Guest Post: Measuring the Adoption of Cloud Computing
***This is a guest blog post by David Kelleher on behalf of GFI Software. The views in this post do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CloudComputingZone.com. If you are would like to guest blog for us, use our contact form and send us your submission***
By many accounts, cloud computing has become the next big wave in Information Technology. Driven by concerns in costs and increasing network complexity, the IT news industry has painted a picture that suggests cloud computing usage is nearly pervasive – at least in one form or another. In fact, Gartner Research Group predicted that by 2012, one fifth of all businesses will own no IT assets.
Bold claims aside, there are many variables that factor into this equation. Company size, geographic location and size of the IT department all play a role in measuring adoption. In order to gain a more definitive assessment of the extent of cloud implementations, GFI Software decided to enlist the help of Redshift Research.
Turning to the UK, the survey polled 250 small businesses spanning multiple business sectors with fewer than 250 employees. The breakdown is as follows: 46% had less than 10 employees, 29% with 10-99, and 25% with 100-249. Participants were high level decision makers including owners, manager/directors, and IT professionals.
So how did Garner’s forecast fare? The research indicates they, and other industry pundits may have significantly overestimated not only adoption, but basic understanding of cloud computing. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:
- Only 10% of respondents fully understand what cloud computing means. 62% have never heard of cloud computing. A further 13% have heard of it but don’t know what it means.
- Conversely, 24% of IT professionals have either never heard of cloud computing or don’t know what the term means.
- Security is touted as a primary inhibitor to cloud adoption. Yet security was not the primary concern for respondents, with only 12% citing it as a main reason for not pursuing cloud computing.
- Satisfaction with current in-house arrangements accounted for 56% of respondents indicating they would not pursue cloud computing.
- A surprise finding revealed that 44% of respondents felt cloud computing was too expensive.
- The top three perceived benefits of cloud computing are: expertise of service provider, lower costs and accountability.
- A hybrid model, where some services are cloud-based while others remain in-house, seems to be the arrangement that most SME’s prefer.
What is clear from the results of the survey is that there is a disconnection in terms of basic understanding of this technology.
As an example, 41% of these companies were in fact already using some form of managed service. In this hybrid model includes services like antivirus, spam filtering, and backups are cloud-based, while other services remain in-house.
So what should cloud computing vendors take away from this survey? Decision makers consistently expressed a desire to be able to mix and match services as needed and assurance that their data was safe.
Issues of support availability, inflexible contract terms and pricing were key inhibitors and addressing them will pave the way for more widespread cloud adoption.
The final and perhaps most critical message is one of communications. If decision makers are unclear about the technology and its benefits, the likelihood of adoption plummets.
For a copy of the survey results, please visit: http://www.gfi.com/documents/SME_Technology_Report_web.pdf.
About GFI
GFI Software provides the single best source of web and mail security, archiving and fax, networking and security software and hosted IT solutions for small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) via an extensive global partner community. GFI products are available either as on-premise solutions, in the cloud or as a hybrid of both delivery models. With award-winning technology, a competitive pricing strategy, and a strong focus on the unique requirements of SMBs. For more information about GFI solutions visit: www.gfi.com
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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Category: Adoption, Cool Stuff, Guest Blog, Resources, Strategy
