Table of Contents
The Cloud Has Taken Shape
It wasn’t so long ago “the cloud” was little more than a trendy buzzword. The thought of it being widely adopted by the tech industry—much less a massive technology trend? Psh. Well, times have changed. According to a recent Spiceworks survey, 93% of organizations now use at least one cloud-based service. Could this mean IT pros have fully embraced cloud benefits? And if so, where exactly are these IT buyers (aka cloud adventurers) investing their resources… and why? More specifically, how do they perceive various cloud storage, productivity, and computing providers? We’ll answer these questions, and we’ll peer into the distance at the cloud on the horizon.
Table of ContentsSurvey Information
We asked more than 340 IT pros in North America and EMEA to tell us about their cloud usage and future plans. They revealed top cloud adoption barriers their organizations face, as well as the biggest cloud benefits they’ve experienced. Which vendors are winning the most business from these discerning users — and why? Is full cloud adoption on the horizon? Here’s where we landed:
Key Findings
Specifically web and email hosting services, but the list is long…
Almost a third of survey respondents expect to see more than half of their organizations’ IT services become cloud-based in the next two to three years.
IT pros are still waiting for a cloud provider to take flight and lead the charge in categories like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). But when looking at more conventional services like cloud storage and productivity suites, there are several providers that stand out in each category.
Is your organization already exploring the benefits of cloud services, or have you still not started your cloud adventure? Read on for a closer look at which IT services around the world are migrating into the cloud, key pros and cons to cloud adoption, and which vendors IT pros trust with their data.
Rising Cloud: Current Usage and Future Forecast
Exactly how high has the cloud risen? Almost all organizations we surveyed (93%) are using at least one cloud service. To break it down, the top three most-used cloud services are web hosting (76%), email hosting (56%), and cloud storage/file-sharing (53%).
While only 35% of organizations are using online backup and recovery, this type of cloud service is expected to see the most growth in the next 12 months with almost a quarter (23%) of IT pros considering it for use.
There are some notable shifts when comparing usage of IT cloud services in North America versus EMEA. This is especially evident when it comes to the use of cloud storage and file-sharing services, which is 10 percentage points higher in NA than in EMEA. Additionally, the use of IaaS is 11 percentage points higher in EMEA than in North America.
A glimpse ahead…
While an average of 20% of IT services are cloud-based today, this number is expected to increase to 34% in the next two to three years. In fact, 30% of organizations expect more than half of their IT services to be cloud-based in two to three years.
With this in mind, it makes sense why cloud services were ranked as one of the top 10 tech discussions among IT pros in the Spiceworks Community last year. Interestingly, in 2015 there were more than 15,000 conversations about the cloud in the Community and only 5% were considered negative. In fact, cloud discussions had the highest positive sentiment among all of the top 10 tech topics, including networking, hardware, security, and more.
In other words: Get ready… change is on the horizon.
Blue Skies (and Barriers) to Cloud Adoption
Cloud Perks
Moving IT services into the cloud does offer certain safeguards. Almost 70% of IT pros surveyed list protection against local disasters and the lack of special hardware and software to maintain as the biggest benefits to cloud-based services. High availability (62%), scalability (54%), and ease of management (51%) were also top benefits cited.
Cloud Barriers
Not all IT pros have made the ascent into the cloud… but why exactly are they hesitating? Speed and latency issues are the biggest barriers for 60% surveyed, followed by bandwidth requirements at 58%, and the lack of control over infrastructure and security risks tying for third place at 52%. Risk of service outage or degradation follows, with 51% citing it as a top barrier to cloud lift-off.
Interestingly, there are differences between top barriers in NA vs. EMEA. Across the pond, bandwidth concerns are in first place, with concerns over security coming in second, and speed/latency third.
And while IT pros in NA are more challenged by internal turbulence and the business re-engineering required, IT pros in EMEA face bigger barriers when it comes to the location where data is stored. This is likely due to the restrictions in place around transferring personally identifiable European data outside of the EU. In fact, when looking specifically at IT pros in Europe, the results show that nearly 40% must have their data located in a specific EU country.
Overcast Skies…
Additionally, as a result of the recent ruling stating the data transfer pact between the U.S. and the EU is invalid, 22% of surveyed IT pros in Europe are less inclined to use cloud services. Additionally, 43% percent are more prone to question where their data is stored before adopting an IT cloud service.
However, ahead of the European Commission’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into effect, only 11% of IT pros we talked to in Europe have started investing to make the necessary adjustments. Interestingly, 28% of surveyed IT pros in Europe haven’t given it any thought and 32% aren’t sure how the regulation will impact their business.
Choosing Your Cloud Adventure Guide
Despite challenges organizations might face when it comes to moving IT services to the cloud, the benefits seem to outweigh them. Many IT pros are evaluating and planning to invest in more cloud services. We asked where they’re investing (and why) when it comes to the top cloud storage, cloud productivity, and cloud-computing providers.
Creating a Flight Path
Before diving into the top cloud providers, it helps to explore what IT buyers rank as top priority. According to our survey, the factors IT buyers find most important when evaluating cloud-based IT services include cost, reliability, and data security controls.
(Data based on all IT pros surveyed)
In the same vein, the resources IT buyers rely on the most when researching cloud services include product trials (63%), product reviews (55%), and peer recommendations (48%). Our How to Win Friends and Influence IT Pros report digs deeper into the content that resonates with IT pros when evaluating IT services.
(Data based on all IT pros surveyed)
TOP PICKS: CLOUD STORAGE/FILE-SHARING SERVICES
According to the survey, the top three cloud storage and file-sharing providers deployed by IT are Dropbox (33%), Microsoft OneDrive (31%), and Google Drive (27%). However, OneDrive is expected to see the most growth in the next 12 months with an additional 18% of respondents considering it for use.
(Data based on all IT pros surveyed)
The story changes slightly when it comes to un-IT-sanctioned employee usage… in this case, Dropbox is still in the lead, but Google Drive and OneDrive usage flips.
(Data based on all IT pros surveyed)
How solid are cloud services?
When asked to pick which attributes IT pros associate with each cloud provider, it’s no surprise the providers most frequently used by IT pros are more likely to be associated with each attribute due to their level of familiarity. That said, IT pros still revealed some clear points of differentiation across the cloud providers.
Looking at the most commonly used cloud storage providers, Google Drive was most frequently associated with the top two purchase drivers (cost-effectiveness and reliability), but Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox follow closely behind. When it comes to security, Dropbox sinks below the pack and Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive tie for the top spot. Of note, a significant number of IT pros didn’t strongly associate any brand with quality customer support. This may signal a market opportunity for providers to rise above competitors since this is among the top purchase considerations for organizations.
Data based on all IT pros surveyed, including users and non-users of cloud storage/file-sharing *Dot sizes represent relative usage based on IT pros surveyed
TOP PICKS: CLOUD-BASED PRODUCTIVITY SUITES
When it comes to the productivity suites organizations use to get their work done, Microsoft Office Online comes out on top for both current usage (36%) and consideration for use in the next 12 months (23%). Second for current usage is Google Apps for Work (16%), followed by Apple iWork (4%).
Although IT pros most frequently associated Office Online with being cost-effective (followed closely by Google Apps), one out of three IT pros didn’t associate any cloud-based productivity suite with this critical attribute. Office Online continues to lead the pack across all other brand attributes, including reliability and security. However, similar to cloud storage and file-sharing, there is a lack of brand dominance for quality customer support, with nearly half of IT pros surveyed stating no brand offered this critical benefit.
Data based on all IT pros surveyed, including users and non-users of cloud-based productivity suites. *Dot sizes represent relative usage based on IT pros surveyed
Top Picks: Cloud Computing/IAAS
In the public cloud IaaS provider category, Microsoft Azure is the most commonly used (16%), followed closely by Amazon Web Services (AWS) at 13%. Azure is also expected to see the most growth in the next 12 months with 21% of IT pros considering it — while AWS is being considered by 11%.
IAAS Still New to the Cloud Landscape
While the other cloud categories show clear market dominators across the top three purchase drivers, IaaS has yet to see any single brand emerge as a top performer. The most used brands — Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services — are associated with all tested attributes more so than the other providers (and are fiercely tied for first place in almost every instance), but the majority of IT pros didn’t have strong brand associations with any of the providers. However, in the emerging category of IaaS, this will most certainly change as adoption of IaaS increases and familiarity with brands expands in the market.
Data based on all IT pros surveyed, including users and non-users of IaaS *Dot sizes represent relative usage based on IT pros surveyed; providers being used by less than 1% of IT pros have been excluded
On the Horizon...
There you have it, the state of both current and future cloud usage — straight from the source: IT professionals in the thick of it. The bottom line? While use of IT cloud services has been growing, we expect to see a major shift in IT services moving to the cloud in the next two to three years. Will your organization take a big leap into the cloud sooner… or later? And who will you choose as your trusted provider? We hope this report has helped shed some light on what can be… a cloudy issue. And don’t forget to check out our 2016 State of IT report if you’re interested in IT pros’ budget allocation for IT cloud services.
Details on the Data
You’ve just read Spiceworks’ version of data gone spicy: Our answer to humdrum data. We tackle the tech issues of today… and what’s coming soon to a server room near you. And we deliver it all with more originality and spice than your typical run-of-the-mill reports. Drawing from a user base of millions of IT pros, it’s a glimpse into tech you can’t get anywhere else!
(Percent of Survey Respondents per region)
