Despite small and medium businesses (SMBs) are said to be slow adopters of cloud computing compared to personal users, things are about to change. One thing for sure: For SMBs, it’s jump into the cloud bandwagon or die – eventually.
A survey conducted by Business Web Hosting Plans on 500 of its customers reveals that SMBs are cloud-literate and have been using cloud computing solutions for quite some time. The term “cloud computing solutions” here are not only referring to true-cloud solutions, but also web-based apps we use in our everyday life – Yahoo! mail, Google Docs, Facebook, etc.
As expected, all of the respondents are using cloud computing solutions in one way or another. What’s surprising is the fact that 75 percent of respondents have been using cloud-based technology for at least 30 months (2.5 years.) The majority has been using cloud solutions for 30 months (25 percent), followed by 36 months (20 percent.)
In the other hand, regarding cloud computing concerns, the majority of respondents say that security is their top concern (20 percent,) followed by interoperability, compliance and vendor lock-in concerns.
It seems that the future of the cloud is bright; as cloud vendors are working hard to improve their solutions to handle cloud issues, like security, data loss, vendor lock-in, etc., there is no reason why SMBs decide not to adopt cloud computing.
To conclude, here’s a cloud computing testimonial coming from one of the respondents of the survey:
“Around two years ago we switched our data backup from an on-site solution to a cloud based on. Our old setup was comprised of a six-disk array that required its own power source and power backup. While the backups were automatic we were always concerned about having all of our precious data stored on site in case of a fire or natural disaster. Now that all of our staff’s computers are running backup software that sends files to the cloud we have almost nothing to think about when it comes to operating our backup infrastructure.”
– Jack M., Perry Auto Leasing LLC – BusinessWebHostingPlans.com customer
That’s pretty much explaining with regard to the benefits of cloud computing for business. So, what do you think? Are you ready to embrace the cloud?
