European organizations are still grappling with high storage costs, with 50% of their cloud storage budgets in EMEA being spent on access and usage fees, rather than on actual capacity. This is according to the 2024 Global Cloud Storage Index by Wasabi Technologies.
Despite the ongoing issue of rising fees, businesses in the region recognize the value of cloud storage and plan to increase their investment in 2024. Their goals include driving IT initiatives such as application or infrastructure migrations, and advancing business strategies like digital transformation and modernization.
The Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index, conducted by Vanson Bourne, sheds light on shifting attitudes toward public cloud storage, the factors influencing purchasing decisions, and the priorities of the market. The survey involved 1,200 global IT decision-makers who play a role in their organizations’ storage strategies.
EMEA businesses spend a higher portion of their cloud storage budgets on fees compared to the global average. While globally, 47% of budgets go toward fees, in EMEA, that number is 50%. The UK has a slightly lower percentage at 48%, while Germany has the highest at 51.5%.
In 2023, many businesses in EMEA went over their cloud storage budgets. France reported the highest excess at 57%, followed by the UK at 55%, and Germany at 51%.
Europe is slightly ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to adopting a “cloud-first” strategy, with 44% of European businesses prioritizing cloud over on-premises IT infrastructure, compared to the global average of 42%. This trend is particularly strong in Germany (51%) and France (47%).
When selecting a cloud storage provider, EMEA businesses prioritize seamless integrations with existing third-party apps like Salesforce and Veeam (43%), followed by security and compliance features (40%), and sustainability (39%). Additionally, businesses in the region are increasingly exploring multicloud adoption. The top reason for this, cited by 48% of respondents, is to avoid vendor lock-in.
Looking ahead, the adoption of AI and machine learning (ML) technologies is expected to drive innovation but also create new challenges for cloud storage. Nearly all (99%) EMEA respondents say they have either adopted or plan to adopt AI/ML by 2024, with the primary goals being product and service innovation and operational efficiencies. Generative AI (GenAI) is the most widely recognized use case in the region, but priorities vary by country:
- In Germany, GenAI ranks 4th behind AI/ML solutions for product design (49%), security and compliance (47%), and computer vision (38%).
- In the UK, AI/ML for document processing is a top priority (48%), second only to GenAI (52%).
- In France, predictive analytics ranks as the second priority (39%) after GenAI (47%).
Despite the enthusiasm for AI/ML, 96% of EMEA respondents anticipate new cloud storage challenges as they adopt these technologies. The main concerns include:
- Storing data across a wider range of locations, such as core data centers and edge/remote locations (46%).
- Addressing new requirements for data backup, protection, and recovery (43%).
- Managing increased storage migration and movement demands, especially in hybrid or multicloud environments (42%).
Jon Howes, VP & GM of EMEA at Wasabi Technologies, noted that the trend toward off-premises cloud storage is accelerating, driven by the adoption of AI/ML applications. However, the ongoing frustration with high fees and vendor lock-in presents challenges for organizations in the EMEA region pursuing cloud-first strategies.
