A recent study by the Cloud Industry Forum has shown that while larger, private sector businesses are the ones at the forefront of cloud adoption, small business and those the in the public sector are also beginning to get in on cloud-based applications and services. Of 450 respondents polled, including senior ITs, company heads, and those who make monetary decisions, 48% said that they were using some form of cloud computing on a day-to-day basis, and 85% percent of those said that they would be increasing their cloud usage in the next year.
Frankly, that’s expected given the way the market has been trending, but what’s not expected is the reason so many of these companies are choosing to fly in the cloud. For years, the industry has been promoting the cost-effectiveness of cloud services, telling businesses how much money they could save by switching away from their standard physical server model. What’s odd is that according to the survey, only 16% of businesses are actually in the cloud for the lower costs. As it turns out, 53% of all businesses that use the cloud do so because the cloud is agile.
Flexibility appears to trump cost in this case, and it’s no wonder. As more and more businesses go global, a robust and flexible cloud platform is necessary. It’s not good enough anymore to have access only at the office from 9-5. Companies have found that, while cost savings are great on paper, it’s the actual time saved with the cloud that is of the greater benefit. Cloud services are poised to flood the market as the technology goes mainstream, and it’s those with the greatest flexibility that will likely see the most success.
Related News:
