KPMG: Executives See Cloud Driving Business Transformation

New data from the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG, show the increased use of cloud technology by global business to better connect with their employees and customers.

In a new report, titled "Elevating Business in the Cloud," the firm outlines the results of its 2014 Cloud Survey and interviews with more than 500 global executives from the financial services, retail, healthcare, media, and pharmaceutical industries. The report contrasts select aspects of the 2014 survey results with data collected in the 2012 edition of the survey, and outlines important shifts in the usage of and attitudes toward the cloud.

According to the executives in the 2014 survey, the top use of cloud remains driving cost efficiencies (49 percent), as was evident in the 2012 version (48 percent). However, the 2014 survey results reveal that in increasing numbers, organizations are using cloud technology to enact large-scale change, whether within individual business units or across the enterprise. These transformative uses of cloud include: better enabling a flexible and mobile workforce (42 percent) and improving alignment and interaction with customers, suppliers and business partners (37 percent).