Majority of businesses plan to use cloud computing
Majority of businesses plan to use cloud computing
A massive 90 per cent of firms plan to use cloud computing in their business, new research from Cisco has found.
This is a big jump from just 52 per cent who said the same last year. This suggests that acceptance of cloud computing is on the increase. Of the 90 per cent, 31 per cent see the cloud as being critical to their operations – this is up from just 7 per cent last year. Of the companies looking to invest in cloud computing, 85 per cent plan to do so in the next year.
However, whilst more companies are clearly accepting cloud computing, it does appear that they are perhaps lowering their expectations of the advantages it can bring to their company.
When businesses were questioned about what they see as the benefits of cloud computing, there was a drop since last year in a number of areas. For example, only 56 per cent see ease of maintenance as a key advantage, down from 67 per cent last year. In 2011, 64 per cent saw automatic updates as a key advantage but now only 48 per cent cited this.
The biggest drop was in the advantages around collaboration, which dropped from 60 per cent to 39 per cent.
Ian Foddering, Cisco UK & Ireland CTO, said these particular findings suggest "a move away from cloud hype.” He commented, “The benefits are still there but now companies are better able to define those benefits and define what cloud computing can do for their business."
The survey also questioned companies who have already invested in the cloud about the benefits. It found that 20 per cent believed their expectations had been exceeded and half agreed that they had been met. Just 27 per cent said they had yet to see their expectations met, whilst 3 per cent found it too difficult to measure.
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.
