Big data is driving cloud computing adoption in Western European utility firms, according to a new survey by research analysts IDC.
The study found nearly half of respondents - 46.2 per cent - were positive cloud would be able to solve big data problems.
According to the survey, private or hybrid cloud deployment options are the preferred choice by Western European utilities.
Security and regulatory compliance are still seen as barriers to public cloud adoption for utilities, with around 24 per cent believing regulation would slow down take-up across the region. However, the survey also found companies believe public cloud encourages more standards and quicker implementations.
The research highlights commoditised applications as the most likely candidates for going into the cloud. But utilities recognise the real potential would be for speciality applications, according to the study.
Budget allocation for cloud computing still is not top priority for Western European utility companies, with only 25 per cent allotting just one to three per cent of budgets to cloud computing in 2012. It also reveals short-term expectations for cloud computing budget shares are positive.
"Budget allocation for cloud is not yet a priority for utilities, so it is important to see through the hype and understand how cloud can best be applied to the industry and how to remove barriers to deployment," said IDC's head of energy insights in EMEA, Roberta Bigliani.
She added cloud computing, together with mobile, big data, and analytics, is transforming the utilities IT landscape.
