39% of SMBs to pay for cloud services within three years
Microsoft has released the findings of its global SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011.
The survey looks at how cloud computing will impact small and midsize businesses in the next three years.
39% of SMBs said they expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, an increase of 34% from the current 29%.
The number of cloud services SMBs pay for will nearly double in most countries over the next three years, the study also found.
Microsoft says the findings show an increasing opportunity for hosting service providers to profit from offering services such as collaboration, data storage and backup, or business-class email.
Key findings included:
- Those SMBs paying for cloud services will be using 3.3 services, up from fewer than two services today.
- Past experience with support from a service provider is a key driver of service provider selection among SMBs.
- 82% of SMBs say buying cloud services from a provider with local presence is critical or important.
- The larger the business, the more likely it is to pay for cloud services. For example, 56% of companies with 51–250 employees will pay for an average of 3.7 services within three years.
- Within three years, 43% of workloads will become paid cloud services, but 28% will remain on-premises, and 29% will be free or bundled with other services.
"As cloud computing becomes more ubiquitous and SMBs' existing IT becomes outdated, adoption will grow rapidly. Hosting service providers should consider the appropriate sales, delivery and support models to target larger SMB customers that are more likely to pay for cloud services."
