According to one survey, 170 high-level respondents from such enterprises had indicated this significant intention last year

Based on an Oct/Nov 2024 survey of 1,420* IT decision-makers in large organizations^ about their cloud computing/IT plans and strategies, a cloud technology firm has released findings of some trends among respondents from the Asia Pacific cohort (defined as respondents from Australia and Singapore).

First, over 90% of the APAC survey respondents (around 170 from Australia and Singapore combined*) cited plans to make significant changes in their cloud strategy over the next two years. Of those respondents, 46% had indicated that a hybrid cloud for multi-environment deployment will be critical to their IT operations over the next 12 to 24 months. Their main reasons given included: improved reliability and availability (72%), and enhancing data security and compliance (56%).

Second, over 72% of APAC respondents had stated that their organizations had considered repatriating at least a portion of their workloads from public clouds back to private clouds or on-premises infrastructure, citing data security and compliance requirements (49%), better integration with existing systems (42%), and skill gaps or staffing limitations in managing cloud environments (38%). For those that had recently repatriated workloads, nearly 80% of respondents reported that it had resolved those concerns. 

Third, 11% of APAC respondents had indicated that cloud adoption had been fully integrated into their business strategy and aligned with their business objectives with advanced practice areas in place. Some 83% had indicated that they can transfer workloads seamlessly between the public and private cloud; 79% had indicated that they can do so between multiple public cloud hyperscalers. Also:

  • 84% of APAC respondents indicated they had taken steps to integrate their AI and cloud strategies. When asked about the business outcomes that were driving the integration of AI and cloud, 44% indicated that their goal was to enhance operational efficiency, and 44% indicated they were leveraging AI to improve the insights generated by data analytics.
  • 48% cited constraints involving data and compliance, and 45% cited insufficient budgets for meeting business demands.
  • 43% cited autonomous cloud management as one of their top priorities, followed by cloud-native AI/ML services (42%) and multi-cloud and hybrid cloud optimization (41%). Also, 46% cited cloud-native AI/ML services as one of their top priorities, followed by multi-cloud and hybrid cloud optimization (42%) and cloud-based sustainable computing (40%).
  • 97% of APAC respondents indicated their organization had established procedures and policies for data privacy and compliance in cloud environments, and 39% had also indicated that they were leveraging AI for advanced security and threat detection.
  • One general trend among APAC respondents was that, instead of updating existing infrastructure, they have been designing entirely new cloud strategies to meet evolving demands and transitioning from a “one-size-fits-all” model in favor of a more flexible and resilient multi-strategy approach.

According to Adhil Badat, Chief Operating Officer (Asia-Pacific Japan), Rackspace Technology, the firm disclosing its perspectives from the survey data: “It is imperative for organizations to develop a clear AI and cloud strategy. As organizations shift away from a single-cloud approach, they are embracing flexible, multi-environment solutions to meet evolving business needs. This transformation is not just about technology but about crafting a resilient foundation for future growth while ensuring data security and compliance remain at the forefront.”

*selected across manufacturing/logistics; retail; hospitality/travel; energy; healthcare/pharma/biomedical; government; media/entertainment; and financial service sectors in the Americas (USA 30%, Mexico 10%, Colombia 8%), Europe (29%), Asia (Australia 6% and Singapore 6%), and the Middle East (5% KSA, 6% UAE).

^Organizations involved had 1,000 to 10,000+ employees and annual revenues between US$50m (4%) and US$15b (15%).