have no such worries.

Cloud Computing: 2011 Predictions

According to research conducted by the UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG), in conjunction with Fujitsu, nearly two-thirds of Oracle users are either using cloud services or planning to in the next year. On top of this, 32 percent of users said they were considering cloud projects but not in the coming year; only seven percent of companies had no plans to use them at all.

There does, however, appear to be wide discrepancy as to what cloud services means. For over half of the respondents who said they were using cloud, it means Software-as-a-Service, while for 21 percent cloud means Infrastructure as a service and only 3 percent use cloud as a platform as a service.

And despite the positive comments about the technology, respondents to the survey still had several concerns about adopting cloud services. Top of the list were governance obstacles, contractual restrictions, integration with own enterprise systems and vendor lock-in.

Ronan Miles UKOUG chairman said: “The results of the survey are very useful to ensure that UKOUG can continue to adapt and adopt services that support its member base in obtaining the best from its investment in IT and Oracle in particular. The industry is undergoing great change and providing intelligence to support our members’ needs alongside the industry in general helps ensure that. I am particularly thankful for the support Fujitsu gives the user group, both in terms of this survey and others – such help freely given is what community is all about.”