2015/2016 Baker & McKenzie Cloud Survey Results

Part of the b:INFORM 2015/2016 Cloud Survey Trend Series

Following up on the 2014 Baker & McKenzie Cloud Survey, we took the feedback from our survey respondents and participants at our presentations and refined our questions and approach. We still surveyed a number of similar questions, which enabled us to identify trends year-over-year. We also asked new questions that illuminated impactful trends in the cloud services marketplace. Specifically, we placed additional emphasis on obtaining both provider and buyer perspectives and were rewarded with a wealth of insights.

We have identified key insights and trends from our survey and have compiled them in the articles on the Cloud Magazine. We have also linked to our survey results and embedded a video highlighting a few key results below.

Our 2015/2016 Cloud Survey involved asking our clients and the membership of partner organizations and IT associations for their thoughts on more than 50 questions and sub-questions related to the cloud. Our survey respondents represent a myriad of industries, geographies, and roles. Almost a third of our respondents operate around the world. Some of our noted trends, such as “Global Enterprises and the Cloud” will be of particular interest to those respondents.

The cloud marketplace continues to evolve and provide speed, scalability, and standardization of service offerings. It is essential to keep in mind sourcing issues that remain just as, if not more, important in the cloud context. We identify such an issue in “Taxes and the Cloud.”

In a consistent trend, buyers of cloud services continue to rate security as a top concern when procuring cloud services. We have addressed this important trend and related topics in “Security and Audit in the Cloud.” Security is important to all cloud buyers, but is especially important to certain sectors, such as financial institutions. We explore this topic in greater depth in “Outsourcing to the Cloud for Financial Institutions.”

We also note some of the trends we saw emerging in our 2015/2016 survey related to the speed of cloud transactions and how enterprises are implementing the cloud as part of their overall sourcing strategy. We address these topics in “Better Faster Cheaper and the Cloud” and “Integrated Offerings and the Cloud,” respectively.

The cloud marketplace continues to evolve and exist in an evolving legal and regulatory landscape. Whether it is the rapidly changing legal structure of cross-border data flows, the always important tax considerations, or any number of other areas, it is essential to keep abreast of the trends and identify and mitigate risks accordingly.

We appreciate your interest in our 2015/2016 Cloud Survey and please do not hesitate to contact us for additional information.

Click on the icon below to download a PDF copy of the 2015/2016 Cloud Survey Results.