The Spiceworks Cloud Barometer

[Pages:11]Voice of IT TM

July 2012

The Spiceworks Cloud Barometer:

Insights into how small and mid-size companies use cloud services to support file sharing, email and productivity applications.

A Spiceworks Market Insights Report sponsored by EMC

To say the IT market is going through a transformative period would be an understatement. Yes, cloud computing is changing the way businesses and individuals purchase and consume technology. Yes, consumerization and BYOD (bring your own device) are mashing together personal and business data and applications on the sameMdeigvricaetsio. Anntdo ythese, Cmlobuidlity via smartphones, tablets and, soon, ultralight noteb(oBoakssedis omnackoinmgpaaccneiessibuislitnygtothaepcplloicuadtiotonds ayndordiantathueninverxsta6l. months)

71% While70m%uch of the market calls cloud, consumerization and mobility "transformative trends," they're

equal6l0y%characteristic of a larger movement around "comprehensive productivity." And what business

9% couldn't use a little boost in output? Businesses and their employees are searching for ways to remain 48% conne50c%ted, collaborate, and share data while simultaneously having complete access to their personal

6% digita4l0l%ife. Consumerization is the trend driving the convergence of business and personal digital lives,

but the trends of cloud computing and mobility are truly enabling consumerization.

52% 20% 30%

To grasp how this is impacting small and mid-size businesses, Spiceworks conducted a study with 323

42% 6% users2a0c%ross North America and EMEA to find out how the cloud is effecting three business applications

that in10f%luence employee productivity: file sharing/storage, email and productivity suites. Spiceworks is the

14% world's largest social business network for IT pros that offers free network management software coupled

with a0%n active community for discussion around all things IT. In 2011 alone IT professionals spent almost

File Sharing

Email

Productivity

three billion minutes in Spiceworks, making it one of the most acStuiviteessites in the IT industry.

Use Today

Plan to use in next 6 months

Migration to the cloud

File Sharing Email

52%

9% 61%

42% 6% 48%

Use cloud today Plan to use cloud in next 6 months

20% Productivity Suites

14% 6%

0% 20% 40%

60% 80%

EMC on Spiceworks

Use Cloud Today

52%

ETmHEaSilPICEWORKS

CLOUD

BAROMETER

Total

Use Cloud Today

42%

53%

49%

North America 43%

EMEA 37%

Productivity Suites

Total

North America EMEA

Overall, the findings show that productivity is a powerful lure. Cloud apps are in demand that reduce

Use Cloud Today

14%

15%

13%

burdens on internal IT management while simultaneously enabling access to data and applications

wherever and whenever users want. But SMBs struggle to find the best way to implement cloud-based

solutions while maintaining their principles around data control and security.

While both North American and EMEA companies have fairly similar usage rates across all of the cloudservices measured, North America leads the way in each category.

Usage of the cloud today by region

60%

50% 52% 53% 49%

40%

30%

20% 10%

0%

File Sharing

42% 43% 37%

Email

Total

North America

EMEA

* Based on companies using the cloud today

14% 15% 13%

Productivity Suites

2

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

Cloud-based file sharing: the employee-driven app

Users want access to data whenever they want and from whatever device is in their hands. To facilitate universal data, a broad field of innovative cloud-based companies has popped up across the landscape under the monikers of file-sharing, file synchronization and content management services. They all share the same basic characteristics: allowing users to store and back up unstructured data files (text, audio, video, images) in the cloud and making this data available on demand via any Web-compatible device.

Over half of respondents state they're using cloud-based file sharing services in their organization today and there's a distinct possibility every business has some level of file-sharing activity since employees can bring these services in through the front door. This is true for 33% of respondents who state they know their employees are using these services on their own and without approval. Another 5% are not sure what their employees are doing. IT departments are mixed on how to manage this behavior with 31% of companies allowing employees to use any provider they wish and another 32% discouraging the behavior at some level. This reluctance to implement policy indicates that employees and businesses want so badly to see the productivity benefits of file sharing that they might loosen their standard around security, access control and data management.

By region, North American companies are more likely to have an approved vendor for file sharing (25% vs. 12% for EMEA), while EMEA companies are more likely to have employees using file sharing services on their own (37% vs. 27% in North America).

"

Company use and management of file sharing services

Do your employees use any cloud-based le sharing services?

33% Yes, they are using them on their own

How does your IT department manage employee usage of cloud-based le sharing services?

Yes, and we have an

19% approved vendor

Nope, but planning to

implement these services in the next 6 months

9%

Not Sure

5%

Nope 35%

284 Respondents

8% 31%

24%

12% 25%

We allow employees to use any provider they wish We allow employees to use any provider, but we monitor bandwidth We allow employees to use only those providers approved by the IT department We discourage this behavior, but do not monitor it We strongly discourage employees using these services in the o ce

89 Respondents

"FROM THE COMMUNITY

I tend to give more leeway to some users if (file sharing) will make their work-life a little easier without negatively impacting the company.

Darko1884 Spiceworks User community.

3

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

While accessibility, collaboration and convenience are the top advantages gained from cloud-based file sharing, businesses often feel insecure about the data that's being passed through these services. This is why the lack of control over data and security, legal liabilities and compliance issues, and reliability are the top three concerns businesses harbor over file sharing. Only 6% have no concerns about file-sharing services. While many file-sharing companies tout the security of their services and how protection of data is paramount, they still operate in the public domain and are not impenetrable to hackers and malware.

Advantage and concerns with cloud-based file sharing

80%

70% 76%

What do you believe are the primary advantages of cloud-based le sharing services? (Select top 3.)

60%

50%

51%

40%

30%

36% 32%

20%

25%

10%

19% 14% 12%

3%

2%

0%

fromAcacensyswibhielitrey shaCrionlglabcaopraatbioilnit/iesConvenience feaBtuarceksup

Lower cost

useE/ainseteorfface

Security

feaStutorerasge

pleOastehespr,ecify

anIydaodnv'at nsetaeges

159 Respondents

What concerns does your company have with cloud-based le sharing services? (Select top 3.)

80%

70%

73%

60%

50%

49%

48%

40%

30%

36%

20%

24%

10%

4%

0%

secaurroiLtuyancidsksdouafetcsao/ntrol

comLepgliaalnlicaebility/

Reliability

heaMdaanchageement

uneExspcaelcatteindgcoorsts

pleOastehespr,ecify

156 Respondents

6%

anyWceondcoenr'nt shave

4

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

"

When it comes to the selection of cloud-based file sharing providers, employees play an essential role. Employees have a clear preference for Dropbox with 87% of IT pros stating this is the vendor their employees are using on their own. But vendor preference among IT pros isn't quite as clear. While Dropbox leads the way with nearly 30% of companies stating they use or plan to use them as their approved vendor, nearly 40% are using a file sharing provider in the "other" category. This fragmentation among IT pros indicates that there's no one solution that's accurately addressing the concerns of the IT department.

Cloud-based file sharing vendor preference

Employee Preference

Which cloud-based le sharing vendors are your employees using?

(Select all that apply)

IT Pro Preference

What provider did you select or are you most likely to select to support cloud-based le sharing for your company? (Select only one)

Dropbox

87%

Dropbox

28%

Box

8%

Box

10%

"FROM THE COMMUNITY

I love Dropbox and use it daily for my personal files. That being said I still have some concerns with corporate data being in a Dropbox account.

IT Freak Spiceworks User community.

Egnyte

Trend Micro

Other

0% 0% 20%

Egnyte

Trend Micro

Other

8% 6% 37%

93 Respondents

Don't know

11%

71 Respondents

Overall there's a clear desire for cloud-based file sharing services by small and mid-size businesses and their employees. But it's evident, from the IT perspective, that the playing field for this category remains open and no one vendor has emerged as the clear leader for this service. Therefore vendors need to find the right solution that addresses companies' concerns around security, compliance and reliability while giving them what they want: complete accessibility, collaboration and low cost. Otherwise the employee rather than the IT pro may be choosing the winner in this category.

5

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

Email: onward movement up to the cloud, but on-premise still leads

When it comes to email, productivity improvement is the goal. The pursuit of productivity, though, is different from that of file sharing, mostly because of the nature of email systems and how they're bound to a brand and domain. For that reason, businesses must sponsor their email system, whether it's on-premise or hosted.

Hosted email offers the advantages of accessibility, scalable storage, management, administration and security. This explains why 42% of companies have moved to a hosted email solution and another 6% plan to migrate in the next 6 months. These companies are most attracted to relieving administrative burdens for their IT staff and the service's ease of deployment. Surprisingly, security, storage and backup features are not rated as the top motivating factors for implementing a hosted solution.

By region, North American companies are slightly more likely to have a hosted solution vs. EMEA companies with 43% vs. 37% currently using a hosted solution.

Hosted email adoption and reasons for migration

Is your company's email solution currently hosted or on-premise?

52%

42%

6%

On-Premise 262 Respondents

Currently Hosted

Currently on-premise, but plan to move to a hosted solution within the next 6 months

What are the primary reasons for moving your company's email to a hosted solution? (Select top 3). 60%

56%

50%

46% 46%

40%

30%

32%

20%

22% 21%

18% 16%

10%

7% 7% 4%

0%

IT

sRtaeduces

Ease burden on

of

deploymateaAnnctycteimsseibility

Lower cost to email

per

Security user

Backup

features

Storage

Cost features

structure

Customer supppolerOtastehesrp,ecify

Don't know

112 Respondents

FROM THE COMMUNITY

SpiceList*: How do you feel about hosted email?

#1 I love on-site Exchange #2 I'm not convinced

about outsourcing #3 I'm already hosting and

happy with my provider #4 Considering moving,

but waiting for the right time #5 I'm looking to switch from on-site to hosted

* A SpiceList tells you what IT pros in the Spiceworks Community think about a particular issue.

For a complete list click here.

6

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

Microsoft dominates the on-premise email market with Exchange but in terms of cloud-based email service providers Google leads the way followed by Office 365. The almost 40% using "other" providers reflects the broad availability of POP3 and Exchange email services through service providers.

Hosted email vendor preference

What vendor are you using or looking to use to support your company's hosted email solution? (Select only one.)

O ce 365

Go Daddy

34%

16%

4% 3% 3%

40%

Google 116 Respondents

Rackspace Intermedia

Other

When selecting a hosted email service provider, reliability dwarfs all other considerations, including security and lowering costs. This deference speaks to the desire for improved productivity. Email outages can cause significant business and revenue disruptions. Businesses often elect to retain their on-premise email because it gives them greater control over operations, information flow, security and support.

Top selection criteria for hosted email vendors

What are the primary considerations when choosing the vendor for your company's hosted email solution? (Select top 3.) 80%

70% 75%

60%

50%

46%

40%

40% 38%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Reliability/24/7 upotiumrSesetcaunrditayrdmseets perLuosweerst cost 113 Respondents

22%

17% 17% 11% 9%

Ease

of

Cost deployment

structure

Customer support Backup features

Storage features(pleOatsheesrpecify)

While hosted email is seen as a means for reducing IT burdens and increasing productivity, it's still not the preferred model. The survey revealed that 58% of businesses surveyed are currently using onpremise email, and only 6% of them will migrate to cloud-based email in the next 6 months. That makes for a huge base of potential customers to convert, provided a service provider can clearly demonstrate reliability, security and cost-containment.

7

THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER

Cloud-based productivity suites: the jury's still out

When it comes to moving productivity suites to the cloud, which include word processing, spreadsheet and calendar applications, adoption is slow among SMBs. Cloud-based productivity suites have the lowest adoption rate among the three applications reviewed in this study. Nearly two out of three businesses have no plans to use cloud-based productivity suites. Only 14% of those surveyed are currently using cloud-based productivity suites, and another 22% are thinking about adopting these services sometime in the future.

North American companies are marginally more likely to adopt cloud-based productivity suites, with 38% currently using or planning to adopt vs. 30% of EMEA companies.

Adoption of cloud-based productivity suites

Does your company use or plan to use any cloud-based productivity suites for word processing, spreadsheets, etc.?

14%

6% 15%

64%

Yes

Yes, within the next 6 months

247 Respondents

Yes, but not sure when

Nope

This low adWophtaitovnenradtoer iasrecoyonusiusstienngtowr tithhinokitnhgearbinodutuusstirnygrfeosreyaorucrhc:lAoucdc-obradsiendg to the Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance's 20p1ro2dSutcatitveitoyfstuhieteC?l(oSueldecCthoannlynoenl1er)eport, demand for cloud-based productivity

increased a scant 6% compared to 22.5% for cloud backup and 23% for cloud storage.

48% 43% 8% Does your company use or plan to use any cloud-based productivity suites for word processing, spreadsheets, etc.?

When it comes to cloud productivity suites, there are only a handful of choices beyond the two market

leaders, MiGcoroogsleoAfptpasnd GoogleO. Thceis36e5xplains theOpthoerla(prlietaysebspeetcwifye) en Google Apps and Office 365. Google

has surpri1s4e%d many w6%ith it1s5%ability to g6r4o%w market share in an application segment dominated by

Microsoft. Still, it's not all that surprising given that Google is, by its very nature, a cloud native.

Yes

Yes, within the next 6 months

Yes, but not sure when

Nope

Cloud-based productivity suites vendor preference

What vendor are you using or thinking about using for your cloud-based productivity suite? (Select only one)

48%

43%

8%

Google Apps 83 Respondents

O ce 365

Other (please specify)

FROM THE COMMUNITY

Over 60,000 IT pros are following Office 365 or Google Apps in the Spiceworks Community.

community.

8

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