SMBs turn to the cloud

Aren’t companies hesitant about trusting so much of their IT to a third party?

This isn’t a new situation for business. Companies have been outsourcing all kinds of services and tasks for years. If you think about it, cloud computing is in a similar position to the one that hosting was in a few years ago.

Back then businesses were cautious about handing over responsibility for their email or web servers to an external organisation. These days, few companies would think twice about it because, for the majority of SMBs, hosting has proven to be the most reliable and cost effective way to manage their IT.

What we are finding is that organisations that have used external hosting or who have some familiarity with outsourcing tend to very quickly recognise the benefits of cloud services.

This perhaps explains why so many traditional hosting companies are considering expanding into cloud services. In many ways it’s a natural extension of the existing customer relationship, but there are dangers. Not every host provider has the skills to deliver a full range of IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.

As a service provider, you have to look carefully at where your expertise lies and develop your offerings accordingly.

Does the typical SMB understand the concept of cloud computing?

There’s still some confusion in the market but SMB understanding – and uptake – are on the rise and we expect this to continue. There’s so much being written and said by media, vendors and analysts, and somewhat unusually for the IT industry, the messaging tends to concur rather than conflict.