Microsoft unveils findings from its SMB Cloud Adoption Study
Microsoft announces the findings from its annual SMB Cloud Adoption study, looking at SMB attitudes toward the adoption of hosted IT and what opportunities that offers service providers.
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Microsoft announces the findings from its annual SMB Cloud Adoption study, looking at SMB attitudes toward the adoption of hosted IT and what opportunities that offers service providers. Designed and conducted in conjunction with Edge Strategies Inc, The research questioned 3,258 SMBs that employ up to 250 employees across 16 countries worldwide to gauge their feelings and attitude towards cloud computing.
The 2011 study indicates that in most countries, cloud service adoption is not limited to SMBs that see themselves as fast growers. The study showed little difference in adoption rates between SMBs that expect to grow in the next three years (42 percent) and those solely focused on profitability (40 percent).
Press materials:
- Global press release announcing findings
- Video and blog post from Klaus Holse Andersen, Area Vice President Microsoft Western Europe discussing how SMBs are using the cloud to transform their business
Press Release
Microsoft Survey Reveals 39 Percent of SMBs to Pay for Cloud Services Within Three Years
Research suggests increasing opportunities for hosting service providers to benefit from selling cloud services.
REDMOND, Wash. — March 24, 2011 - Microsoft Corp. today released its global “SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011,” which investigates how cloud computing will impact small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the next three years. The research finds that 39 percent of SMBs expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, an increase of 34 percent from the current 29 percent. It also finds that the number of cloud services SMBs pay for will nearly double in most countries over the next three years.
The findings show an increasing opportunity for hosting service providers to profit in the cloud from offering services such as collaboration, data storage and backup, or business-class email. Some key findings include the following:
Recognizing that SMBs consume software in a variety of ways, Microsoft offers a range of options for hosting providers to go to market with new services targeting the SMB market.
"As SMBs continue to transition to cloud services, hosting service providers, VARs1 and SIs2 will have a major role to play as advisors and providers of IT services in hybrid environments,” said Andy Burton, CEO, Fasthosts Internet Ltd. “Hosting providers have expertise in selling cloud services while VARs and SIs have experience selling to SMBs. Fasthosts is helping to bridge this gap by helping VARs and SIs white-label cloud services and deliver them as if they were their own.”
Adoption of Paid Services Fueled by Profitability and Growth
The 2011 study indicates that in most countries, cloud service adoption is not limited to SMBs that see themselves as fast growers. The study showed little difference in adoption rates between SMBs that expect to grow in the next three years (42 percent) and those solely focused on profitability (40 percent).
Growth companies want a scalable environment that can meet their expanding needs, with an affordable, pay-as-you-go pricing model that eliminates the need for over-investment in IT. SMBs that want to maintain their size, but want to become more profitable, seek cost-effective, efficient solutions that match their needs for predictability and low overhead cost. Cloud services can serve both sets of criteria.
The Opportunity SaaS and IaaS Represent
The study also looked at adoption of software as a service (SaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and found that SMBs that are adopting both SaaS and IaaS services are larger, more growth-oriented and more interested in additional services, such as unified communications and remote desktop support. This provides an opportunity for hosting service providers to offer both SaaS and IaaS in order to acquire and retain high-value customers and maximize revenue per customer.3
For More Information
In the coming weeks Microsoft will publish additional findings of its "SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011" on the Microsoft Communications Sector Newsroom.
About the Research
The "Microsoft SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011" research report was designed and conducted in conjunction with Edge Strategies Inc. (http://www.edgestrategies.com) in December 2010. The research questioned 3,258 SMBs that employ up to 250 employees across 16 countries worldwide: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. A copy of the full research report is available through mscsus@webershandwick.com.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
1VARs refers to Value Added Resellers.
2SIs refers to Systems Integrators.
3SaaS services were defined as business-class email, accounting services, customer relationship management, file sharing, Web conferencing, project management and specialized business applications. IaaS services include file and data storage and backup, and data archiving and recovery.
For more information, press only:
Alex Vaught, Weber Shandwick
Phone: (206) 576-5562
E-mail: avaught@webershandwick.com
Note to editors
For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
Research suggests increasing opportunities for hosting service providers to benefit from selling cloud services.
REDMOND, Wash. — March 24, 2011 - Microsoft Corp. today released its global “SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011,” which investigates how cloud computing will impact small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the next three years. The research finds that 39 percent of SMBs expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, an increase of 34 percent from the current 29 percent. It also finds that the number of cloud services SMBs pay for will nearly double in most countries over the next three years.
The findings show an increasing opportunity for hosting service providers to profit in the cloud from offering services such as collaboration, data storage and backup, or business-class email. Some key findings include the following:
- Those SMBs paying for cloud services will be using 3.3 services, up from fewer than two services today.
- Past experience with support from a service provider is a key driver of service provider selection among SMBs. Eighty-two percent of SMBs say buying cloud services from a provider with local presence is critical or important.
- The larger the business, the more likely it is to pay for cloud services. For example, 56 percent of companies with 51–250 employees will pay for an average of 3.7 services within three years.
- Within three years, 43 percent of workloads will become paid cloud services, but 28 percent will remain on-premises, and 29 percent will be free or bundled with other services.
Recognizing that SMBs consume software in a variety of ways, Microsoft offers a range of options for hosting providers to go to market with new services targeting the SMB market.
"As SMBs continue to transition to cloud services, hosting service providers, VARs1 and SIs2 will have a major role to play as advisors and providers of IT services in hybrid environments,” said Andy Burton, CEO, Fasthosts Internet Ltd. “Hosting providers have expertise in selling cloud services while VARs and SIs have experience selling to SMBs. Fasthosts is helping to bridge this gap by helping VARs and SIs white-label cloud services and deliver them as if they were their own.”
Adoption of Paid Services Fueled by Profitability and Growth
The 2011 study indicates that in most countries, cloud service adoption is not limited to SMBs that see themselves as fast growers. The study showed little difference in adoption rates between SMBs that expect to grow in the next three years (42 percent) and those solely focused on profitability (40 percent).
Growth companies want a scalable environment that can meet their expanding needs, with an affordable, pay-as-you-go pricing model that eliminates the need for over-investment in IT. SMBs that want to maintain their size, but want to become more profitable, seek cost-effective, efficient solutions that match their needs for predictability and low overhead cost. Cloud services can serve both sets of criteria.
The Opportunity SaaS and IaaS Represent
The study also looked at adoption of software as a service (SaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and found that SMBs that are adopting both SaaS and IaaS services are larger, more growth-oriented and more interested in additional services, such as unified communications and remote desktop support. This provides an opportunity for hosting service providers to offer both SaaS and IaaS in order to acquire and retain high-value customers and maximize revenue per customer.3
For More Information
In the coming weeks Microsoft will publish additional findings of its "SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011" on the Microsoft Communications Sector Newsroom.
About the Research
The "Microsoft SMB Cloud Adoption Study 2011" research report was designed and conducted in conjunction with Edge Strategies Inc. (http://www.edgestrategies.com) in December 2010. The research questioned 3,258 SMBs that employ up to 250 employees across 16 countries worldwide: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. A copy of the full research report is available through mscsus@webershandwick.com.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
1VARs refers to Value Added Resellers.
2SIs refers to Systems Integrators.
3SaaS services were defined as business-class email, accounting services, customer relationship management, file sharing, Web conferencing, project management and specialized business applications. IaaS services include file and data storage and backup, and data archiving and recovery.
For more information, press only:
Alex Vaught, Weber Shandwick
Phone: (206) 576-5562
E-mail: avaught@webershandwick.com
Note to editors
For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
Blog Post
Size Doesn’t Matter: Transforming Small Businesses in the Cloud
By Klaus Holse Andersen, Area Vice President Microsoft Western Europe
Size doesn’t matter anymore, the over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one. The technology curve at present is all about the cloud and the possibilities it brings. When it comes to harnessing ICT, times have never been better for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) across Europe to transform their business and become as innovative and competitive as their larger counterparts. SMBs can now exploit the economies of scale offered by cloud computing, giving them affordable access to sophisticated computing resources previously available only to large companies. It’s all about increasing productivity by becoming as ‘elastic’ as possible as an organization, without incurring dramatic costs. Cloud computing is up to 40 times more cost-effective for a SMB, compared to the alternative of running its own IT system as a recent research shows.
The benefits are obvious, but will SMBs embrace the opportunities of the cloud? The good news is that SMB adoption of paid cloud services is growing. This is according to Microsoft Communications Sector’s annual, global SMB Cloud Adoption Study findings which have been released today. 39 percent of SMBs expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, which is an increase of 34 percent from today (29 percent). On average, those using paid cloud services will be using 3.4 services, which is an increase from 2.0 services today. When looking at the global SME bracket, we see a clear trend towards a hybrid infrastructure model: In three years 43 percent of workloads will become paid cloud services, 28 percent will remain on-premise, and 29 percent will be free or bundled with other services.
The role of SMBs is twofold: both as users and as developers of technology, SMBs will drive adoption and innovation of cloud services, which will in turn stimulate further evolution of the industry and growth of the European economy as recent studies such as the Irish Economic Report on Growth and Competiveness are showing. This is particularly important as Europe is climbing out of the crater left by the economic crisis. Flourishing entrepreneurialism with transformational technologies is fueling the engine of growth for Europe, with SMEs representing more than 99 percent of all businesses and employing more than 90 million people in Europe. I believe there is huge potential for cloud technology to accelerate both the business opportunities for the ICT industry as well as for SMEs in Europe.
When visiting European countries I see a lot of compelling examples of how SMEs are gaining advantages from the cloud, such as the Swedish Red Cross, the Belgium-based sport service provider Chronorace and Dutch fashion online community JUSTPROUD, which participated in the Microsoft BizSpark programme. BizSpark helps early stage start-ups by providing them with software and support when they need it most. Check out my webcast embedded in this post to see firsthand how these SMEs are transforming their businesses with Microsoft Cloud technologies.
To learn more about how Microsoft services are benefitting hosting providers across Europe, please see below:
By Klaus Holse Andersen, Area Vice President Microsoft Western Europe
Size doesn’t matter anymore, the over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one. The technology curve at present is all about the cloud and the possibilities it brings. When it comes to harnessing ICT, times have never been better for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) across Europe to transform their business and become as innovative and competitive as their larger counterparts. SMBs can now exploit the economies of scale offered by cloud computing, giving them affordable access to sophisticated computing resources previously available only to large companies. It’s all about increasing productivity by becoming as ‘elastic’ as possible as an organization, without incurring dramatic costs. Cloud computing is up to 40 times more cost-effective for a SMB, compared to the alternative of running its own IT system as a recent research shows.
The benefits are obvious, but will SMBs embrace the opportunities of the cloud? The good news is that SMB adoption of paid cloud services is growing. This is according to Microsoft Communications Sector’s annual, global SMB Cloud Adoption Study findings which have been released today. 39 percent of SMBs expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, which is an increase of 34 percent from today (29 percent). On average, those using paid cloud services will be using 3.4 services, which is an increase from 2.0 services today. When looking at the global SME bracket, we see a clear trend towards a hybrid infrastructure model: In three years 43 percent of workloads will become paid cloud services, 28 percent will remain on-premise, and 29 percent will be free or bundled with other services.
The role of SMBs is twofold: both as users and as developers of technology, SMBs will drive adoption and innovation of cloud services, which will in turn stimulate further evolution of the industry and growth of the European economy as recent studies such as the Irish Economic Report on Growth and Competiveness are showing. This is particularly important as Europe is climbing out of the crater left by the economic crisis. Flourishing entrepreneurialism with transformational technologies is fueling the engine of growth for Europe, with SMEs representing more than 99 percent of all businesses and employing more than 90 million people in Europe. I believe there is huge potential for cloud technology to accelerate both the business opportunities for the ICT industry as well as for SMEs in Europe.
When visiting European countries I see a lot of compelling examples of how SMEs are gaining advantages from the cloud, such as the Swedish Red Cross, the Belgium-based sport service provider Chronorace and Dutch fashion online community JUSTPROUD, which participated in the Microsoft BizSpark programme. BizSpark helps early stage start-ups by providing them with software and support when they need it most. Check out my webcast embedded in this post to see firsthand how these SMEs are transforming their businesses with Microsoft Cloud technologies.
To learn more about how Microsoft services are benefitting hosting providers across Europe, please see below:
- To learn how Swiss telco provider Swisscom is helping SMBs implement unified communications services without having to invest in infrastructure, click here
- To learn how Fasthosts is helping its small and midsize business customers take advantage of “cloud” computing, click here
- To read how the Hungarian Water Rescue Service (HWRS) is using Microsoft Communications Services to integrate its 350 full-time employees and volunteers, while streamlining administrative processes and staff training click here
