Survey Results: Innovation, Agility, and the Cloud

“The Future ain’t What It Used to be.” – Yogi Berra

70% of all computing workloads will take place in the cloud by 2025, according to Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, who was speaking at a CFO Summit in Paris earlier this week. Cloud computing, he said, represents “a more material change for this industry than anything we’ve seen in the last 23 years.”

Hurd’s comments about change come on the heels of the Oracle Cloud Agility study in which 81% of respondents said the ability to rapidly develop, test, and launch new business applications is either critically important or important to the success of their companies. In addition, when asked to name the biggest threat, the highest percentage of respondents (27%) cited the ability of competitors to launch innovative customer services more rapidly than their own companies could. (Even if you don’t make digital transformation a priority, your competitors will.)

The numbers show that a growing number of businesses see the ability to adapt quickly and respond to new innovations and challenges as the key to competitive advantage. Because the future ain’t what it used to be.

RIP Yogi.