FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 70 percent of German IT decision-makers surveyed by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, say their companies have either adopted or plan to adopt cloud-native technologies, with a shortage of talent the main stumbling block to further adoption.
The survey, conducted in September for EuroCloud Native (ECN), the cloud-native initiative of the industry association EuroCloud Deutschland, asked 200 German IT decision-makers about their current and planned use of cloud-native technologies. The study found 22 percent of respondents said their companies are already working with cloud-native approaches, while 27 percent are planning to get started in the next 12 months. A further 23 percent said they have concrete plans, without specifying when they plan to implement cloud-native technologies.
"The survey results show that interest in cloud-native solutions is now widespread in Germany. Only 3 percent of respondents said that cloud-native is not currently on their agenda," said study leader Heiko Henkes, director with ISG Research. “Despite the strong interest, most companies are still only in the initial implementation phase.”
Henkes noted the survey results demonstrate that companies are not fully recognizing the benefits of cloud-native solutions. Nearly half (48 percent) of the respondents said IT security is the top benefit of cloud-native technologies, which Henkes described only as an “indirect benefit.”
“Other primary advantages were ranked lower on the list of benefits,” Henkes said. They include more stable systems (40 percent of the mentions), shorter development cycles for software engineering (23 percent), and automatic scaling (9 percent), he said.
Skills shortage slows cloud-native adoption
Asked about obstacles to adoption, the most frequent answer respondents gave (37 percent) was a lack of skilled professionals to implement cloud-native solutions. This partially explains why IT security is the main focus of business benefits, said Felix Höger, board member at EuroCloud Germany.
“The majority of respondents are well aware of their companies’ limited perceptions of cloud-native benefits," Höger said. "But in view of the worsening shortage of skilled workers, companies are forced to direct their focus on precisely those requirements that are currently most pressing for the business. IT security is definitely one of them."
The extent to which the skills shortage is impeding cloud-native adoption is shown by the response to the question of how strongly cloud-native procedures are already established in application development. The largest number of companies are opting for a go-slow approach, with 44 percent of respondents saying they will concentrate initially on adopting cloud-native technology for smaller applications, in the form of refactoring projects. Significantly fewer (27 percent) say they will implement cloud-native in new software development projects.
Market opportunities for specialized service providers
"The fact that most cloud-native users have so far taken advantage of only some of the capabilities of this technology means there are great market opportunities for specialized service providers, especially in the area of software engineering,” said Dr. Nils Kaufmann, director at EuroCloud Native.
Exploring the criteria companies use when selecting a provider, the survey found the most important consideration is for the provider to have a speciality in cloud-native technology, with 85 percent saying this is either an important or very important consideration. Next important is a familiarity with a broad spectrum of cloud platforms, with 83 percent of respondents saying this is important to ensure the establishment, operation and enhancement of multi-cloud solutions.
Eight member companies of the ECN were involved in the survey project and contributed their expertise to the design of the study: Alice&Bob.Company, CLOUDETEER, Cloudwürdig, Deepshore, GECKO (ein Mitglied der release42 Gruppe), globaldatanet, Kubermatic and tecRacer Consulting.
Note to Editors: ISG and ECN will present the complete findings of the survey during a virtual press briefing today at 10:30 a.m., Central European Time, at the ECN Summit. The briefing will be conducted in German. For more information on the ISG Pulse Check survey, visit www.eurocloudnative.de/isgpulsecheck.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
About EuroCloud Native (ECN)
EuroCloud Native (www.eurocloudnative.de) is an initiative within EuroCloud Deutschland_eco e. V. (EuroCloud), the association of the cloud computing industry in Germany. Since 2020, the ECN has specifically targeted providers of public cloud-based solutions and services, which are mostly young companies or start-ups. Founded by experts, the ECN is not only a specialist forum for cloud-native topics, but also a point of contact for questions from the media.
About EuroCloud Germany_eco e. V.
EuroCloud Deutschland (www.eurocloud.de) is the association of the German cloud computing industry and represents it in the pan-European EuroCloud network. EuroCloud Germany is committed to acceptance and demand-oriented provision of cloud services on the German market. In doing so, the association is in constant dialog with the European partners of the EuroCloud network in order to find global solutions and prepare the ground for international business relationships. EuroCloud Germany was founded in December 2009 and is affiliated with eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e. V.
About eco - Association of the Internet Economy e. V.
With over 1,100 member companies, eco (www.eco.de) is the largest association of the Internet industry in Europe. Since 1995, eco has been instrumental in shaping the Internet, promoting new technologies, creating framework conditions and representing the interests of its members vis-à-vis politicians and in international bodies. The reliability and strengthening of the digital infrastructure, IT security and trust, as well as ethically oriented digitization, are the focal points of the association's work. eco is committed to a free, technology-neutral and powerful Internet.
