According to new research from Oracle, businesses are rapidly embracing cloud infrastructure, Infrastructure as a Service, (IaaS) to boost performance and innovation levels.

More specifically, the research found that almost half of the companies surveyed are planning to run their business on cloud infrastructure within three years. This is despite the fact that negative perceptions around security, complexity and loss of control still present barriers to adoption. However, these are proving to be outdated myths, with those that have moved to IaaS proving the reality is far more positive.

The research revealed that  two thirds (66%) of businesses that are already using IaaS to some extent report that it makes it easier to innovate. The same proportion noted that moving to IaaS has significantly cut their time to deploy new applications or services. Furthermore, 64% said that IaaS has significantly reduced on-going maintenance costs.

However, it is the next statistic to emerge from the report that is the most telling, directly speaks to the divide between adopters and non-adopters. More than half (59%) of all respondents asserted that businesses that do not invest in IaaS will increasingly find themselves struggling to keep pace with businesses that are.

Experience matters

The research also found that experienced users are almost twice as likely to believe IaaS can provide world class operational performance in terms of availability, uptime and speed, compared to non-adopters. Although some fear the move to IaaS may be complicated, the report noted that 64% of experienced IaaS users say the move was easier than they expected.

Most respondents agree IaaS will have a role to play in their business within three years, with 44% saying they will run most – or all of their business IT infrastructure on IaaS. Only 10% of respondents believe IaaS will still have little or no role in their business in three years.

“When it comes to cloud adoption there has always been a case of perception lagging behind reality. Cloud is still relatively new to a lot of businesses and some outdated perceptions persist,” commented Cherian Varghese, the vice president and managing director for Oracle in Africa.

“We are now seeing high levels of success and satisfaction from businesses that are saving money, cutting complexity and driving exciting innovation thanks to cloud infrastructure. Those resisting the move need to challenge the perceptions holding them back because the longer they wait, the further ahead their competitors will pull,” he concluded.