Cloud Pulse

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Dave McCarthy
Dave McCarthy

Research Vice President, Cloud and Edge Services, Worldwide Infrastructure Research

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Penny Madsen

Senior Research Director, Cloud and Edge Services, Worldwide Infrastructure Research



IDC's Cloud Pulse draws upon in-depth insights gathered from a quarterly survey of experts responsible for purchasing cloud technology and services. Taking the pulse of the cloud market, it offers valuable analyst insights into cloud adoption and trends. Cloud Pulse covers IT customers' current and future cloud investments and adoption rates, multicloud and hybrid cloud behaviors, cloud workloads, cloud vendor perception, cloud economics and ROI, and innovation including across areas such as AI, cloud networking, cloud management, and cloud infrastructure choice. Delivered quarterly, this product is focused on better understanding what drives customer behavior for cloud on a worldwide basis across different buyer personas. Cloud Pulse is a companion product to the Cloud Adoption Trends and Strategies CIS.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • Public cloud, private cloud, multicloud, and hybrid cloud adoption and trade-offs from the core to the edge
  • Spending and investments by cloud type
  • Macroeconomic impacts on cloud – supply chain, sustainability, economics, and regulation
  • Cloud drivers and inhibitors for public and private clouds
  • Cloud applications/workloads/data requirements, migrations, and use cases.
  • Cloud vendor requirements and vendor strategies
  • Cloud pricing, billing, and product bundling
  • Customer playbooks and journey to cloud
  • Cloud tension and early warning signals
  • Cloud economics, ROI, churn, and customer lifetime value
  • Cloud intersection relative to other IDC accelerators for multiplied innovation
  • IT staff skills and reskilling
  • Cloud management including cloud control planes
  • FinOps, CloudOps, and ITOps
  • Security, networking, servers, and other infrastructure requirements
  • The wider cloud services market including professional and managed services

Core Research


  • Executive Summary (Quarterly)
  • Digest of Survey Findings (Quarterly)
  • Banner Book with Worldwide and Regional Insights Where Available (Quarterly)
  • Readout/Webinar (Quarterly)
  • Unlimited Access to Associated Analysts for Inquiries
  • Ability to Request Non-Vendor-Related Data for Reprints (Additional Charges)

Note: In addition to the previously mentioned research available for the base price, subscribers will be able to access nonvendor–related data for reprints. Subscribers also gain the ability to provide input into future surveys. IDC will provide subscribers with the ability to gain country, company size, and other nonpublished insights via custom market intelligence (CMI) add-ons. Subscribers will also have the option to purchase customized content packages, additional readout sessions, and other bespoke data insights via CMI add-ons.

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. What public and private cloud technologies are customers thinking about, planning for, and investing in? What trade-offs do they make? Are private and public clouds competitive or complementary?
  2. What are the major drivers and inhibitors for cloud adoption based on different buyer personas?
  3. Which financial metrics will matter in cloud, and how will cloud economics evolve?
  4. How will cloud intersect with other disruptive technologies?
  5. How will cloud economics and business metrics evolve with the mainstream buyer?

Companies Covered