Friday Cloud News Roundup
Numbers Don’t Lie, SMB’s Still Leading the Way to the Cloud
A recent article by TMC Executive Editor, Erin Harrisson, debunks the assumption that large enterprises are adopting cloud-based services much faster than small to medium-sized businesses.
A couple of research initiatives proved that SMB’s are the bigger market of cloud computing services. The article was about Cisco’s and Gartner’s separate surveys and this is the summary of the findings:
- 44% of SMB’s have full understanding of cloud services from 20% in 2009
- 45% of SMB’s already use at least 1 cloud service
- SMB’s are adopting the cloud twice as fast compared to larger corporations
Several predictions were also made:
- Half of SMB’s will spend at least a third of their IT budgets on cloud and managed services in 2012
- The number of cloud services SMB’s pay for will nearly double over the next three years
Cloud service providers are given the opportunity to offer network-based features because SMB’s are realizing the benefits of the cloud. What they need to do now is to guide SMB’s on their cloud investments and in getting through the challenges that they may encounter.
Find out more about the research results, read the full article here.
Growth On Cloud-based Service Offerings
In yet another research by Infonetics on global service providers, it showed that there is so much potential for growth and increased diversity in the coming year.
From a sample of 20 current data center operators, 70% are already investing on the technology to prepare for the anticipated demand surge. According to IHS iSuppli, the growth of the cloud market this year will be strong as well as the interaction between technology and mobile devices; and as for the more complex solutions such as Platform as a Service (PaaS), although currently only offered by a few, will be more common by 2013.
Read more about the research, visit Codestone.
US Government On to the Cloud
The US Government’s CIO, Steven VanRoekel, says that his office is leading the charge on shifting to the cloud, in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) as written in an article in Ibtimes.
This year, VanRoekel plans to streamline US government services to make them more citizen-responsive with the use of technology. His mentions included improving the provision of real estate information about housing in census tracts by providing access to broadband internet.
As he welcomes technological evolution such as the BYOD policy, he also stressed that it will all be facilitated along with better security management.
Still, he believes that internet-based services will improve their work efficiency quoting, “We can do our job more efficiently with technology”.
To read the full article, visit Ibtimes.
Cloud Tech-Powered Automobile
On the lighter side of the CES 2012, Daily Tech writes about Mercedes-Benz’s new cloud-connected infotainment system: Mbrace 2
Packed with features, Mbrace2 will be included in select 2012 models but will be in most 2013 models.
Here are some features of the MB’s Mbrace 2:
Telematics features:
- Curfew minder
- Driving journal
- Remote horn and lights
… All of which may be accessed via an app on android or iOS-based smart phones
Infotainment features:
- Streaming internet radio
- Google search
- Facebook integrator
- Stock tracker
- Latest news headlines
The system can also be updated through Mercedes-Benz’s cloud network.
Read the full review and discover the other exciting feature of this new cloud-based auto-technology at Daily Tech.
Only Positive Outlook for the Cloud Market in 2012
How can new technologies contribute to achieving customer satisfaction? An article in Social Media Today synthesizes some insightful blog posts about the transition from transactional to personal fulfillment systems and customer engagement, and Forrester’s US Tech Market Outlook for 2012, and came up with some useful points:
- The total US ICT market in 2011 was $962B with software, telecom services and IT and consulting services as top 3 segments
- Software growth of 8.2% is projected for 2012 including ERP, middleware and SaaS apps
- Optimistic forecasts for analytics, business intelligence, cloud computing and smart computing
- Financial, professional and manufacturing services are the three industries that will dominate software purchases
Smart computing is defined as platform technologies including business intelligence (BI), service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure, and virtualization. According to the article, smart computing will only happen when the other technologies are used to make customer experiences constantly positive.
What matters most is that service providers are able to follow through and be able to contribute to customer experience, engagement and creation of customer lifetime value (CLV).
Read the full article and find out the other findings of the research at Social Media Today.
Understanding the Cloud Era
“The convergence of social, mobile and local technologies is revolutionizing the way we think about enterprise information.” This is according to AIIM president John Mancini, in reference to the organization’s upcoming conference this March: Managing Information in a Social, Local and Mobile Era.
In a release by Market Watch, the conference is said to have keynote presentations by industry experts and will be covering these topics:
- Engaging customers and employees in new ways
- Transforming processes through mobile technologies
- Maintaining control in the cloud
The conference aims to equip business professionals with better understanding on the application of information assets and solutions.
Visit Market Watch to read the full press release.
Smart Use of the Cloud
A video in Small Biz Technology shows Dal Gemmell of Symantec and Raj Sheth of Recruiterbox as they talk about how the cloud can help small businesses.
As a small business owner, you should first ask yourself:
- Why am I using cloud computing?
- What are the core business objectives of the organization and how can the cloud help fulfill these objectives
Also mentioned were some tools and benefits from using the cloud, that help SMB’s in cost reduction, accessibility and ease of use. For instance, the cloud provides meaningful automation that helps businesses with their daily repetitive tasks.
In summary, SMB’s need to
- Evaluate their organization’s objectives to fins out which applications are aligned with their business objections
- Find applications that allow constant collaboration and will help them take progressive steps
Indeed, cloud technology is great, but it become the contrary if it will not save you any time or help you meet your business objectives.
To watch the video clip, visit Small Biz Technology.
Be Part of Our Cloud Conversation
Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
