Weathering the storm: UK and Ireland CIOs bet on cloud investment amidst turbulent times

Cloud technology remains a crucial long-term investment priority for major corporations in the UK and Ireland, despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges and the recent deceleration in the growth of global cloud providers.

Overall, despite considerable progress in recent years, it is evident to say that businesses still have a considerable journey ahead to unlock the full potential of cloud technology. :

Industry clouds, also known as 'vertical clouds,' are rapidly emerging as a means to gain specialized business expertise and capabilities. An overwhelming majority of executives in the UK and Ireland are currently assessing, adopting, or utilising industry-specific cloud solutions, surpassing the global average of 73%.

Critical skills shortages continue to impact businesses in the cloud space, with a quarter of organisations reporting a lack of full cloud proficiencies within their organisations.

Venu Gudimetla, head of Cloud Business UK&I at TCS, stated, "Despite the challenging economic climate, a majority of businesses in the UK and Ireland are prioritising long-term investment in the cloud to power innovations such as AI and drive new business models".

Interestingly, the UK and Ireland are already making progress when it comes to industry-specific cloud deployments and achieving their sustainability goals. We expect to see an acceleration of innovation as more businesses leverage cloud technologies for long-term growth and profitability.

Krishnan Ramanujam, President of the Enterprise Growth Group at TCS, added, "A desire for greater efficiency, resilience, and flexibility drove early cloud adoption, and these factors remain critical".

Businesses now have a deeper understanding of how cloud technology drives long-term business growth and innovation, but for most, the journey is just beginning.