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The State of the Database Landscape
The 2024 industry report from Redgate includes data from every sector and every company size, from developers, DBAs and software delivery professionals to IT leaders, CTOs and CEOs across the world.
- 3849 respondents
- 6 continents
- 15 industry sectors
Cloud
The database journey to the Cloud
Cloud adoption has been steadily on the rise for a number of years, driven by benefits such as scalability, accessibility and flexibility, security and cost. The combination of these factors make cloud computing an attractive and practical solution for many organizations. However, as many embark on this journey to the cloud, it is crucial to acknowledge that it does come with its own set of challenges.
Cloud adoption is still on the rise
The rise of cloud adoption has been well documented and, using data from this survey along with Redgate’s previous State of Database DevOps Surveys, the ongoing trend is very clear.
The percentage of those who host their databases mostly or all in the cloud has jumped from 18% in 2020 to 36% in 2023. At the other end of the spectrum, those who host their databases mostly or all on-premises has fallen from 53% in 2020 to 31% in 2023.
Interestingly, the group of respondents sitting right in the middle show little change. In 2020, 28% were using a combination of cloud and on-premises. In 2021, this rose to 33% and in 2023 remains at 33%.
It appears that there is movement from on-premises to the cloud, but it is a staged journey, with businesses moving to a combination, finding the type of cloud set-up they prefer, and then taking the next step.
It’s worth noting that out of all the respondents who do not use cloud in any capacity, over 44% of them were from smaller enterprises (100 or less employees).
Where production databases are hosted
Exploring Cloud infrastructure options
When looking more closely at what kind of cloud infrastructure is being adopted, the security that private clouds offer appears to be balanced by the flexibility and scalability of public clouds. Similarly, the use of multiple public clouds is matched by hybrid cloud usage which combines elements of both private and public clouds, offering a balanced solution.
Understanding the specific needs, goals, and constraints of the organization is essential for making informed decisions about the type of cloud to use. This decision has wide-ranging implications for performance, cost, security, and overall operational effectiveness.
Forms of cloud infrastructure currently used
The importance of a Cloud migration strategy
Cloud has become an important element of digital transformation and for many organizations, this will be a first step from the traditional, predictable challenges of managing on-premises servers. Crafting a thoughtful strategy is pivotal to success as there are a lot of considerations to bear in mind such as what data to move to the cloud and how to move it.
Another example is choosing between Infrastructure as Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Our survey has shown that a higher percentage of respondents are now using PaaS, likely due to the increasing pressures and demands to deliver more quickly (as IaaS is unique to the company it naturally requires more maintenance).
“It’s important to understand your needs and what you’re trying to achieve as an organisation with cloud migration. This will help answer key questions, like what data to move to the cloud, and how to move it. Understanding your goals and constraints can also help with choices like infrastructure-as-a-service vs platform-as-a-service.”Ulrike Hack
Group Product Marketing Manager, Redgate
Platform-as-a-Service vs. Infrastructure-as-a-Service usage
Primary reasons for choosing the Cloud
There are a multitude of reasons for why organizations are choosing to migrate to the cloud. While cost is among the main three reasons for choosing the cloud, the scalability and flexibility the cloud offers, along with high availability and reliability are both regarded as more important.
Below this, the other advantages when seen collectively are also very relevant. Organizations can offload infrastructure management, backups and disaster recovery, data security and global accessibility to a third-party provider.
However, this does put a lot of pressure on to the DBAs to acquire new skills in terms of controlling costs, managing security more effectively, and monitoring database for performance issues when estates are now spread across one or more cloud providers as well as on-premises.
TJay Belt, Director of Data, Nerd United
Top 7 reasons for using the Cloud
Future Cloud initiatives and optimization strategies
When it comes to future plans for cloud adoption, our survey indicates even more organizations will begin to use cloud in some capacity. In fact, 46% of respondents who do not currently use cloud stipulated they are seeking to use it within the next two years.
There’s a clear preference for having a hybrid approach with a combination of cloud and on-premises, followed by full migration. Fewer organizations are planning to stay completely on-premise, in these scenarios it can often be related to data agreements or vendor requirements.
Future plans regarding cloud adoption
Summary
About Redgate
End-to-end Database DevOps
Redgate creates ingeniously simple software to help organizations and professionals get the most value out of any database, anywhere, through the provision of end-to-end Database DevOps.
