For the first time, a majority of companies are putting mission critical apps in the cloud, according to the latest report by Cloud Foundry Foundation.

The study revealed that companies treat digital transformation as a constant cycle of adaptation rather than a one-time fix. As part of that process, cloud technologies such as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), containers and serverless continue to grow at scale, while microservices and AI/ML are next to be integrated into their workflows.

As more companies embrace the reality of digital transformation, they are adapting to the iterative journey that unfolds. Per the report, 74 percent of respondents equate digital transformation to "perpetual shifts and constant adaption of new technology," compared to 26 percent who view digital transformation as a "one-time change and adoption of new technology." More than three quarters of IT decision makers believe digital transformation is a reality, and 86 percent of CIOs, CTOs and Line of Business leaders agree.

"The vast majority of companies agree digital transformation is a constant process of incremental change, rather than a one-time initiative, and are realizing their long-term strategy must involve adaptation to a wide range of unforeseen challenges and technological changes," said Abby Kearns, Executive Director, Cloud Foundry Foundation. "Although companies are starting to see the benefits of advanced cloud technologies, what's coming next—artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain, for example — will continue to prove that the only constant in technology is change."

Key findings from the report include:

Multi-platform strategy is flourishing

Almost half of respondents (48 percent) report using a combination of PaaS, containers and serverless technologies together—an increase of nine percent from last year's multi-platform report. There are increases across the board in companies using a combination of all three technologies in various iterations, with 72 percent using PaaS and containers together (+8%), 50 percent using PaaS and serverless together (+7%), and 49 percent using containers and serverless together (+7%).

Container usage widens

Among companies using or evaluating containers, there has been substantial growth in the number of containers used. Organizations using 100 or more containers has grown from 34 percent in April 2018 to 48 percent in February 2019. Among the IT decision makers surveyed, 62 percent report they expect containers to be mainstreamed at their organization within a year.

Serverless evaluation slows

Serverless evaluation slows, but there is broader deployment among users. While there was a slight pull back in overall usage and evaluation since September, for those using and evaluating serverless, broad deployment doubled since last year — increasing from 9% to 18%.

Timeline to see digital transformation vary by region

North American companies are largely feeling the benefit of digital transformation or expect to in this quarter (49%), though slightly more than a third (34%) don't expect to see benefits for a year or more. Conversely, a third of organizations in Asia expect to see benefits later this year while only 24% expect it to take over a year. More than half of European companies (56%) already feel the benefit or expect to this quarter, while a small percentage (19%) expect to feel the benefits within the year.