Role of IT Cloud Changing for SMBs

Cloud computing has moved beyond a niche approach to IT and is now the center point of IT operations for 15 percent of U.S. SMBs that are currently using cloud, and for 25 percent of US midmarket (100-999 employees) businesses that are using one or more cloud-based system.

That’s one finding from Techaisle’s new “SMB & Mid-Market Cloud Computing Adoption Trend” report, which goes on to say that SMBs in other countries do not accept the cloud’s role within their IT operations nearly as much. For example, in Germany, only 6 percent of SMBs consider cloud to be the center point of IT operations – but a whopping 56 percent use cloud to supplement traditional IT resources.

Within the small business (1-99 employees) segment, small firms using cloud are most likely to add cloud to a physical device-based IT approach: The average small business reporting that cloud is used to supplement traditional IT resources has 10 employees and only one location. Small businesses that have achieved higher growth levels are more likely to position cloud as the center point of an agile IT infrastructure; these companies are about two times larger (17 employees, two locations) than the “cloud is a supplement to traditional IT” small business average.

In midsize businesses that are currently using at least one cloud-based system, this trend is reversed. Midmarket businesses that position cloud as the center point of IT operations average 227 employees working from four locations. The averages increase to 321 employees and six locations for midmarket businesses that use cloud as a supplement to traditional IT resources. However, the trend of averages is just the reverse for small businesses.