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| Overview of cloud computing [GFX: Sam Johnston] |
San Francisco: A majority of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK
and US are unsure of cloud services or think they are only for large companies,
thus missing out on the opportunity to increase productivity and stay more
effectively in control of their IT security, new research from internet security firm AVG Technologies
reveals.
AVG conducted research among more than
1,000 SMBs in the UK and US to gain insights into their understanding and
attitudes towards cloud services and IT security.
The study found just a quarter of SMBs had adopted some form
of cloud services, while a similar proportion(22% in the UK and 17% in the US)
thought cloud services were only for large companies. One-in-three SMBs (31% in
the UK and 28% in the US) said they did not understand cloud services at all.
"This research shows that the IT industry still has a
long way to go before SMBs fully appreciate how much they could gain from cloud
services," said Dan Matthews, business journalist, author and small
business owner. "In these uncertain
economic times it is important that SMBs make the most of IT services to help
them stay secure, increase productivity and keep up with the latest advances in
an ever changing business landscape."
More than three quarters of SMBs in both the US (77.3%) and
UK (76.4%) say they are open to technology that makes their life easier, and
are, in fact, dependent on large amounts of technology -over 95% of UK and US
SMBs regularly use up to five pieces of technology in the course of their
day-to-day work. Significantly, however,
a substantial proportion of SMBs in the US (42%) and UK (52%) say they are
dealing with IT issues, including security, themselves - and spending up to
four hours a week in the process.
For those SMBs who have taken the plunge into cloud
services, the most popular usage is sharing/collaboration tools (64%), storage
(34%) and iPad/mobile apps (32%).
In addition to the lack of understanding of cloud services,
other factors cited were cost (23%
UK/21% US), lack of trust (17% UK/18% US), and the belief the services are too
complicated (nearly 10% in both the UK and US).