Is your Office 365 data protected? Find out more. CloudHealth Technologies Survey Reveals Cloud Strategies That Drive Business Growth, Competitive Advantage

CloudHealth Technologies , the leader in cloud service management, today announced the results of its "Secrets of the Cloud Leaders" study. The study surveyed 388 senior decision makers from U.S. enterprises to determine how they were faring with a range of operational metrics. Respondents that showed the best results were designated "cloud leaders" and compared against the bottom tier (those achieving less success) in order to determine which practices lead to the best outcomes. Though pervasive, cloud computing is not without its challenges. A recent study by North Bridge and Wikibon revealed that 90 percent of companies report having some sort of cloud strategy, and that many hope it will drive speed and profit. However, cloud initiatives are often stymied by challenges related to chaos and sprawl, including lack of visibility and spikes in cost. "That the cloud has redefined business is undeniable," said Melodye Mueller, VP of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at CloudHealth Technologies. "The question has now become: How do you unlock its maximum potential? Even top cloud users wonder where they stand in terms of their cloud operations' best practices. They want to know which strategies yield optimal results and how they are doing against their peers." The study found that enterprises executing against a plan see far superior results than their less cloud savvy counterparts. These "cloud leaders" grow revenue 2.3 times faster and, on average, are generating a 35 percent year-over-year increase in top-line revenue. They are faster, more agile, and 2.3 times more likely to see the cloud drive competitive advantage. Cloud leaders are four times more likely to roll out new applications and services quickly, and more than twice as likely to be "somewhat or extremely efficient" in delivering applications and services (99 versus 41 percent). According to the survey, these outcomes stem from discipline across a variety of areas, including the following: Risk . Cloud leaders are three times as likely to act quickly to identify and mitigate cloud computing risks.

. Cloud leaders are three times as likely to act quickly to identify and mitigate cloud computing risks. Cost . Cloud leaders are three times as likely to take advantage of sophisticated cloud pricing strategies and 2.5 times as likely to have a comprehensive, clearly articulated strategy for managing the cost of cloud deployments.

. Cloud leaders are three times as likely to take advantage of sophisticated cloud pricing strategies and 2.5 times as likely to have a comprehensive, clearly articulated strategy for managing the cost of cloud deployments. Optimization . They are 4.6 times as likely to see cloud deployment optimization as a continual process, as opposed to a one-time exercise.

. They are 4.6 times as likely to see cloud deployment optimization as a continual process, as opposed to a one-time exercise. Vendor expertise . Cloud leaders are 1.5 times as likely to understand the benefits and differentiators of various cloud platforms. As previously stated, they are also better at understanding pricing in order to control cost -- even when dealing with an array of vendors, plans and billing structures.

. Cloud leaders are 1.5 times as likely to understand the benefits and differentiators of various cloud platforms. As previously stated, they are also better at understanding pricing in order to control cost -- even when dealing with an array of vendors, plans and billing structures. Vision . Asked about making the transition from a traditional build philosophy, where apps run on data center infrastructure, to a system where apps are deployed to the cloud, cloud leaders were 10 times as likely to say they had a "crystal clear vision" for that transition. Most bottom-tier respondents had "only a vague idea" or "no idea" how to make the transition.

. Asked about making the transition from a traditional build philosophy, where apps run on data center infrastructure, to a system where apps are deployed to the cloud, cloud leaders were 10 times as likely to say they had a "crystal clear vision" for that transition. Most bottom-tier respondents had "only a vague idea" or "no idea" how to make the transition. Governance . Cloud leaders are twice as likely to have centralized governance for migrating workloads to the cloud.

. Cloud leaders are twice as likely to have centralized governance for migrating workloads to the cloud. Ownership. 76 percent of cloud leaders have a role in the organization dedicated to ongoing cloud management. Most have codified best practices that are well understood by the business, and leaders overall are nine times as likely to hold business groups accountable for alignment with cloud spend forecasts. Mueller continued, "The survey revealed many findings that don't fit into a single report. CloudHealth Technologies will continue to dig into the results to share best practices and key takeaways throughout the coming months." To learn more about the survey findings, visit https://www.cloudhealthtech.com/secrets-cloud-leaders.

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