There appears to be mixed feelings about the reliability of cloud computing. While many enterprises understand the concept and cloud benefits, others are reluctant about implementation.
Enterprises say the two most important factors in their choice to use cloud technology is cost effectiveness and scalability, according to the Frost & Sullivan analysis the "Global Enterprise Cloud Computing Market Survey — An End-user Perspective," a customer research study part of the Telecom Services Growth Partnership.
The U.S. and U.K. have the most businesses using cloud computing solutions. Businesses in Western Europe, particularly Germany and France, are reluctant to employ solutions due safety concerns.
"Organizations are willing to adapt to evolving consumer needs in order to strengthen their position in the market, and cloud systems are viewed as a catalyst that could enable positive change and impact external customers," said Shuba Ramkumar, research analyst, ICT for Frost & Sullivan. "However, the availability of numerous cloud offerings in the market, ambiguity regarding choice of cloud models, and the process involved in cloud transition complicate the decision-making process."
Uncertainty about cloud computing solutions, deployment of models and choices has opened up doors for service providers to discuss the benefits of implementation. Not only does security remain a top concern, but how cloud technology works congenially with legacy systems and the level of control businesses will have over cloud-related decisions are also slowing adoption.
Partnering with cloud service providers can help enterprises on the fence about implementing the technology ensure proper deployment and compatibility with existing systems.
"Enterprise attitudes vary between different regions and verticals and it is vital that cloud vendors provide cloud services accordingly," Ramkumar said. "The ability to customize services to suit the structure and ideology of an organization, along with the cloud provider’s past relationship with the company, are key factors influencing the choice of cloud provider."
