I recently joined Forrester as a senior analyst on the infrastructure and operations (I&O) team based out of New Delhi, India. I’m delighted to be a part of Forrester and have begun work on my first report, which will focus on cloud trends in Asia Pacific and put a regional spin on a report my colleague Lauren E. Nelson published in February titled Adoption Profile: Private Cloud in North America, Q3 2014. My new role will enable me to continue pursuing my passion for next-generation solutions like cloud computing, automation, and customer experience management and their ability to support business objectives.

As I reviewed data from Forrester’s Business Technographics® Global Infrastructure Survey, 2014 of business technology decision-makers in Australia, China, and India, I found causes to be concerned about the private cloud initiatives of the region’s large enterprises. A finer-grained analysis of the most senior executives from large enterprises (companies with 1,000 or more employees) in the survey found that nearly half (43%) of the private cloud deployments in AP will fail to meet business objectives, for the following reasons:

  • 26% of private clouds will not offer self-service to developers.
  • 17% of firms will discourage their developers from using public cloud.

In my experience, many I&O professionals trying to build a strong private cloud solution often find themselves in the grind of capabilities versus managing expectations. They often think that deploying the latest technologies from leading cloud firms like Cisco, HP, Huawei, IBM, RedHat, and VMware or niche solutions like the Eucalyptus or OpenStack distributions will help them deliver to end user expectations, but that’s not true. If that is not the answer, then how should I&O professionals pursue their cloud strategies? In my first report, I will provide guidance on:

  • How I&O professionals should leverage private clouds to empower business.
  • How they can better establish credibility in the age of the customer.

There is no doubt that private clouds are generating strong momentum among AP enterprises. You must leverage this momentum quickly to equip your organization with the solutions that meet its business needs. I am keen to learn where you are currently, the challenges you are facing, and how you are navigating through them to fulfill your responsibilities. I’ll let you know what I discover in the report, which is soon to be released!