’Hybrid Cloud is the New Normal’, says Wipro-Cisco Joint Study

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT), a leading global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company and Cisco Systems unveiled a jointly commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Wipro Ltd and Cisco Systems that forecasts large enterprises combining private and public cloud operations, often described as “hybrid cloud computing”. The September 2013 study titled “Transforming The Data Center -Navigating The Journey From Virtualization To Private Clouds” notes that “hybrid cloud” is becoming the new normal.

IT decision-makers report great interest in using IaaS in a hybrid cloud approach to complement on premises capacity, rather than replace it, and are planning for the impact that it will have on network operations and spending. While a hybrid approach promises cost savings and significant gains in IT and business flexibility, some concerns remain around how to manage and integrate on-premises infrastructure with cloud services in a hybrid cloud architecture.

The study notes that 60% of the respondents believe virtualization will be the primary technology over the next 12 months. Banking, financial services and insurance companies strongly recognize the link between virtualization and private/hybrid cloud enablement with 97% of those surveyed highlighting this aspect.

Historically, costs have been the initial motivator for virtualization and cloud adoption, but the study found that security is at par with cost as a primary driver for a hybrid cloud approach. 78% of Indian respondents feel that cost reduction and resource optimization drive cloud investments and 76% believe that security is one of the key capabilities required to enable private/hybrid cloud.

The study also states that 25% of the respondents find that adopting IaaS as-a-service technology will drive IT organizations towards a hybrid cloud approach. More than half of those planning to use or using IaaS see “on-demand flexibility for hosting workloads on-premises or at a cloud service provider” as a key benefit of going hybrid with their IaaS strategy. Flexibility to respond quickly to business needs also topped the list of key benefits associated with a hybrid model.

“We have observed that while private and hybrid cloud is gaining significant mind-share across the Asia-Pacific region, there are interesting differences in their investment criteria. Cost reduction remains top of the mind for nearly 80% of technology leaders in India, whereas expanding existing virtualization Investments is critical in both Australia and Singapore”, said Anuj Bhalla, Vice President & Global Business Unit Head, Product, System Integration and Maintenance Service, Wipro Ltd.

Mr. Rajesh Rege, Director, Cloud and Datacentre Sales, Cisco India & SAARC said “It’s clear that virtualization technologies are driving more flexibility in the data center. However to realize the full potential; CIOs need to adopt a fabric-based approach that integrates compute, network, security, virtualization, and management solutions into a single, more efficient and simplified data center platform. This approach maximizes the advantages of virtualization and facilitates automation, to increase efficiencies, productivity and agility.”

This survey gathered insights from 140 senior IT decision-makers in Australia, India and Singapore. The respondents were asked about their current and future private/hybrid cloud and virtualization adoption plans. Respondents were also asked to identify key drivers and inhibitors that will determine the speed of adoption for private and hybrid cloud deployment models. Forrester also leveraged its Foresights Budgets and Priorities Tracker Survey, Q4 2012, which provided insights from a survey of 3,659 senior IT and business decision-makers based in Asia Pacific.

According to the study, organizations that embrace private/hybrid cloud approaches alongside traditional data center capabilities will be far better positioned to support, encourage and innovate within their organizations based on simplified, more efficient access to compute resources and capabilities.

Transforming The Data Center – Navigating The Journey from Virtualization to Private Clouds study is available at: http://www.wipro.com/insights/future-drivers/variabalization-of-technology/transforming-the-data-center

About Wipro Ltd.
Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of “Business through Technology” - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner’s approach to delivering innovation, and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of 140,000 serving clients across 57 countries. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com.

About Cisco
Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. At Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) customers come first and an integral part of our DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships and working with them to identify their needs and provide solutions that support their success. For more information: http://www.cisco.com/web/IN/about/company_overview.html


Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.