Newly released results from IDC (www.idc.com) reveal that the top drivers of cloud adoption include improving agility and security, as well as standardizing IT infrastructure.

As multi-cloud environments and hybrid cloud become more prevalent, the survey revealed that 87% of cloud users have adopted some capabilities for a hybrid cloud strategy, an increase of 17% compared to 2016, according to the research group.

"Beyond adoption and maturity, a series of questions on 'why are' or 'why aren't' respondents moving more workloads to the cloud makes up a key part of the study," said Ben jamin McGrath, senior research analyst, SaaS and Cloud Software.

Additional findings from the study include:

° 56% of users run more than one type of cloud deployment.

° 40% of cloud users are "Cloud First" organizations.

"When we look at the shift in IT spend over the next 12-24 months to more of a mix of multiple types of cloud deployments, we see each type of organization take a different journey," added McGrath. "The study gathers data on the journey to cloud and how it differs by vertical – and micro-vertical – by country, by company size, company age, and by job title. What industry-specific projects are moving to the cloud? What are end-users looking for from their vendors in each country? How will all that change over time?"