HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey 2024: Cloud maturity is elusive but valuable

The fourth annual HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey is out, revealing that even as cloud investments continue to grow, the biggest benefits are going to a small group of truly cloud-mature organizations.

Our survey shows that while a few trailblazers are enjoying faster development speed, lower costs, and reduced risk, many others continue to struggle, creating a “haves” vs. “have nots” situation that sorts enterprises into divergent business outcomes. And this year, there’s a new potential wildcard: the advent of generative AI could turbocharge cloud automation, but also brings another level of uncertainty.

»Inside the State of Cloud Strategy Survey

For 2024, we again commissioned Forrester Consulting to perform the survey and collaborate with us to describe the model for cloud maturity. We collected responses from almost 1,200 technology practitioners and decision makers at organizations with more than 1,000 employees. Respondents came from around the world and worked in a variety of industries.

This blog post summarizes the survey’s most important findings, explains our updated cloud maturity model, and delves into the critical role of platform teams in achieving cloud maturity. For full results, analysis, and methodology visit hashicorp.com/state-of-the-cloud, where you can also download the 2024 Forrester Consulting study based on the survey data: Cloud Maturity Drives Business Success.

»Cloud maturity is elusive, but valuable

Unlike the relative model we developed in 2023, this year we used a standardized, requirements-based cloud maturity model that focuses on the ability to scale key technology and business practices across the organization. We measured this by tracking the prevalence of 21 key practices in cloud infrastructure and security across three levels of cloud maturity. We took this matrixed approach because both security and infrastructure play a critical role in organizational success. Growing maturity in one area cannot succeed without growing maturity in the other.

The survey revealed that just 8% of respondents qualified as highly mature, with members of this elite group investing more in the cloud (71% boosted cloud spending last year, compared to 60% of low-maturity orgs), and getting more for their efforts, including stronger security, faster cloud development, agile provisioning, and the ability to attract and retain talented practitioners.

Specifically, when faced with the ongoing shortages of skilled technical staff, cloud-mature orgs are scaling platform teams and beginning to implement internal development platforms (IDPs) to maximize the impact of staff expertise. While others struggle with cloud security, they’re using cloud operating principles to strengthen their security posture. And they’re leading the way toward experimenting with generative AI to power cloud infrastructure and security.

»Numbers to remember

We boiled down the results of the 2024 HashiCorp State of the Cloud Strategy Survey to nine key numbers:

»The critical role of platform teams

A key takeaway from the 2024 HashiCorp State of the Cloud Strategy survey is that the path to cloud maturity increasingly relies on platform teams to help automate and systematize cloud operations. However, less than half of respondents (42%), say they rely on centralized platform teams to standardize cloud operations throughout the organization.

No surprise, cloud mature organizations lead the way, with 67% using platform teams to maximize staff expertise. These organizations rely on platform teams to enable consistent and accelerated execution of many key functions, from standardizing cloud infrastructure strategy and building in security and compliance to risk management and tracking site reliability.

Not only do platform teams help manage cloud estates, but they can help address the ongoing skills shortage that has long plagued enterprise cloud adoption, as shown in previous editions of the State of Cloud Strategy Survey. In this year’s survey, 64% of respondents said they don’t have all the staff expertise they need to support their cloud infrastructure strategy. Highly mature organizations struggle less with these cloud staffing challenges, with just over half (52%) saying they have a slight (29%) or significant (23%) shortage of cloud expertise. By comparison, more than two-thirds (71%) of low-maturity respondents say they experience skills shortages.

Without the proper staff to manage an organization’s cloud estate, many parts of the business suffer. For example, the skills shortage is the most commonly cited contributor to cloud waste. It is a key security concern (especially for low-maturity firms) and is the No. 2 factor keeping companies from establishing a platform team.

Tellingly, highly mature organizations know the importance of having the right cloud skills, and the role platform teams play in maximizing the reach of those skills. While a lack of skills/staff is the No. 2 barrier keeping orgs from creating a platform team, cited by 38% of respondents without a platform team, high-maturity orgs are flipping the script. Having the right skills and the presence of a platform team are two of their most important cloud success factors (both cited by 89% of highly mature respondents). Staffing/skill level is notably lower for low-maturity orgs, and platform teams don’t make their list of top five success factors, as these orgs worry more about short-term concerns such as budget issues.

»More cloud strategy survey analysis to come

This post is the first of several highlighting key results and analysis from the 2024 HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy survey. Stay tuned for key findings and recommendations from the Forrester Consulting study, as well as in-depth analyses of how cloud maturity affects security, what the rise of AI could mean to cloud infrastructure and security management, and much more.

You can find the full results and analysis at the HashiCorp State of Cloud Strategy Survey site, where you will also see links to the related Forrester Consulting study, Cloud Maturity Drives Business Success.