Mobile Devices Now Driving Cloud-Computing Adoption
December 8, 2011
Technology giant CSC just released its latest Cloud Usage Index, a survey that looks at the current state of cloud computing. Not only divulging simply interesting facts, the survey found that cloud adoption is being hastened by the desire to access information through multiple devices, marking a clear shift from results of earlier cloud-adoption surveys.
Cloud Usage Index
The survey was performed by independent research firm TNS using funding from CSC and asked 3,645 IT decision makers from companies around the world about their current and upcoming cloud-computing situation. The survey results are now available as either a write-up or infographic, at the CSC website…
The most interesting tidbit by far is the fact that 33 percent of the survey’s respondents claimed that the ability to access data on multiple devices was the most important reason to adopt cloud computing. This goes against numerous earlier surveys which always listed improving business performance and cutting costs as the two main reasons to move into the cloud. Both of these other two reasons still made the list as important reasons for cloud adoption, at 21 and 17 percent, respectively.
The survey included a number of other interesting facts, as seen in this press release on Market Watch. IT staffing levels almost always went up or stayed level after a company move into the cloud, and almost 82 percent of respondents claimed to have saved money on their last cloud project, although the savings were often reported to be minor, and only 55 percent of U.S.-based small businesses reported savings. As a sign of the cloud’s effectiveness, 93 percent of respondents claimed to have had a performance boost in at least one area of IT after taking on a cloud project and 80 percent reported improvements within the fix six months of moving to the cloud.
Finally, not to be outdone by the private sector, 48 percent of respondents from the U.S. government have moved at least one workflow to the cloud, in compliance with a new federal "cloud first" policy.
Mobile Devices and Cloud Computing
The rise of IT consumerization has allowed many IT managers and C-level executives to see just how powerful a fully connected workforce can be. The ability to have complete access to corporate systems, information, and applications regardless of your physical location is an advantage that only a few companies have been able to harness until now.
The cloud levels the playing field, allowing small and mid-sized businesses the ability to use tools that were previously out of their reach. The size and scalability of the system required to manage a mobile workforce, along with running powerful business intelligence and predictive analytics applications, was simply out of the reach of all but the largest of corporate giants. Now, the cloud allows even small businesses access to these types of system by parceling out segments of larger data centers and allowing businesses to scale their usage as demand shifts.
It was really only a matter of time before mobile devices began driving cloud-computing adoption, and since that time has come, expect the numbers to skew even more in favor of mobile devices in the future. After the next few years of transition, businesses of all sizes will be expected to have a fully mobile workforce. Anyone who continues to resist the move will likely be left in the dust by their competitors.