Cloud remains a high priority for CIOs and IT teams

Cloud adoption surged amidst the pandemic, reshaping priorities for CIOs toward operations. With macroeconomic challenges at play, IT teams pivot towards demonstrating the cloud’s business value. Tech marketers play a crucial role in showcasing this value, buoyed by the forecasted $1.35 trillion global spending on public cloud services by 2027.

Foundry’s 2023 Cloud Computing Study underscores organizations’ significant investment in cloud computing, averaging $50 million. Despite economic hurdles, cloud infrastructure spending remains robust, primed to drive innovation in application development, AI/ML, and edge computing.

Foundry’s analysis delves into the unique dynamics of cloud purchase decisions, offering insights to guide tech marketers in navigating the latest buyer’s journey trends.

The current cloud landscape

The latest findings indicate a gradual stabilization in cloud computing adoption. While there was a surge during the pandemic, with 69% of organizations accelerating migration, the figure has now declined to 57%, suggesting a shift towards maintenance and realizing the solutions’ business value. Nevertheless, cloud adoption persists, with 52% of IT environments already in the cloud, projected to rise to 63% in 18 months.

Moreover, 65% of tech decision-makers default to cloud-based services for upgrades or new purchases. Despite settling adoption rates, investment continues to rise, with 31% of total IT budgets allocated to cloud computing, translating to an average budget of $50 million. Over the next year, 66% anticipate increased cloud spending, reaching 70% for enterprises.

Cloud purchases vary, with 37% as additional, 35% as upgrades, and 28% as replacements. However, cloud investment complexity lies in controlling costs, a top challenge according to tech decision-makers, impacting sustainable revenue achievement. Without strategic planning, further cloud investments could strain finances.

Understanding a complex purchase process

Cloud purchases have grown increasingly intricate, acknowledged by 68% of tech decision-makers. Its pervasive presence in businesses, coupled with cost considerations, has drawn attention from executives, finance teams, and business leaders, all aiming for alignment in cloud adoption and integration.

Consequently, the average number of influencers in cloud purchases has risen from 21 in 2017 to 23 in 2020, reaching 28 presently. The purchasing team composition is evenly distributed between IT (15) and line of business (13). Foundry’s annual research monitors leadership involvement across 18 job titles and seven decision stages. While top IT executives wield significant influence in five of these stages, other roles play crucial roles throughout the process due to the extensive team involved.

For instance, LOB management plays a central role in determining business needs. Similarly, certain roles dominate specific stages; CEOs and CFOs are pivotal in deciding business needs and authorizing purchases, while CTOs are involved in defining business needs and internal selling.

Leadership throughout the cloud purchase process

IT management and architects play crucial roles in defining technical requirements, assessing products, and selecting vendors. Engineers are particularly involved in specifying technical needs, while security personnel contribute significantly to product evaluation. However, in post-sales interactions, IT management, engineers, and security staff all assume leadership roles.

Despite the expanding buying teams, these patterns persist. In this intricate environment, domain experts guide purchasing decisions alongside non-IT stakeholders to ensure a mutually beneficial outcome. Tech marketers should grasp the pivotal stakeholders at each purchase stage and customize their engagement strategies accordingly.

What influences vendor selection

Crafting tailored messages and engagement strategies is just a portion of the equation. With increased scrutiny on cloud investment decisions, IT decision-makers (69%) seek vendors’ assistance in developing a compelling business case for their technology. Demonstrating business value is particularly crucial, as the purchase process often encounters hurdles during evaluation, technical requirement determination, and final approval stages.

Those vendors that effectively showcase value stand to prevail, regardless of whether they are incumbents or newcomers to the cloud market. When queried about the type of vendor they prefer, 57% of respondents expressed a preference for existing vendors, while 43% favored new vendors. Nearly half (48%) indicated a propensity towards new vendors due to their innovation or feature-rich offerings.

While cloud purchasers prioritize value, other factors influence vendor selection, such as brand awareness. Brand recognition impacts various aspects, including content engagement and shortlisting. A significant majority (67%) of cloud purchasers spend more time engaging with content from known or trusted brands, and 77% are more likely to add a known or trusted brand to their shortlist.

Furthermore, a familiar brand streamlines the internal approval process, according to 70% of respondents. Effective sales follow-up also plays a pivotal role in vendor selection, with over two-thirds of cloud IT decision-makers stating that vendors who promptly and thoughtfully address their queries usually secure their business.

The majority of cloud buyers expect a response within 16.5 hours, with 21% anticipating a same-day or six-hour turnaround. When asked about the factors that prompt them to respond to vendor outreach, respondents cited vendors’ knowledge about their business or specific challenges, valuable content sharing, and highlighting standout features or capabilities compared to competitors.

Honesty, respect, and timely responses are additional factors influencing a cloud buyer’s responsiveness. Peer recommendations also carry weight, with 75% of respondents more likely to engage with vendors if they are endorsed by colleagues or peers already using their technology. In essence, vendors can maximize their chances of success by demonstrating an understanding of customer challenges and showcasing a clear product fit, while also respecting the buyer’s time.

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The Table of Contents of “Tech marketer’s guide to cloud products and services” Guide:

• Cloud remains a high priority for CIOs and IT teams
• The current cloud landscape
• Understanding a complex purchase process
• Leadership throughout the cloud purchase process
• What influences vendor selection
• Delivering value through content engagement
• Content consumption trends
• Keeping tech buyers’ attention amongst the noise
• Connect with cloud buyers
• Cloud computing topic sponsorship
• Educate through organized storytelling
• Engage with cloud decision-makers where they are

Number of Pages:

• 16 pages

Pricing: 

• Free