Survey shows 86% of Australian businesses now use cloud-based services

Australian enterprises are increasingly embracing the cloud, with 86% currently using cloud-based services, according to a new IDC survey.

The Australia End-User Cloud Survey figure represents a significant year-on-year increase from 71% in 2012.

Overall spending on public cloud services in Australia is forecast by the report to grow from $884.4 million in 2012 to $2.6 billion in 2017, representing a compound annual growth rate of 24.7%.

The figures also show line-of-business (LOB) managers, rather than IT departments, are increasingly making significant decisions about cloud-based services.

According to the survey, 69.2% of respondents identified their business unit as having responsibility for selecting a service provider for a recent cloud-based project, compared to 59.8% for the IT department.

“Until 2012, cloud was primarily an IT label for IT infrastructure services delivered as a service. Now, cloud is no longer just an IT infrastructure play,” says IDC Australia cloud services research senior analyst Raj Mudaliar.
“Cloud-based business services being acquired by LOB managers will now drive growth in the use of externally sourced services. Cloud in 2013 is now business as usual for CIOs, IT managers, and LOB managers.