Access to better technology and faster deployment of additional IT resources are the top two motivators to adoption of cloud services in Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe, a report said.

Delivering more projects without recruiting additional headcount (51 per cent) and standardization (50 per cent) were the third and fourth key drivers for adoption of SaaS (Software-as-a-Solution) services offered by Oracle, according to the survey conducted by IDC for the IT giant.

Other key reasons for adopting SaaS included access to better quality of IT skills (49 per cent) and access to the latest software and techniques (48 per cent).

Delivering more projects without recruiting additional headcount (51 per cent) and standardization (50 per cent) were the third and fourth key drivers. Other key reasons for adopting SaaS included access to better quality of IT skills (49 per cent) and access to the latest software and techniques (48 per cent).

The study highlighted that along with cost savings, process efficiencies and productivity were the key benefits to businesses implementing the cloud technology.

In-depth interviews were with CIOs and decision makers from 160 organisations with 500 employees or more, in EMEA. The study outlined how Oracle SaaS customers overcame concerns and inhibitions with regard to cloud adoption.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were all identified as tier one countries by Oracle within the study. The research showed that many companies in the region have a “SaaS also” attitude, meaning that when they need new or replacement applications for capability, capacity and functionality, they look at SaaS-solutions at the same time as looking at other on-premise software.

The investigation found that more than 60 per cent of all companies across major verticals have adopted or are in the process of implementing cloud solutions.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents felt that cloud offered significant tangible benefits, 55 per cent believed that it offered value, but cost and availability of bandwidth inhibited adoption locally.

The study illustrated that 48 per cent of companies are currently using SaaS technology with another 31 per cent planning to use in the next one or two years. About 22 per cent currently used Platform as a Service (PaaS) with a further 36 per cent planning on using it in the next 12 to 24 months.

Some concerns were raised through the study, particularly around security. While connectivity was highlighted as a key concern, for some organisations connectivity issues were solved with the use of SaaS.  Organisations that did adopt SaaS invested in network optimisation and additional security solutions to ensure overall SaaS quality.

The study also focused on particular sectors including the banking industry. The results showed that 59 per cent of all banks surveyed believed that cloud offered significant tangible benefits, with 52 per cent of those surveyed currently using SaaS within their organisations.

About 64 per cent of the banks expect the number of SaaS users within the organisation to increase over the next year and 38 per cent of the banks have a “SaaS first” approach.  Access to better technology & IT skills were the primary drivers for SaaS and workforce productivity was stated as being a major benefit experienced by 87 per cent of the banks.

Dana Murugan, senior director, Marketing, Oracle said: “Modern cloud applications from Oracle help customers reimagine business, practices, and experiences. The best-of-breed Software as a Service (SaaS) applications in Oracle Cloud are integrated with social, mobile, and analytic capabilities to help deliver the experiences customers expect, the talent to succeed, and the performance the market demands.

“The results of the survey indicate that SaaS adoption is continuing to rise in the region and we look forward to supporting our customers with the latest technology that will enable them to achieve business objectives.” – TradeArabia News Service