Why Domestic MSPs Should Care About Global Cloud Adoption

Written by Michael Brown 1
July 16, 2014

Most MSPs are not yet international entities, so why should they care about other countries' rates of cloud adoption? Because, by understanding how these nations are leveraging the cloud (and, more importantly, why they are not), an MSP can have a better grasp of its own markets and become more effective at sales.

While most managed services providers cover a wide range of services and technologies, they tend to do so within a relatively confined geographical area. In other words, most MSPs are not yet international entities.

So why should they care about the rate of cloud adoption in countries such as China, India, Korea, Turkey and Vietnam? Because, by understanding how these nations are leveraging the cloud (and, more importantly, why they are not), an MSP can have a better grasp of its own markets and become more effective at sales.

Before expanding on that idea, let’s take a closer look at the state of cloud adoption abroad, as recently highlighted by an article on CloudTweaks.com:

Developing countries are attractive markets for cloud services and this technology has applications in a wide range of areas, including E-education, E-health, E-commerce, E-business, and supply chain. In reality, there are very few companies in developing countries which are actually using cloud computing. It would seem that cloud computing in developing countries is in its early stages.

Other key statistics cited in the article, based on KPMG’s Exploring the Cloud: a Global Study of Governments’ Adoption of Cloud report, included:

39 percent of both private sector and public sector respondents said the cloud would significantly change interaction with customers (constituents).
50 percent of both private and public sector respondents said they expect the cloud to reduce costs.
37 percent of public sector respondents and 32% of private sector respondents said the cloud would provide greater transparency.
Only 18 percent of public sector respondents and 12% of private sector respondents felt the cloud would have no significant impact.

While cloud technology is indeed in its early stages in many other countries, the initial adoption rates and attitudes are two things that should pique the interest of MSPs everywhere. For example, a closer look at a chart within the CloudTweaks article shows that of nine countries examined, all but three were applying the cloud toward education. (The chart is from the report “Cloud Computing in Developing Countries,” published by the IEEE Computer Society.)

We’ve written in the past that educational institutions represent a tremendous growth area for cloud-based file sharing (and other services), and this study offers a great confirmation. For these organizations in other countries, the cloud is relatively low risk (usually not involving highly sensitive information) with the potential for high savings; the same is true here in the States.

MSPs can also gain some valuable insight into why certain industries and organizations are hesitant to adopt the cloud. According to the article:

Attitudes towards cloud computing, concerns and anxieties among managers about data privacy and security in the cloud, the location of data and reliability of services, concerns related to the non-availability of suitable terminal devices, concerns related to the migration of data and upgradability, lack of knowledge and skills to manage cloud resources, and finally lack of awareness of what cloud computing actually involves and its implications are main internal barriers.

In many ways, the cloud is universal: The benefits and drawbacks are the same, regardless of location. By being aware of cloud trends on a global scale, MSPs can gain a competitive advantage in their own markets.

Do you follow cloud technology trends on a global scale? If so, what interesting developments have you recently noticed? As always, be sure to share in the comments section below.