SMEs remain in dark over cloud computing

A new report into SMEs’ perceptions of the cloud has uncovered some surprising attitudes to cloud comptuing.

In contrast to the perception that security is the main barrier to adoption, the research, which was undertaken by Redshift Research on behalf of GFI Software, indicates that only 12 percent of the SMEs questioned cited security as be their biggest concern. However, 44 percent of respondents said that upfront costs are a major factor in choosing not to implement cloud computing.
However, 43 percent of respondents who have chosen not to deploy cloud computing would reconsider if the vendors’ terms and pricing were improved while 40 percent would reconsider if contracts were less restrictive.
Cloud confusion
The study also shows that IT vendors and resellers are overestimating the market’s understanding of the terminology surrounding cloud computing. 64 percent of senior business decision-makers do not understand the term ‘cloud computing’, whereas only 15 percent have never heard of ‘managed services’ and 11 percent for ‘hosted services’.

Given these terms are practically synonymous with cloud computing, it appears there is too much emphasis on jargon, and not enough on the basic components of cloud-based services, says GFI.
Walter Scott, CEO of GFI Software claims the firms’ confusion is down to scaremongering by on-premise providers. He says: “Unless these trends can be reversed, UK SMEs are unlikely to reap the benefits of cloud computing for many years to come.”
The report also shows that of those companies who have so far moved some services over to the cloud, 16 percent have seen a full return on investment (ROI) in less than six months and the vast majority report full ROI in less than a year.
Hybrid option
Meanwhile, a hybrid approach of deploying certain applications either on-premise or in the cloud is gaining increasing traction.
Says Scott: “SMEs should not be confined to strictly either on-premise or hosted technologies, but should instead be given the option, according to their own needs. This demand is growing steadily in the UK and there is great opportunity for vendors and resellers who can offer this choice and allow SMEs to maximise their potential return on investment.”