Schools, governments charge into the cloud — why not businesses?

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: David Linthicum.

According to a study recently released by CDW Government, a provider of government technology products and services, 40 percent of K-12 schools are turning to cloud computing for storage. However, the cloud is finding other applications at schools, with conferencing and collaboration the second-most-used cloud services (36 percent), and Office and productivity tools running close behind (33 percent).

Considering that most school systems are underfunded, how they can afford cloud-based services? The truth is that they can’t afford not to use these services, because cloud computing lets them get much more IT for the money…

Indeed, state and local governments are all making the move to cloud computing faster than most Global 2000 enterprises, which should concern both stockholders and employees. Although the reasons cited for not moving to cloud computing include the lack of clarity around the use of cloud-based technology, in most cases it’s simply the fear of something new and the risks around migration, as I’ve covered in this blog many times…

Read more from the source @ http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/schools-governments-charge-the-cloud-why-not-businesses-213364