US more 'cloud reliant' than Europe
US more 'cloud reliant' than Europe
More cloud computing users in the US consider themselves to be ‘cloud reliant’ than their counterparts in Europe, according to a new report.
The study, entitled the 'Future of Cloud Computing Technologies in Enterprises in the United States and Europe', found that ‘cloud reliant’ people were more likely to work in manufacturing, businesses with 20 to 50 staff and companies with more than 10,000 employees. They were also more likely to be in the US.
Almost six in 10 respondents to the poll saw themselves as cloud reliant, while 43 per cent were classed as ‘cloud lagging’.
The study, carried out by Frost & Sullivan, found that more than half of the businesses questioned were using cloud computing for at least half of their enterprise communications. The respondents signalled that they expect the figure to rise over the next three years, with around a quarter predicting that at least three-quarters of their communications would be via cloud-based solutions.
The most common services that have already been moved to the cloud include email servers and collaborative apps. Users were less likely to move their telephone systems across, with only 27 per cent using the cloud to host this type of communication.
The report also found the expected growth in homeworking and remote workers on both continents is also expected to feed into the growth of cloud computing, because it will alter the needs of business technology.
Frost & Sullivan said the move would be partly driven by the need to reduce costs.
Research analyst Karolina Olszewska said: "The cost impact of supporting these new business needs will be felt more intensely by IT decision-makers in the United States than those in Europe."
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