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2015 Research Study: State of the Cloud Survey

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If you’ve followed the technology news for a while, you can’t ignore the buzz surrounding Cloud Computing. For most of the business executives, however, the NO.1 questions is The state of Cloud Computing in the near future and how it will help businesses harness a better ROI.

Recently, we did a survey on this and we’d like to share with you our findings!

Our survey objectives were to query middle-to-senior managers and their use of their Cloud Computing environment. Then cull the data to gain insight on the following data sets:

  1. Perceived benefits of Cloud functionality
  2. Reveal core business functions occurring in the Cloud
  3. Identify specific Software Applications used
  4. Discover IT technician concerns migrating to the Cloud
  5. Projected timelines for going to the Cloud

Our Research Methodology 

We chose 55 small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) to query. Of those respondents, 63% have more than 50 employees. 44% employ more than 100+. We targeted senior decision-makers at the level of VP, Director or Manager as well as CXOs and Founding Partners.

Summary of Our Key Findings

  • 70% of those respondents surveyed are using some form of Cloud Computing environment with a Hybrid Computing environment being the most common adaptation
  • 82% confessed that security remains the biggest concern of Cloud Computing
  • The most popular Cloud applications are CRM, productivity, and remote access applications to hosted IT Structures, such as ITAnywhereCloud®

Most notable in our research findings is that many respondents wonder if their company is fully integrating their systems properly in the Cloud. It’s something that companies of all sizes are focusing on in 2015 and beyond.

68% of the respondents we surveyed reported that productivity among staffers was trending upward directly related to Cloud Computing. The findings also revealed a stark shift in applications used among those companies which support a Cloud Computing environment. Among the top software products accessed are:

  • DaaS, VMWare and Desktone
  • Salesforce, Office365 and Google Apps
  • ITAnywhereCloud and External IT

Looking for more data insights and recommendations? Check the full report and share with your internal team members:

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Mobile Apps Make Up More Than Half of Digital Media Consumption

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comscoreConsumers are no longer turning to the desktop as a source of media consumption, according to new data from ComScore. A recent survey found that 61 percent of all internet time is now being spent on mobile devices, with users turning to smartphones and tablets for everything from conducting Google searches to listening to online radio.

Perhaps most interesting about the results is the fact that reliance on mobile devices is especially growing when it comes to certain activities. Activities like streaming radio, viewing pictures, and interacting on social media are trending toward mobile. The category of directories/resources had slower mobile growth, with many users continuing to conduct those activities via desktop.

The Business Connection

For businesses, this highlights the already growing need to reach out to consumers the way they’re connecting today. Location-based and voice activation-friendly searches are essential in the new mobile environment, since a consumer is more likely to be searching for a business on a mobile device, while in transit.

The survey also revealed the growing popularity of mobile apps, with 51 percent of users’ digital time now spent on apps. This means the majority of users’ mobile time is being spent using apps.

Still Growing

Of major significance with this year’s surveys is that the numbers are up so much from last year. Where last year mobile was only 50 percent of digital media consumption, that number climbed to 61 percent for this year. This growth shows how mobile devices are overtaking the market as more consumers choose to leave their laptops at home and rely solely on smartphones and tablets.

Businesses that are aware of these statistics can begin to address them by directing marketing efforts away from PCs and toward mobile devices. Whether they change the way they drive consumers to their site through search engines or create apps that appeal to today’s app-driven culture, businesses of all sizes can benefit from surveys like these.