Prague, May 10, 2012 – In a recent IDC survey conducted across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), manufacturing was the vertical market that showed both the greatest maturity in cloud adoption to date and the most significant plans to invest in cloud computing; 44% of respondents in the manufacturing sector said that some part of their IT budget was now dedicated to cloud, while 40% indicated their cloud budget would increase in the next three years.

"There is no one-size-fits-all approach to cloud computing for manufacturers," says Senior Research Analyst Craig Simpson of IDC Manufacturing Insights, CEMA. "Manufacturers in CEE are beginning to understand this, and it is reflected in their cautious approach to cloud computing. They have concentrated on non-business critical processes first, while we are now beginning to see examples of business critical processes moving onto the cloud, as well."

Among other key findings, the survey revealed that:

• The top business issues cloud is expected to solve outside of IT are those related to operational performance, sales and marketing, and customer relationship management.
• Line-of-business application investments utilizing cloud-based deployments are driven by supply-chain activities and applications supporting collaboration initiatives.
• Ease of deployment and expected savings moving from a CAPEX to an OPEX model are key drivers of current and future investments into cloud technologies.
• Demand planning and forecasting and supply chain planning rank high as potential cloud-based applications.

According to IDC Manufacturing Insights, the market for cloud computing among CEE manufacturers is beginning to heat up. Security is by the far the biggest inhibitor. "Security is merely a perceived risk for the cloud. Unfortunately, a number of high profile security breaches relating to the cloud have been highly publicized, often distorting the reality of the situation. More often than not, cloud providers offer a highly level of security than clients implement on their own in-house systems,” says Craig Simpson.

IDC's Manufacturing Insights: Manufacturing and Cloud Computing: A View from Central and Eastern Europe (IDC #CEMA18390) is based on a survey designed to ascertain the degree to which these organizations are using, or plan to use, cloud computing. The study offers essential guidance into workloads and processes suitable for cloud, drivers and inhibitors of cloud, and the nature of current and future cloud investments specific to manufacturers.

To purchase the study or to learn more about IDC's research into vertical markets, please contact Tatiana Hinova at thinova@idc.com or on +420 221 423 140.

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