Executives Predict Cloud-Enabled Transformation

The majority of U.S. companies recognize that the cloud will play an essential role in innovation in the very near future. Yet, most enterprises don't have a clear cloud migration plan in place, according to a recent survey conducted by Oxford Economics for Windstream. The accompanying survey report, titled "The Path to Value in the Cloud," reveals that organizations are falling short when it comes to getting the right performance and ROI metrics in place to measure cloud-enabling success. There are also concerns about the cloud's impact on security, costs, platform compatibility and privacy. However, overall sentiments remain upbeat, as the cloud is expected to help increase geographic market expansion, business transformation, collaboration and other strategy drivers. "Cloud computing today is fundamentally altering business processes and changing the way organizations interact with customers, partners and employees," according to the report. "This transformation brings incredible opportunities, including the ability to build a real-time enterprise where interaction and innovation flourish." A total of 350 U.S. business and technology executives took part in the research.