As a fan of 'Cloud Computing' or 'Software as a Service' even before the terms were invented, we here at Internet Power Systems have been quietly and steadily building a rock solid new and innovative Business Platform for Small businesses. Our Business Platform i-Tr@der can be found operating in companies as small as 1 or 2 people right through to household names like the building and construction giant Laing-O'Rourke.
Business owners are beginning to get comfortable that it is possible to run your entire business via the Internet these days and get rid of the IT hassle that has plagued us all for decades. Now we can concentrate on our own business instead of playing around with IT problems. With spin off benefits including, reduced costs, improved support, working from anywhere and backups included it is no wonder that coming out of a recession businesses will seek to stay lean and mean and adopt this technology.
To find out more about how this technology could work for your business, you can register for a Free copy of the e-book : In 2 The Clouds (author : Chris Ogle) by using the link on the right hand side of this blog. Just enter your name and email address before the 31st January 2010 to register for your free copy of the Book and to download an introductory chapter 'Running a Business Online'. The e-book will be released around the 18th January 2010.
Below Steve Evans comments on a recent survey which would indicate that the UK is ready to go "In 2 The Clouds"
Published:06-January-2010
By Steve Evans
But security and reliability still an issue
New research has revealed that just over half of UK SMEs expect to be using cloud computing by the end of the year.
The study, conducted by business ISP Easynet Connect, found that just over 50% of the respondents said that they planned to embrace cloud computing this year, up from 22% who responded in the same way when asked in October 2008. Long term on-demand computing is also set to increase, with 73% claiming they will adopt cloud computing within five years, up from 47% at the end of 2008.
The number of SMEs that have ruled out cloud computing has dropped from 53% in 2008 to 27% in 2009. it is larger SMEs (with 50+ employees) that are the most enthusiastic when it comes to cloud adoption, with 66% already using the cloud or planning to do so within 12 months.
Small businesses are also seeing the benefits of cloud computing. In 2008 35% believed that using the cloud would save them money and would enable employees to work from home, boosting productivity. Those figures have increased to 51% and 43% respectively in 2009.
“Cloud computing has been on the business radar for some time and our report proves that we are at the tipping point for mass adoption amongst small and medium sized businesses,” said Chris Stening, managing director, Easynet Connect.
The usual issues of security and reliability are listed as potential stumbling blocks to cloud adoption, although figures were slightly down on other similar surveys. Just under one in ten (9%) of respondents said that cloud computing wasn’t reliable enough and 13% said that it wasn’t secure enough.
The research was conducted in December 2009 and quizzed 255 IT decision makers at UK SMEs.
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