Transitioning to a public cloud is a slow-moving process for most businesses, according to a new study by Softchoice, a managed services provider. The study, The State of Cloud Readiness, found that while progress is at hand, 61%of organizations are still experimenting with or have limited use of public cloud and less than 14% consider public cloud to be an internal corporate standard.

"Today, moving to the cloud is no longer a question of if, but when," said David MacDonald, President and CEO at Softchoice (http://www.softchoice.com). "However, many organizations are stuck in endless pilots or are hesitant to migrate to the public cloud in a meaningful way because they lack the strategy, skillsets and governance structures to build and maintain a fully realized cloud solution.”

The State of Cloud Readiness surveyed 250 senior IT decision-makers and 250 line of business managers across the U.S. and Canada to understand how well IT teams currently meet the needs of the business, and measure the progress made toward strategic cloud adoption. Highlights from the study include:

° Strategy is key, but few have mastered it: 54% of IT leaders report their teams struggle to form an effective cloud strategy, and 52% lack a formalized cloud strategy altogether.

° Skills gaps are real: 53% of IT leaders are struggling to acquire the necessary skills to support cloud initiatives within their organizations while almost half indicate staff training is not a priority, suggesting organizations may be avoiding short-term expenses at the cost of a major competitive disadvantage in the future.

° Governance and cost management is a challenge: 57% of IT leaders report exceeding cloud budgets, while 44% struggle to hold lines of business accountable for cloud spending.

° Business leaders see IT as dead weight: A vast majority (65%) of line of business managers consider IT as a “cost center,” and only 28% feel that their IT departments spend "plenty" of time on strategic projects to support their team's objectives.

° The right infrastructure counts: Half of IT leaders have had to cancel or postpone an important initiative due to the IT department's inability to provide the necessary resources or support. However, 46% think their teams would be less likely to cancel or postpone major initiatives if they have the "right" infrastructure in place.

"Embracing the cloud marks a turning point for IT leaders in how they augment their teams, manage budget and collaborate across their organizations," MacDonald said. "The transition, however, is complex and organizations need to carefully assemble the right strategy, people and processes in order to unlock the public cloud's diverse benefits."