Although cloud use is widespread among SAP customers, it still poses challenges. SAP customers said they struggle with acquiring in-house knowledge to manage the cloud (39%), it being more expensive than they anticipated (27%), and data migration (25%). Customers also noted that they experience inconsistent standards across cloud providers. Organizations need more support to plan effective strategies, especially with the anticipated increase in cloud use within the next four years.
Despite these challenges, SAP customers report significant benefits from cloud use. The ASUG, SUSE, Managecore, and Intel study found that organizations benefited from ease of scalability (59%), pay-as-you-go pricing/consumption-based pricing (56%), speed to delivery (53%), and reduced workload for IT staff (53%). Although organizations are reaping the benefits of the cloud, more guidance on integration and tools for data management/security is needed so SAP customers can fully realize the value cloud providers offer; less than a quarter of respondents noted these benefits.