State of cloud infographic: Cloud computing stats for CIOs, IT execs- Valutrics

The rapid growth of enterprise cloud adoption is expected to continue this year: 41% of respondents in TechTarget’s annual IT priorities survey cited plans to increase their cloud spending in 2016. To help shine a light on the trend, SearchCIO gathered key cloud computing stats on the state of cloud from surveys conducted by Gartner, Clutch and Softchoice to brief IT leaders and executives on cloud adoption.

Research firm Clutch surveyed 300 U.S.-based IT professionals and found 90% plan to increase or maintain their annual cloud spending in 2016. When it comes to opting for cloud service providers, 83% of the respondents said they preferred the big players: Microsoft Azure leads the pack, followed by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and IBM Cloud.

Cloud computing stats from Gartner’s 2015 cloud adoption survey of 1,037 professionals worldwide found that organizations are investing 31% of their cloud spending in cloud services. The top three cloud service investments include managed, development and implementation services. North America is the leader in cloud adoption, with managed services being the region’s most popular cloud-related service, according to the survey.

The first step to a successful cloud transition is devising a formal cloud strategy. A study by IT solutions and managed services firm Softchoice found that 52% of IT leaders lacked a formal cloud strategy. The study, which surveyed 250 line-of-business managers and 250 IT decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada, shows that organizations with a formal cloud computing strategy are less likely to struggle with cloud-related failures, skills gaps and budgeting issues.

The surveys also gauged the major benefits and barriers to cloud adoption, provided cloud computing stats on top tasks for which enterprises use cloud computing, and the strategies and skills required for effective cloud migration.

This infographic showcases these and more cloud computing stats that you can use to help you strategize future cloud investments.