SMEs Wary of Cloud Computing

Businesses in UK & Ireland Take First Steps to Cloud Computing

Businesses in the UK and Ireland are still unconvinced by the benefits of  cloud computing, according to a new survey for Computer Associates. Though server virtualisation is now quite widely  adopted, most businesses are uncertain about going further.

The survey entitled Unleashing the Power of Virtualisation - Cloud Computing and the Perceptions of European Business, shows that while only 8% of respondents felt cloud was a short-term fad,  82% need more convincing of its benefits.

The survey of 550 enterprises, carried out for CA by Vanson Bourne, a respected international research organisation, found that server virtualisation is gaining real traction, with 84% of respondents either implementing it or planning to.

However, the number drops significantly when looking at the other steps which move from a static environment towards cloud computing: automatic provisioning (24%), automatic deprovisioning (14%) and dynamic resource
allocation (34%).

Colin Bannister, CA VP technical sales said "Our experience tells us that companies are using virtualisation in their data centres to reduce costs. However, they indicate they do not yet know how to automate, manage and secure virtualised environments. Until they do this they will struggle to reap the full benefits of virtualisation, which go far beyond the cost savings of server consolidation.

"Because of this, CA will soon be launching The Cloud Academy - a series of educational roundtables designed to help show organisations how to get the most out of their virtualisation efforts and how to mature them towards a cloud- connected infrastructure and services."

Bannister continued: "Forward thinking companies are today beginning to understand how to dynamically manage virtualised environments to deliver infrastructure as a service, giving greater flexibility and the ability to provision computing power on demand.This creates the internal cloud - 'unleashing the power ofvirtualisation.'"

"It is up to the IT industry not only to make the case for cloud, but to make the case for each of the technologies which support it, so that companies have a smooth and successful transition."

58% of businesses see cloud as synonymous with outsourcing (external cloud) while 42% did not.

Whether internal or external, respondents are unclear on the benefits thecloud can bring , and seem unable to
link its technical advantages (on-demand self-service, broad network access, rapid elasticity and metered service) with the business benefits they provide - savings, better ROI, increased availability, ability to deploy new services more quickly.

Interestingly, metered service - a key selling point of the external cloud model - is only seen as an advantage by 22% of respondents.

When looking at the drawbacks of cloud, management (48%) and security (36%) are seen as the biggest inhibitors. Adding to this, 68% of respondents do not feel that they have adequate in-house capabilities to deliver a cloud infrastructure at present.

People reading this article also read....

More Computer Associates News on IrishDev.com

More Mimecast News on IrishDev.com

.

More Cloud Services News on IrishDev.com

.

More Email Management  News on IrishDev.com

More SaaS News on IrishDev.com

Get Instant Updates....

Join IrishDev.com on Facebook and Twitter