Security concerns, compliance demands and organisational complexity are amongst the main reasons enterprises are not fully realising the benefits of cloud.

According to new global research from Accenture, The Perspectives on Cloud Outcomes: Expectations vs Reality, which surveyed of 200 senior IT executives, nearly two-thirds of enterprises had not achieved the expected benefits from their cloud migration journeys.

However, those enterprises that had invested in cloud adoption and utilised managed service expertise reported excellent results through cost savings, business enablement, speed to market and greater service levels.

Summary of findings:

Only one-third (35%) of executives surveyed say they are fully achieving the cost, speed, business enablement and service levels outcomes sought from the cloud.

The most common barriers preventing full realisation are:

• security and compliance risk (65%)
• the complexity of the change required (55%)
• legacy infrastructure and / or application sprawl (43%)

At the same time, almost all executives (93%) were satisfied or very satisfied with outcomes delivered.

Dissatisfaction levels were recorded for:

• Cost savings (11%)
• Business enablement (8%)
• Speed to market (7%)
• Service level (4%)

The majority (87%) of respondents said they would moderately or greatly consider the use of managed services, citing the main benefits as:

• access to the right skills (19%)
• lower costs (18%)
• optimisation of the cloud network (14%)

"This survey tells us there's significant scope for companies to fully realise all the benefits offered by the cloud," says Justin Gray, Accenture New Zealand country managing director.

"That's backed up by our observations of New Zealand businesses, where even the most mature organisations could be getting more from their cloud strategy," he says.

"For example, the cloud can improve competitiveness and responsiveness as well as reduce cost, but you need to know how you'll use it, and have the right strategy in place," says Gray.

"Some gains are relatively easy to achieve by lifting and shifting systems. For others you need to plan and implement a transition to software as a service. And there will always be systems that you are better to keep running in house," he explains.

Gray says New Zealand also has some unique challenges, particularly around data security and privacy.

"Public organisations, in particular, require a social licence to move data into the cloud. All organisations also need to ensure their systems are resilient in case of disruption or security threats by always having copies of critical data in New Zealand," he says.

"Getting expert advice will improve the ability of businesses to get the best from the cloud," adds Gray.

"It also means staff can focus on the core business of the company and their main areas of expertise."