FindCloudHost.com > Cloud Web Hosting News

Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) Suggests the Bulk of UK Companies Now Utilizing Cloud Services

July 04, 2014
by Staff Writer

The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) has suggested that the bulk of companies in the United Kingdom are now utilizing cloud services. The CIF, a “not for profit company”, represents the cloud industry and “champions and advocates the adoption and use of cloud-based services by businesses and individuals”. Its latest research suggests that in June 2014, 78% of British companies had “adopted at least one cloud-based service” – a growth of 15% since the CIF’s last research paper was published in September 2013.

The CIF’s research further suggested that of the 78% of companies utilizing the cloud, 45% used a single cloud service provider, 28% used services from two providers, 13% use three providers, and 14% used four providers or more. Popular cloud-based services utilized by companies included Customer Relationship Management (CRM), web hosting and email services, data backup, and disaster recovery. Lesser popular cloud services included collaboration tools, video conferencing and data storage.

The research went on to suggest 79% of British companies consider the cloud as a key element of their IT strategy, while only 22% preferred managed services. The research suggested a number of reasons for why the UK’s companies were adopting cloud computing. 21% of companies suggested operational cost savings motivated them to enter the cloud, while 17% were prompted by the cloud’s “flexibility”. However, 85% of companies involved in the research did also suggest they operated on-premise servers or data centers.

“We can also predict that 10% of businesses will likely report a primary cloud-based IT strategy, 10% will remain entirely on-premise and 80% will have a hybrid IT environment,” explained Alex Hilton, the Chief Executive of CIF. “This means that nine out of 10 companies will continue to invest in on-premise IT alongside and integrated with cloud solutions. In other words, we are in fact seeing the normalisation of cloud in the hybrid IT market.”

Is the cloud becoming ubiquitous as far as business is concerned? Let us know your thoughts. Add your comments below.

Comment News

Connect with