Even though small to medium-sized businesses
(SMBs) appear ready to investigate the
opportunities presented by cloud computing,
they are failing to factor in safeguards as they increase reliance
on the Internet for everyday applications according to a new report
released by ISP Easynet Connect.
The survey of 270 SMBs in the UK showed that many companies
were seriously considering a switch to ‘cloud computing’ or
Software as a Service (SaaS). A quarter of respondents plan to move
to cloud based services or applications within two years, with
around half (47%) expecting to do so within five years.
But, even though
SMBs could identify some apparent benefits of the cloud such as
cost savings (35.2%) and increased remote and flexible working
(34%), few firms regarded the move to cloud computing as something
that would involve a re-evaluation of their network infrastructure
or Internet connection.
Only a tenth of SMBs indicated that they had a formal ‘cloud
strategy’ including consideration of Internet connectivity issues
and just 12% said they planned on increasing their Internet
bandwidth to account for possible higher traffic levels. A further
13% said they would explore business continuity measures to
safeguard their connection and alarmingly, only 9.2% said that they
would put in place more stringent security measures.
Chris Stening, MD of Easynet Connect warned SMBs of the need to
look at the big picture. “Clearly, SMBs are eager to embrace the
many advantages that cloud computing and SaaS offers them but…once
the majority of your mission-critical applications are hosted over
the web, ensuring you have the most secure and available Internet
access possible becomes even more important. This should be
prioritised just as highly as the staff training or cultural issues
when formal switch over plans are developed.”
Stening added that the additional investment in improved
Internet Connectivity would be far less than the savings made by a
switch to cloud computing which could save thousands of pounds by
moving to more cost-effective licensing models, reduce costs
through remote working and offer more value from more collaborative
ways of working.