NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global software company that focuses on data-centric solutions and cloud technologies, has released its annual report titled the “2023 State of CloudOps,” which sheds light on the current state of CloudOps and the perspectives of IT decision makers regarding the optimization of their environments. The report highlights a significant increase in executive confidence, with 33% of respondents feeling “very confident” in their ability to operate in a public cloud environment, compared to only 21% in 2022.
Haiyan Song, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CloudOps at NetApp, emphasized the critical nature of cloud operations for leveraging the benefits of cloud infrastructure and applications. The research underlines the challenges faced by organizations in cloud operations, while also acknowledging the importance of investments in automation and FinOps to overcome these obstacles.
Key Findings from Spot by NetApp’s 2023 State of CloudOps Report:
- Cloud operations remain a challenge for IT teams:
- Security and compliance are the top concerns for 64% of IT decision makers, followed by cost management, which is the primary challenge for 60% of respondents.
- Cost management and security are the primary areas of focus for 66% of technology executives aiming to enhance cloud operations.
- Automation is crucial for cloud operations success:
- 82% of respondents believe that cloud automation is critical for optimizing cloud operations and achieving a higher return on investment (ROI).
- Currently, 95% of respondents have integrated some level of automation in their cloud operations, and 88% plan to further increase automation in 2023.
- Enterprises are embracing FinOps:
- Despite 96% of tech executives recognizing the importance of FinOps in their cloud strategy, only 9% have a mature FinOps practice. These findings align with the 2022 survey results.
- The main FinOps challenges include reducing cloud costs (50%) and forecasting cloud spend (47%), while only 19% of respondents reported fully utilizing discounted cloud purchase options.
Hyoun Park, Chief Analyst at Amalgam Insights, highlighted the interconnected nature of cloud cost management, resource management, compliance, and security. He emphasized the need for holistic cloud management, as simply looking at cloud costs in isolation is insufficient. Park further noted that companies are increasingly automating cloud resources to optimize them and align them with business needs.
Spot by NetApp offers solutions that empower organizations to improve and automate their cloud operations, enabling better cost control, enhanced security, optimized resource allocation, and superior services across multiple cloud environments.
Methodology
The “2023 State of CloudOps” report, sponsored by Spot by NetApp and conducted by Dimensional Research, examines the current state of CloudOps in large enterprise teams. The report focuses on operational activities, staffing and expertise, automation, and FinOps. The findings are based on an online survey of 310 IT decision makers in operations or applications roles, responsible for public cloud infrastructure investments at companies with 500 or more employees, and located in the United States.
