How AI & Multicloud are Adapting Enterprise Tech Strategies
As technology develops, global enterprises are fundamentally reshaping their cloud strategies to drive innovation and business transformation.
This shift comes as organisations not only seek to keep up competitive advantage, but as they grapple with the complexities of digital transformation, evolving cybersecurity threats and the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI).
Shedding light on these trends, a new study by HCLTech, a leading global technology company, reveals a significant move towards multicloud adoption and application modernisation.
Multicloud adoption refers to the use of multiple cloud service providers to enhance flexibility and redundancy in IT infrastructure, whilst application modernisation involves updating existing software to improve performance and compatibility with cloud environments.
This evolution reflects how businesses worldwide are not only seeking to keep up with technological advancements, but are seeking to balance technical innovation, security and flexibility.
The HCLTech study, Cloud Evolution: Mandate to Modernise, is based on a survey of 500 senior business and technology leaders across multiple industries and geographic regions, was conducted by the global analyst firm ESG.
It provides valuable insights into the evolving cloud strategies of global enterprises as they navigate the complexities of digital transformation and emerging technologies.
Multicloud and hybrid strategies dominate
Firstly, the HCLTech report reveals a significant trend towards multicloud adoption among global enterprises.
According to the study, 87% of enterprises now use more than one cloud provider, with an average of three providers forming the backbone of their cloud strategies.
This marks a substantial increase from previous years, with companies now 2.2 times more likely to have a deliberate multicloud strategy compared to three years ago.
The report also suggests that this shift is driven by a growing recognition of the need for flexibility and redundancy in cloud infrastructure.
"Cloud is not just a technology investment; it is fundamental to how businesses modernise,” highlights Siki Giunta, Executive Vice President and Head of Cloud Native Centre of Excellence at HCLTech.
Yet despite the growing adoption of public cloud technologies, the study finds that 81% of enterprises plan to maintain significant on-premises infrastructure due to data security and regulatory requirements.
This highlights the continued relevance of hybrid cloud strategies, which combine public cloud services with private cloud or on-premises infrastructure.
Application modernisation and Gen AI drive cloud adoption
The report additionally identifies application modernisation as a top priority for realising the full value of cloud investments.
The study reveals that 80% of enterprises agree that the benefits of public cloud can only be fully realised if applications are modernised during migration, rather than simply moved without changes (a process known as "lift and shift").
Furthermore, 73% of enterprises actively refactored applications during cloud migration, indicating a strong shift towards cloud-native modernisation.
In software development, refactoring refers to the process of restructuring existing code without changing its external behaviour, often to improve its performance or adaptability.
On top of this, the emergence of Gen AI is also influencing cloud adoption strategies.
The report finds that 98% of enterprises are exploring custom Gen AI solutions on cloud platforms and incorporating cloud-native practices to modernise applications.
However, 55% of enterprises reported that data for custom Gen AI solutions currently resides on-premises, leading some organisations to initially run these solutions locally before scaling to the cloud over time.
Rampal Singh, Vice President and Global Business Head of Hybrid Cloud at HCLTech, highlights the importance of open solutions in managing multicloud environments: "IT operations need to be seamless across cloud environments and enterprises that invest in open solutions can enable such consistency while significantly mitigating the complexities of multicloud."
It seems as enterprises continue to adapt to this changing landscape, the importance of flexible, secure and innovative cloud strategies becomes increasingly clear.
As Siki concludes: "The cloud journey is not just about technology adoption; it's about reimagining business processes and fostering a culture of continuous innovation."
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