Covid-19 to push 64% Indian firms adopt cloud computing: IDC

As a result of the spread of the pandemic, 64 per cent of the organisations in India are expected to increase demand for cloud computing while 56 per cent for cloud software to support the new normal, a new IDC report said on Tuesday.

The need to work remotely is bolstering the demand for SaaS-based collaborative apps, to ensure on and off-site presence at all the times and zero-disruption to business. This will also increase the need for remote support services – both human professional services and of the cloud software – especially security/identity.

"As industries move away from infrastructure of ownership, pay-per-use models are likely to see an accelerated demand. Public cloud services will be among the few technologies that are positively impacted by the COVID-19," said Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, IDC India.

The India cloud market is going to witness a visible impact in the probable and pessimistic scenario in terms of heightened adoption with public cloud leading the forefront of all infra-related investments, according to IDC's 'COVID-19 Impact on IT spending Survey May 2020'.

According to it, virtual private networks (VPNs), collaboration suites, end-point encryption, and cloud tools will witness an uptake.

"Industries like media, education, and IT/ITeS are likely to see an increased uptick primarily because of online entertainment, virtual classrooms, and increased need for collaboration as a result of increased remote working," the findings showed.

"We expect an accelerated adoption of cloud, as organizations explore testing of many new initiatives natively on cloud," Sharma added.

The report covered the change in cloud budgets and the technology demands to ensure business continuity.

According to Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions & ICT Practices, IDC India, while the impact of COVID-19 will be clearer in the coming quarters, Cloud has been a saviour during the crisis.

"Cloud-based VDI and collaboration tools helped enterprises to stay in touch with their employees, clients, and partners. Cloud-based solutions continued to run and enable seamless business operations during the crisis and this has increased the confidence of enterprises in embracing cloud," explained Srinivasamurthy.