01 July 2024

Bringing good news for the UK’s IT sector, Whitelane Research’s recently published ‘2024 UK IT Sourcing Study’ reports that IT budget spending with external providers is up; business transformation is high on the agenda; and access to resources and talent is the top driver for using external IT providers - reflecting the challenges in finding/hiring the right IT talent.

However, while satisfaction in IT sourcing relationships is up three-percentage points from 2023, cloud platform relationship satisfaction has taken a significant 11% decrease on 2023; and the ‘very satisfied’ category experienced a hefty drop from 21% to 11%.

“As more and more services move to the cloud, the number of people experiencing issues with the cloud will increase,” explains Danel Turk, solution portfolio manager, data centers, ABB. “Implementing new solutions or systems for the first time can lead to bottlenecks in support, or for other technical issues raised during implementation – therefore some drop in the satisfaction index will occur.”

It’s true that starting out with public cloud is not without its challenges: “these often arise as a result of an organisation not being fully aware of the complexity of the change. That’s often due to the business not undertaking a thorough evaluation and assessing the feasibility of migrating their existing IT infrastructure to a public cloud environment,” adds Cathal Griffin, CRO, Asanti.

Many enterprises might find it challenging to manage and predict costs effectively with public cloud services, and unexpected expenses and complex pricing models can lead to budget overruns, says Don Valentine, vice president of sales and client services, Absoft: “additionally, the level of customisation available in public cloud environments can be restrictive, and the lack of control over infrastructure can be a significant drawback. And sometimes, the level of support provided does not always meet the enterprise’s expectations.”

“The pay-as-you-go approach to subscriptions taken by most providers can prove problematic in the long term- particularly for internet-based start-ups using cloud technologies who have yet to reach a stable client baseline,” warns Courtney Evans, security consultant, Prism Infosec. “While it will be cheaper initially, it means that an increase in clients will lead to an increase in service costs. This is reflected in the 2024 UK IT Sourcing study, in which 27% of organisations expected nearshore growth but stated that capacity may be an issue.”

“The other concern is that some businesses risk getting locked into a long-term relationship with their public cloud vendor, with little or no room for negotiation on terms and conditions, as well as concerns around control and internet connectivity. We find that this often raises the inevitable question: ‘Is there is a better way to use public cloud?’” asks Griffin.

Expanded cybersecurity concerns stemming from external service providers is also a growing concern, particularly when it comes to public cloud provision.
“Relying heavily on external service providers can pose risks to enterprises, such as loss of control, insufficient support, dependency, and hidden costs,” opines Valentine. “However, these risks can be mitigated through careful preparation and thorough research when selecting a provider. Asking the right questions, maintaining transparency, and ensuring consistency are key to finding the right partner. The enterprises should be looking for a partner who provides a clear framework, with detailed breakdown of services and defined service levels, the deliverables and how these are managed. Additionally, effective communication and regular audits are essential for successful cloud adoption.”