July 2013
Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. What are Cloud Services? 4 3. Cloud Computing Adoption 6 4. Drivers and Barriers 11 5. Opportunities for Digital Entrepreneurship 12 5.1. Supply-side Business opportunities 12 5.2. Demand-Side Business opportunities 14 2
1. Introduction Novel digital technologies (particularly Social, Cloud, Mobile and Big Data) are transforming the ICT industry and the way companies across all vertical markets can operate. They create new business opportunities for digital entrepreneurship both on the supply-side (to launch new services and/or establish new businesses) and on the demand-side (to optimize operations, reduce costs, improve services and/or launch new services along companies' horizontal business processes and vertical specific ones). This report focuses on Cloud technologies. It assesses current adoption, plans of adoption, and drivers and barriers, and identifies business opportunities that EU companies can leverage by relying on Cloud technologies. Focus of the analysis is on the potential for new business value creation, driven by new or higher revenue, faster go-to-market, enhanced services, reduced costs, increased productivity or competitiveness. New opportunities are described as well as functional related ones, impacting R&D, production and operations, sales and marketing, customer support, financial and administrative functions. Industry specific opportunities are also identified. While the focus of the report is on raising awareness of the potential opportunities related to novel digital technologies, it should be stressed that these of course depend on their appropriateness for specific enterprises, the quality of their actual execution as well as the market and enterprise context. In short, opportunities always entail risks and barriers, which should be very carefully considered by enterprise managers, directors and shareholders. The analysis is part of a series of reports which assess the impact and business opportunities of other key novel digital technologies: mobile, social media and Big Data and Analytics. 3
2. What are Cloud Services? Cloud services can be described as consumer and business products, services, and solutions delivered and consumed in real time over a network (most often, the Internet). However, this definition is too simplistic to capture the unique value that the cloud model brings. As such, IDC defines cloud services through a checklist of key attributes that an offering must have. They include: 1. Shared, Standard Service 2. Solution Packaged 3. Self-Service 4. Elastic Resource Scaling 5. Elastic, Use-Based Pricing 6. Ubiquitous (Authorized) Network Access 7. Standard UI Technologies 8. Published Service Interface/API There are two major types of cloud deployment models: Public cloud services are shared among unrelated enterprises and consumers; open to a largely unrestricted universe of potential users; and designed for a market, not a single enterprise. Private cloud services are shared within a single enterprise or an extended enterprise. They include self-run private clouds and managed private clouds at the customer site, and hosted dedicated private clouds and virtual private clouds at the service provider's site. Hybrid cloud and community cloud are other two terms used quite frequently. They can be explained using the two major cloud types above: Hybrid cloud: The term "hybrid cloud services" is used to describe the consolidated coordination/management of multiple cloud services (public and private). Community cloud: a type of private cloud built for a named group of enterprises/organizations with shared needs. The cloud market includes three broad cloud service categories software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). More in detail: SaaS includes applications and infrastructure software delivered as a service. It includes therefore collaborative applications, content applications, CRM, ERM, SCM, operations & manufacturing applications, and engineering applications delivered over a public cloud. Within this application-focused SaaS definition, are also included all system infrastructure software segments delivered as cloud services since most can be considered applications aimed at IT professionals; the ones that can't such as operating systems and hypervisors are not counted as distinct cloud services since they are bundled with infrastructure cloud services. In 4
particular, SaaS also includes system & network management, security, and advanced storage delivered as a service. PaaS includes the functionality of all application development & deployment (AD&D) secondary markets delivered as cloud services, including cloud testing, database as a service (DBaaS), integration as a service, and other AD&D cloud services (e.g., BI, content management, and application server middleware). Therefore, the PaaS market includes not only cloud application platforms, which are "integrated PaaS" offerings such as Microsoft's Azure, salesforce.com's Force.com, and Google's App Engine, but also component technologies (e.g., development tools, DBaaS, and application servers) sold as standalone cloud services. IaaS is a public cloud service delivering servers and/or storage in a public cloud model, up to and including the hypervisor layer. IaaS includes the so-called virtual private cloud, where IaaS is provided with SLA and increased security but does not include any cloud services based on technology dedicated to a specific client (private cloud) whether hosted or on customer premises. IaaS can be further segmented in servers as a service and storage as a service. 5
3. Cloud Computing Adoption The adoption of cloud computing is higher than one could expect. Large organizations have been pioneers in the adoption of private cloud solutions. Large companies in finance, telecommunications, and energy have been at the forefront of private cloud adoption with the aim to reduce their operational costs and increase datacenter utilization. IDC's survey results confirm that by year-end 2014, these vertical sectors will still be the main adopters of private clouds. Adoption will remain below average in discrete and process manufacturing, professional services, and wholesale also due to the dominance of SMEs in these vertical markets. Indeed, the smaller is a company, the less appealing is the reliance on private cloud computing because of costs, complexity and lack of resources. A study Microsoft published in 2010 clearly shows that the smaller is the company, the lower are economies of scale to develop private clouds. For these reasons, although there are some evident benefits from the adoption of private clouds, public cloud services will offer more business opportunities in the EU, which, as known, is populated by millions of SMEs. According to a recent study developed by IDC for the European Commission 1, more than 50% 2 of EU companies already rely on some type of public cloud services. Nonetheless, intensity of the cloud (measured with numbers of solutions adopted) is still low and adoption is in many cases limited to basic solutions (such as e-mail and storage capacity on demand). As such the cloud hasn't yet manifested all the benefits it can bring to EU companies Considering just selected solutions as a service (CRM, ERP, BI, Advanced Storage, Security, Unified communications), the IDC European vertical markets' survey shows that 26.5% 3 of EU companies with more than 10 employees already have some type of cloud solutions (Figure 1). 1 "Quantitative Estimates of the Demand for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take Up", July 2012 2 Survey results weighted by number of employees in the EU 3 Survey results weighted by number of enterprises in the EU 6
Figure 1: Public Cloud Adoption in the Business Sector by Vertical Market (2012) (Source: IDC on IDC European Vertical Markets Survey 2012) Telecom Finance IT (software and services) and other information services Oil&Gas processing Computers and Electronics Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants Utilities Automotive & Aerospace Media Business sector (10+) Professional services Other manufacturing Mining Transport and Storage Process manufacturing Equipment and machinery Food, drink and tobacco (CPG) Construction 34,8% 34,2% 28,6% 28,1% 27,9% 26,5% 24,9% 24,2% 24,0% 22,0% 19,4% 17,5% 13,5% 13,3% 48,5% 48,4% 46,2% 61,2% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Note: Data refer to companies with 10+ employees and are weighted by number of enterprises Like with private clouds, vertical markets with stronger IT sophistication have been the first to recognize the benefits of public cloud services: adoption is higher in telecom, finance, IT software and services, oil&gas processing, computers and electronics, and, in general, among large companies (>250 employees). In these verticals, strong software customization and significant internal custom developments have resulted in a very high complexity of the software infrastructure. With strong compliance requirements and need for enhanced customer services, the public cloud represents a viable solution to reduce complexity, eliminate costly upgrades of non-business critical applications, and stay focused on core business issues and customer needs. Telecom is a mature market for cloud adoption, with over 61% of companies having already adopted at least one solution. Many large European operators have already moved to the public cloud. Moreover, the cloud has become part of the offering of many telecom players that want to diversify their business in an attempt to increase their revenue and gain market share. Similarly companies in the IT industry (IT software and services and computers and electronics, 48.4% penetration) not only have adopted public cloud services in their organizations, but have increasingly launched new services and offers to benefit from this new computing paradigm. In finance 48.5% of companies already adopt some form of cloud), adoption of public cloud CRM services is quite high among large banking institutions. Other solutions as a service (HR, security, storage) show good adoption rates, but business critical applications are usually not deployed in the cloud, yet. 7
Oil&gas processing (46.2% penetration) and utilities (28.6% penetration overall, higher among large utilities) have also embraced the cloud journey earlier than other industries, while adoption in manufacturing is relevant just in certain sub-industries, such as the already mentioned computers and electronics segment (34.8%), automotive& aerospace (28.1%), and among large (and very large) organizations in general. Flexibility, scalability, standardization across companies' locations and cost savings helped adoption in these segments. The distribution, retail and hotels segment is largely dominated by SMEs. While adoption has been so far limited at the low-end of the segment, there were significant investments among companies with more than 250 employees, particularly in CRM and security, and current adoption in the overall sector is quite high at over 34%. SMEs dominate also the professional services market, which conversely still reveal a lower than average adoption rate, just under 25%.Public cloud adoption by small and medium professional services companies is still little. However, going forward, IDC expects several opportunities for the cloud in professional services: The majority of professionals are mobile workers. The public cloud enables to access necessary everyday applications (like expense reporting) while on the road. At the low end of the market, there are several companies that still rely on paper-based or excel-based processes. For them, public cloud can represent a good way to automate their systems. In this area, we see strong opportunities for ERP as a service, for example. At the high end of the market, business services organizations tend to be quite geographically distributed, as services need to be provided locally. The need to standardize systems, and have a holistic view of customers, partners and suppliers drive strong attention on public cloud services. Overall, spending in the public cloud services market is still dominated by large companies (>250 employees). IDC estimates SMEs accounted for less than 20% of total EU public cloud spending in 2011. Recent IDC enterprise survey results confirm a lower propensity to adopt cloud solutions in the SME area (Figure 2), with only 25.8% of SMEs having already adopted cloud solutions compared with 49.3% of large enterprises in the European business sector. Figure 2: Public Cloud Adoption in the Business Sector by Size (2012) (Source: IDC on IDC European Vertical Markets Survey 2012) Business sector LEs (250+) 49,3% Business sector SMEs (10 249) 25,8% 10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Note: Data refer to companies with 10+ employees and are weighted by number of enterprises Plans for adoption in the next 24 months remain strong, as shown in Figure 3, with 15.8% of companies planning to adopt cloud in the short term. Investments will remain stronger among 8
large enterprises and in the sectors that have been at the forefront of adoption so far. We therefore expect adoption to still remain higher, reaching two-thirds of enterprises or more by 2014, in IT software and services, finance, computer and electronics, telecom, and oil&gas processing. Not only a higher than average share of companies in these vertical markets will start investing in one of the cloud solutions under investigation, but also companies already investing in some cloud areas will expand investments to other areas. Oil&gas organisations will lead investments in storage, content management and CRM. BI investments are anticipated to be stronger in insurance, banking and distribution, ERP/ back office in pharmaceuticals and wholesale. Telecom will focus on UC as a service and storage solutions. Figure 3: Public Cloud, Plans for Adoption in the Business Sector by Vertical Market (2012) (Source: IDC estimates based on IDC European Vertical Markets Survey 2012) IT (software and services) and other information services Finance Computers and Electronics Telecom Oil&Gas processing Transport and Storage Mining Automotive & Aerospace Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants Utilities Business sector (10+) Media Equipment and machinery Professional services Other manufacturing Food, drink and tobacco (CPG) Process manufacturing Construction 48,4% 48,5% 34,8% 61,2% 46,2% 22,0% 35,2% 24,0% 29,1% 28,1% 19,1% 34,2% 12,6% 28,6% 15,9% 26,5% 15,8% 27,9% 13,3% 17,5% 23,0% 24,9% 15,1% 24,2% 7,0% 13,5% 17,0% 19,4% 11,0% 13,3% 15,6% 44,8% 39,9% 45,9% 10,1% 20,5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Current Adoption Planning in the next 24 months Note: Data refer to companies with 10+ employees and are weighted by number of enterprises 9
Figure 4: Public Cloud, Plans for Adoption in the Business Sector by Size (2012) (Source: IDC on IDC European Vertical Markets Survey 2012) Business sector LEs (250+) 49,3% 19,9% Business sector SMEs (10 249) 25,8% 15,6% 10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Current Adoption Planning in the next 24 months Note: Data refer to companies with 10+ employees and are weighted by number of enterprises 10
4. Drivers and Barriers Several factors are driving public cloud adoption. They include: It helps companies overcoming the hassles and costs of traditional packaged software It is easy to deploy and eliminates the complexity of software updates It reduces the cost of hardware infrastructure It distributes software costs over a longer period of time It allows companies to purchase the functionality they need It allows standardizations across locations It enables mobility It makes scalability quick and easy. It allows companies focusing on core/other capabilities, freeing up resources It overcomes IT skills' issues Some of these drivers are very appealing to the SME market. Nonetheless, adoption in this segment has so far been below average. Moreover, even among large companies, where adoption is quite widespread, the intensity of cloud (measured as the number of cloud solutions adopted) is still limited. It is therefore interesting taking a look at cloud barriers. IDC developed a study for the EC "Quantitative Estimates of the Demand for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take-Up" on this topic. The analysis shows that: End-user survey results indicate that there is not one single barrier to cloud uptake, but, in general, EU companies believe legal jurisdiction, and security and data protection have restricted their cloud use the most. The comparison of investment trends with results on barriers unveils EU companies underevaluate the relevance that some business issues had on their cloud uptake and short-term plans of adoption. Evaluation of usefulness (particularly in SMEs), local language, and ownership of customisation (particularly among large companies) have hampered adoption and short-term plans to a stronger degree than what companies told in the survey. In general, IDC analysis on investment trends versus barriers confirms large companies' own assessment of top barriers. Large companies have a better understanding than SMEs of what really affects their cloud strategy. According to survey results, EU businesses believe the relevance of some barriers (legal jurisdiction, data location, service providers' liability and responsibility, data access and portability, and security and data protection) will strengthen overtime. With the natural evolution of the market, some business and technical barriers will lessen. However, Internet connectivity (mobile broadband in particular) and tax incentives on capital spending may have a stronger impact on the future evolution of the cloud market than seen so far. 11
5. Opportunities for Digital Entrepreneurship With more and more companies adopting Cloud services and solutions, Cloud technologies will open a range of opportunities both on the supply side and on the demand side. On the supply side, we will see IT companies delivering outsourced services and applications to their customers. Cloud also enables new business models to be developed and deployed easily, The demand side will leverage on the huge benefits the Cloud brings to existing businesses. Therefore, we will categorize the business opportunities in 2 areas: Supply and Demand side On the supply side, opportunities will be linked to the launch of new services and/or the establishment of new businesses offering Cloud related services/products On the demand side, opportunities will be linked to the value generated in both horizontal and vertical specific processes of EU companies across all vertical markets. 5.1. Supply-side Business opportunities On the supply side, opportunities opened by the Cloud will include (Figure 5): Cloud Service Brokers and Cloud related services: EU companies do not always have the required skills to plan and implement Cloud projects. This is of course true for SMEs, but also for large organizations, where reliance on strong IT legacy makes integration requirements a must. Therefore, hiring a cloud service brokerage or a professional service provider is sometimes a "must have", serving as an intermediary between the customer and cloud service provider to aggregate multiple cloud services and integrate them with in-house applications. This opens opportunities for Cloud Service Brokers to offer services not provided by Cloud providers, and for general IT and Business service organizations, which can benefit from consulting and integration of cloud service solutions. Other areas of opportunities are linked to the very EU-specific legal and data privacy cloud concerns as well as to the training required to form the necessary ICT and eleadership cloud skills. Enabling new Businesses and business models: Cloud services make it easy to start new business initiatives, often enabled by readily available services or combining cloud services, resulting in new and innovative business models, generating new revenue streams and entering whole new businesses or launching new products in short time. As an example, Deutsche Telekom used Google App Engine (Platform as a Service - PaaS) to develop Tripdiscover.de, a new type of travel portal that connects consumers with partners, provides social recommendations, and other high quality content. In just 18 weeks, Deutsche Telekom had in place a fully deployed, flexible, real-time scalable system with a new type of online travel-booking experience. 12
Data Intensive Applications and Solutions: Cloud services offer a great opportunity to serve data intensive applications and solutions requiring high performance like scenario modeling, what-if-analysis, forecasting, financial risk modeling simulation, data compression, graphics rendering etc. Beyond these areas, cloud opportunities are and will be increasingly evident across several functions (see section 4.2). These opportunities will be tied to the launch of new software as a service (SaaS) offers, but also to the reliance on PaaS to develop new applications, or IaaS (infrastructure as a service) to offer capacity over the Internet and enhanced tools for companies' internal and external collaboration. SaaS opportunities will move beyond office/collaborative, CRM, security, storage and HR to cover other key functions such as SCM, procurement and selected industry specific areas. PaaS will reduce the time and resources needed to launch new applications, a great advantage especially to small and medium software developers. IaaS will increasingly evolve from offering storage or server capacity over the Internet to offering cloud-based solutions aimed at sharing information and increase collaboration across companies' business processes. Mobilization of these offers and integration with other cloudbased solutions will become increasingly important. ICT vendors: Cloud provides an opportunity for the ICT industry to offer their services in an open marketplace and to gain commercial benefits. Figure 5: Supply-side Cloud Business Opportunities ICT vendors Offering their services in an open marketplace especially to SMEs. Creating new partnerships and reinventing channel and go-tomarket to address companies (and especially SMEs) with cloud offers. Building ecosystems of cloud solutions providers. Diversifying offers and entering new markets (i.e. telecom providers offering cloud applications; in the future, companies in traditional vertical markets could offers dedicated applications in the cloud big data analysis is an example). Developing, testing and hosting new services with reduced time, resources and associated costs. Reducing the complexity, rigidity and costs associated with IT, which enables new levels for product development, services, maintenance, marketing and integration with customers, dealers/ resellers and suppliers. Data-intensive applications and solutions Leveraging scenario modeling, what-if analysis, and forecasting these types of lumpy, data intensive processes are great candidates to be served by cloud based solutions. Developing solutions around customer programs, marketing, merchandising and pricing, all standing to benefit greatly from such capabilities Focusing on data and high performance intensive applications (financial risk modeling, simulation, data compression, graphics rendering) as well as other enterprise solutions areas (described in the demand-side section of this document). Leveraging Platform as a Service (PaaS) to develop new applications quickly and cost effectively. Creating new IaaS solutions that, leveraging storage capacity over the Internet, enable sharing and collaboration. Integrating these solutions with social media and/or mobile solutions. Cloud brokerage and other services Complementing cloud providers' existing services with a blend of consulting and advisory services aimed at simplifying an organization s transition to the cloud. These services may be addressed to overcome specific security, privacy and compliance issues, choosing the right provider/functionality, and/or help achieving interoperability across multiple public clouds, private clouds and inhouse IT infrastructure Launching specific training courses aimed at forming students/employees around the cloud and cloud related issues (cloud applications' development, cloud usage, security in the cloud, etc). Enabling new businesses and new business models Starting new business initiatives, enabled by readily available cloud services. Utilizing or combining cloud services to create new and innovative business models, generating new value propositions and resulting in new revenue streams. 13
5.2. Demand-Side Business opportunities The cloud brings benefits and therefore presents interesting opportunities to European companies. The same study mentioned above ("Quantitative Estimates of the Demand for Cloud Computing in Europe and the Likely Barriers to Take Up", July 2012) unveils that 78% of organizations with public cloud services in place have seen cost savings. 36% of respondents saw savings of 20% or more. Clearly these cost savings can be leveraged to focus on innovation. As such the opportunities offered by cloud go well beyond savings of costs. Indeed, IDC European vertical markets' survey indicates cost savings as the least important benefit of cloud computing. The most important would be scalability, followed by faster deployment of applications and standardization of processes. Cloud is therefore not just about costs. The more companies adopt cloud solutions, the more they see additional business benefits. Indeed the IDC for EC study highlights that companies adopting multiple cloud services see more business benefits than either users with just one cloud applications, or users with only limited or trial services. These benefits include (Figure 6): An increase in mobile working, as cloud applications can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection and increasingly this means via a mobile device. An increase in productivity, due to the user interfaces on cloud services often being easier to use than the software they are replacing. An increasing standardization of processes, as the different parts of the business areas are better able to ensure that its core processes are executed in a standard way. The ability to open new locations and/or launch new businesses. 14
Figure 6: Demand-side Cloud Business Opportunities Increased productivity and reduced costs Reducing system hardware costs (especially servers and storage). Making software costs predictable and eliminating costs of upgrades Increasing IT availability by eliminating servers' downtime. Reducing IT staff time spent on operational and maintenance issues to focus on usage and development. Allowing standardization across locations. Enabling applications' access through different devices, thus enhancing remote access and mobility of workforce. Increasing scalability and flexibility by allowing access to requested functionality. Leverage solutions for larger companies at affordable cost to SMEs SMEs' opportunity to leverage enterprise level applications such as big data, mobile solutions, and enterprise business applications at a lower cost or charged according to usage. Easy-to-use interfaces, facilitating adoption also in less IT-savvy companies, especially in traditional SMEs, and by Line of Business (LoB) managers, across companies of all sizes. Open labour & talent market Reaching global labour markets best talent, best rate, pay for use, no overhead costs and supply sources, executing work around the clock, and tapping extra capacity for short-duration projects. Enabling open innovation through talent marketplaces in the cloud. Firms needing a technology solution post the project specifics, and those who respond compete to satisfy the request. Crowd sourcing solutions e.g. invite many participants to generate ideas and testing of ideas. Facilitate geographic expansion Leveraging PaaS to design new applications and enable new lines of business. Enabling remote access to corporate applications and solutions in a mobile environment, eliminating geo boundaries. Leveraging cloud's scalability to provide ICT infrastructure to new offices/locations with reduced time, resources and costs. Deploying cloud collaboration tools allowing cooperation across timezones and functions. Indeed, one of the first immediate benefits of cloud is to enlarge the perimeter of companies, as cloud is available from everywhere, and can enable new collaborative working experience within the enterprise. Opening a new office location, remote working and employees' mobility are far easier with a cloud infrastructure. As such cloud supports business growth and expansion. Moreover, through the cloud, social media can extend to mobility; big data services can be provided to companies of all sizes; mobile solutions can be accessed anywhere, and so on. As such, the cloud should be seen as an enabler. The strongest opportunities of the cloud will be found at the intersection with Big Data, Social solutions and Mobility. Machine to Machine will be another interesting area to look at, as M2M communications will increasingly happen over the cloud. These opportunities are evident across all vertical sectors and hold a strong potential especially in the SME sector (Figure 6). Although penetration rates of cloud solutions will remain lower in SMEs compared to large companies, SMEs are indeed the actors that could benefit the most from public cloud solutions. Thanks to the cloud, SMEs could overcome some of the traditional issues they face with regard to liquidity, IT skills' shortage and scalability. The cloud can give SMEs the opportunity to leverage same IT solutions of large companies, gain same advantages, but at a low cost and avoiding the hassles of software management and upgrades. Business processes that are expected to be more impacted in the short-term are mainly horizontal, as companies still prefer to keep in-house business critical applications. 15
Considering horizontal functions (beyond e-mail, collaborative and personal productivity), the following areas have already strong adoption rates in the cloud: 1. CRM, particularly in the sales area 2. Security 3. Storage 4. HR and payroll Other areas that are starting to move to the cloud include 1. SCM (inventory, enterprise asset management and supplier management, while logistics and production planning are kept in house) 2. Procurement 3. Engineering (CAD, CAE, CAM) The move of ERP systems into the cloud has been so far limited. One element that limits the pace of change is the huge volume of data and business processes tied up (and often customized) in companies' systems. Looking into back office functionalities in general, beyond HR (which has already seen cloud developments), there are opportunities for business management, especially accounting, in smaller enterprises. Many vendors in this space are seeking to partner with accounting professionals to give their customers a more flexible and responsive service based on sharing accounting data and auditing in near real time. Looking into vertical specific functions, the move to the cloud has been slower so far. Nonetheless, IDC end-user research shows different vertical opportunities in terms of workflows and business processes more likely to be moved to the cloud, as follows: Retail: Omnichannel management systems aimed at integrating several in-store technologies and customer touch points Mobile POS systems aimed at improving the customer experience POS on the cloud aimed at reducing time to market for new business requirements Merchandise management Supply Chain management Hotels: Demand marketing and personalized services Revenue management Loyalty programmes Housekeeping and front-desk services SPA appointment services POS and Restaurant ordering systems Transport Revenue management Call centre and online booking 16
Check in Track and Tracing Manufacturing: Sales and operations planning B2B/suppliers portals/edi Supply chain planning Environment/health/safety Inventory PLM Utilities: Customer care Billing Supply chain management (inventory) Plant operations Workforce mobility While these areas offer strong opportunities to companies across different vertical markets to streamline their processes, increase flexibility and productivity and keep costs under control, it is evident that opportunities will be also created on the supply side for existing or new players to launch cloud solutions and/or develop cloud related brokerage and professional services, new partnership and go-to-market strategies to meet the increasing cloud demand of EU companies in the areas highlighted above. 17