Is It Time to Shift to Cloud Computing?

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

Why do business owners choose cloud computing, and what benefits do they gain from it? A survey by CSC of IT decision-makers worldwide found that, while at one time cost savings was the primary reason for shifting to the cloud, today the major reason companies use the cloud is to access information on the multitude of mobile devices their employees use.

One-third (33 percent) of respondents said accessibility to information through multiple devices was the most important reason they switched to cloud computing. Twenty-one percent said it was to accelerate the speed of business, and 17 percent said it was to cut costs.

The focus on multiple device access was very pronounced among small companies. Forty-six percent of U.S. small businesses surveyed said information access through a multitude of devices was the most important reason for adopting the cloud; just 10 percent said cutting costs was most important.

Some other findings:

Although using the cloud is often promoted as a way to streamline IT, in reality 20 percent of companies surveyed added more IT staff after implementing the cloud; just 14 percent downsized their IT departments.

While companies are saving money with the cloud, it’s not a whopping figure—and bigger businesses generally saved more. Overall, 35 percent of U.S. companies saved less than $20,000, and among U.S. small businesses, 45 percent reported no savings at all.

That doesn’t mean there are no benefits. Cloud computing gave companies a green boost, helping them reduce waste and lower energy consumption. In addition, 93 percent of companies saw at least one area of improvement in their IT department after adopting cloud computing—most of them within six months.

Overall, small businesses were more open to cloud computing, probably because there are fewer layers of management to convince. Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of small businesses reported that no one in their company resisted moving to the cloud.

Image by Flickr user Fractal Artist (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Small Business, small business, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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