Microsoft survey reveals technology decision makers in India prefer public cloud

Technology decision makers in Indian companies have said that they are highest adopters of public cloud solutions in the world. A survey by Microsoft and leading market research firm Wakefield Research shows that 57% respondents from India have adopted public cloud solutions. 33% respondents stated that their company uses hybrid cloud (a combination public and private cloud) solutions. These are among the highest rate of adoptions and are better than markets such as US, UK and Japan.

The results of the Wakefield Azure survey highlight some key areas where cloud based technology solutions are making the difference for Indian companies. The survey was conducted among Information Technology Decision Makers (ITDMs) and IT Professionals across major markets like India, US, UK, Japan and Brazil.

ITDMs in India refer to Sales Functions (CRM and ERP), Data Analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) as the top three services or applications that their organization would like to host on the public cloud. Since their launch in September 2015, Microsoft cloud services from local data centers in India have proved to be a platform that drives innovation and customer delight. Startups in India are driving innovation in these key areas by leveraging the power of Microsoft’s local cloud services.

• IoT: CarIQ is an IoT-based app solution that is making cars intelligent to track vehicle performance and driver efficiencies. It enables deep analytics and scalability that makes cars intelligent, track vehicle performance and enhance driver efficiencies.
• Sales: Vymo – Built on Azure, it is the world's first personalized intelligent proactive enterprise assistant that can predict what every sales representative should do next and detects what tasks have been completed and even coaches representatives proactively.
• Data Analytics: Shephertz – has built App42, an app tool from that gives enterprises unprecedented access to forecast which of their users are going to churn and which are going to get converted. GAVel by GAVS is a predictive analytics platform that identifies potential problems, to predict the tomorrow of enterprises

Microsoft has expanded its cloud access for local customers by enabling Web Direct and Cloud Solution Provider channels that make it easy for developers and start-ups to use the local cloud.

The Wakefield Azure survey highlights several other trends on cloud adoption among Indian organizations:

• 64% Indian respondents were comfortable in hosting their company’s most essential applications or services on the public cloud.
• 64% Indian respondents believe that public cloud solutions are very important to connect seamlessly to the organization’s existing data centers five years from now
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality and Conversation bots, such as virtual assistants are the top technology choices which Indian respondents want to learn more about.

Today, 52 of the top 100 Indian companies listed on the BSE use Microsoft cloud (local and global). Microsoft’s comprehensive cloud services across Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) have allowed customers across segments to begin their digital transformation journey. Five major sectors – Healthcare, BFSI, E-Commerce, Startups and Government are leading cloud adopters in India.

Microsoft has been at the forefront of cloud powered digital transformation across industry verticals. It is the only cloud service provider in India that provides a full range of cloud offerings delivered from local datacenters in India. With an open and flexible platform and a wide array of productivity solutions, the Microsoft cloud is fueling innovation and accelerating India’s digital transformation.