New research from Wasabi Technologies claims that nine in 10 (92%) companies are allocating more than half of their cloud storage budgets to fees, rather than actual storage capacity.
The news comes as the majority of organizations (91%) expect to increase their budgets in 2024, despite more than half (53%) already exceeding their budgets in 2023, signifying not only the enormous potential of the industry of the cloud but also the increase in costs.
The report, based on a survey of more than 1,200 IT and storage decision makers, quantifies the growing reliance on public cloud storage solutions.
Cloud fees are as expensive as actual storage
“European cloud storage users continue to struggle with storage fees, but despite this, the region continues to show a healthy preference for cloud-centric decision-making when it comes to the adoption of IT services.” “praised Andrew Smith, senior director of strategy and market intelligence. in Wasabi.
The report also mentioned the high entry and exit fees imposed by many of the hyperscalers, which have been a hot topic in recent months. In just the last few weeks, Google Cloud and AWS have introduced measures to make switching providers free (or, in some circumstances, cheaper).
The index revealed that 50% of cloud costs in EMEA go towards fees, which is several percentage points higher than the global average. However, more European companies appear to be adopting cloud first compared to the global average, with Germany leading the way.
With costs rising, companies have revealed some of the key factors that determine their cloud provider, including third-party integrations, security and compliance features, and sustainability.
Jon Howes, Wasabi's vice president and general manager for EMEA, summarized: “The move towards off-premises cloud storage solutions is a direction that almost all companies are taking.”
He added: “Growing frustration with unnecessary fees and vendor lock-in, as highlighted by research from the UK market watchdog, represents a navigational challenge for organizations prioritizing cloud in EMEA”.
