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Multiple Cloud Automation Solutions Create Operational Challenges

A large majority of organizations employ more than one cloud automation solution, and this practice creates significant challenges that are resulting in delays and added costs for businesses, according to Why companies lose efficiency and compliance with cloud automation solutions from Broadcom. Not surprisingly, the research also found the majority of companies have consolidation efforts underway, a trend that has nurtured an important emerging role in the IT organization, that of Cloud Architect.

"The modern IT organization is highly complex with multiple cloud platforms, environments, and cloud automation solutions.These 'islands of automation' have become a big challenge," said Aline Gerew, Head of Automation Agile Operations Division, Broadcom. "These survey findings demonstrate a growing need to abstract the complexity from hybrid cloud automation processes and provide a single view of all automation processes."

Chaos in the Cloud

As businesses' reliance on cloud has increased, so has the need for various cloud automation tools to help manage cloud workloads. And with many companies utilizing several cloud platforms, it's not surprising they also use multiple automation tools. In fact, 81% of companies use more than one cloud automation solution, many of which are cloud native. These tools are also deployed in numerous environments — public clouds, on-premises, and SaaS based solutions, which makes coordinated automation a challenge.

70% of those surveyed reported that using multiple cloud automation tools has created significant challenges. Among the biggest issues are:

■ increasing the time to automate (59%)

■ time to report (52%)

■ time to remediate automation problems (52%)

Nearly half of respondents indicated compliance is more difficult. Using multiple automation solutions also adds costs, makes trouble shooting more difficult, and delays delivery.

Consolidation Is Complex

Given the many challenges of using multiple cloud automation solutions, it is not surprising that 78% of respondents' companies have consolidation plans underway. However, the process is not simple and requires careful planning to ensure the remaining cloud automation tools can support multiple different environments.

Additionally, companies continue to utilize various approaches when moving existing application functionality to the cloud including:

■ SaaS (57%)

■ lift and shift (56%)

■ cloud native replacements (46%)

■ refactoring (41%).

These diverse platform and functionality needs drive a long list of requirements for cloud automation tool selection with 62% citing operational costs as the most important factor followed by performance (53%), and operational efficiency (49%). Other criteria include supported environments, ease of use, and advanced features such as dashboards, analytics, and SLAs.

Rise of the Cloud Architect

An interesting outcome of the trend toward consolidation is the growing role of the Cloud Architect. This role is tasked with addressing the challenges of too many cloud automation tools and leading the work to find a single solution that meets the diverse platform and functional needs of the organization. The survey found 67% of companies currently have a cloud architect on staff with another 33% planning to hire one. The Cloud Architect has broad reach, influencing numerous automation projects across various teams within the organization including IT, development, and security.

Methodology: IT, cloud and deployment professionals at companies of all sizes representing all seniority levels were invited to participate in a survey on their company's cloud automation practices. The survey was administered electronically by a third party, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 535 qualified participants from five continents completed the global survey.

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Multiple Cloud Automation Solutions Create Operational Challenges

A large majority of organizations employ more than one cloud automation solution, and this practice creates significant challenges that are resulting in delays and added costs for businesses, according to Why companies lose efficiency and compliance with cloud automation solutions from Broadcom. Not surprisingly, the research also found the majority of companies have consolidation efforts underway, a trend that has nurtured an important emerging role in the IT organization, that of Cloud Architect.

"The modern IT organization is highly complex with multiple cloud platforms, environments, and cloud automation solutions.These 'islands of automation' have become a big challenge," said Aline Gerew, Head of Automation Agile Operations Division, Broadcom. "These survey findings demonstrate a growing need to abstract the complexity from hybrid cloud automation processes and provide a single view of all automation processes."

Chaos in the Cloud

As businesses' reliance on cloud has increased, so has the need for various cloud automation tools to help manage cloud workloads. And with many companies utilizing several cloud platforms, it's not surprising they also use multiple automation tools. In fact, 81% of companies use more than one cloud automation solution, many of which are cloud native. These tools are also deployed in numerous environments — public clouds, on-premises, and SaaS based solutions, which makes coordinated automation a challenge.

70% of those surveyed reported that using multiple cloud automation tools has created significant challenges. Among the biggest issues are:

■ increasing the time to automate (59%)

■ time to report (52%)

■ time to remediate automation problems (52%)

Nearly half of respondents indicated compliance is more difficult. Using multiple automation solutions also adds costs, makes trouble shooting more difficult, and delays delivery.

Consolidation Is Complex

Given the many challenges of using multiple cloud automation solutions, it is not surprising that 78% of respondents' companies have consolidation plans underway. However, the process is not simple and requires careful planning to ensure the remaining cloud automation tools can support multiple different environments.

Additionally, companies continue to utilize various approaches when moving existing application functionality to the cloud including:

■ SaaS (57%)

■ lift and shift (56%)

■ cloud native replacements (46%)

■ refactoring (41%).

These diverse platform and functionality needs drive a long list of requirements for cloud automation tool selection with 62% citing operational costs as the most important factor followed by performance (53%), and operational efficiency (49%). Other criteria include supported environments, ease of use, and advanced features such as dashboards, analytics, and SLAs.

Rise of the Cloud Architect

An interesting outcome of the trend toward consolidation is the growing role of the Cloud Architect. This role is tasked with addressing the challenges of too many cloud automation tools and leading the work to find a single solution that meets the diverse platform and functional needs of the organization. The survey found 67% of companies currently have a cloud architect on staff with another 33% planning to hire one. The Cloud Architect has broad reach, influencing numerous automation projects across various teams within the organization including IT, development, and security.

Methodology: IT, cloud and deployment professionals at companies of all sizes representing all seniority levels were invited to participate in a survey on their company's cloud automation practices. The survey was administered electronically by a third party, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 535 qualified participants from five continents completed the global survey.

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The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...