Half of UK organisations turning to cloud, research finds
Half of UK organisations turning to cloud, research finds
Recent research has revealed that around half of organisations in the UK have turned to cloud-based services as the trend starts to become an established part of IT.
The Cloud Industry Forum, the cross-industry group that conducted the study, also found that around a quarter of those questioned were considering adopting cloud computing in the near future. Of those that had adopted or were considering adopting the service, 42 per cent stated that data backup is a key priority, while 39 per cent said that email management is important.
Data storage, collaboration tools and IT operations management were also revealed as important attributes of cloud computing, with around 94 per cent of those questioned claiming to be satisfied with the way in which these services performed through the cloud.
But one of the most popular qualities inherent to cloud computing is the option to purchase IT services on demand. There is no longer any need to rely on the capabilities of in-house servers, which can be expensive to maintain at maximum capacity when high volume usage may only be an occasional occurrence.
Rather, businesses and organisations can launch a new service or cater for an unexpected influx in traffic and data requirements through their cloud computing service. They will pay for what they need when they need it, allowing the company to increase and decrease its usage as required.
Ian Osborne, project director at Intellect, explained in a recent piece for the Guardian: “In the past that would have placed a new requirement on IT staff, requiring them to adapt legacy systems. Now it can be done in a seamless way.”
The remarks come as the IT industry is seeing the majority of its growth focus on data centres and cloud computing, while companies servicing desktop provisions are starting to struggle.
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
