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Cloud computing use rising

Almost half of UK business and organisations are already using cloud computing in some manner, new research carried out by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) has revealed.

The survey of 450 institutions also revealed that one-third of those not currently employing cloud services, (Cloud computing lets you use files and applications over the Internet) anticipate doing so in the next year. The CIF is an industry body that champions and advocates the adoption and use of Cloud-based services by businesses and individuals.

Polling firms and organisations ranging from the IT and technology sector, business and professional services to the manufacturing sector, as well as public sector organisations such as central and local government and healthcare the survey suggested that cloud services were already in widespread practice.

According to the survey adoption of cloud services was more prevalent in the private sector than with their public sector counterparts. Medium to large companies are at the forefront of cloud adoption, as opposed to the small businesses with less than 20 employees or the public sector, the survey revealed.
The survey findings also revealed that the decision to migrate to the cloud is now predominantly made by the head of IT, rather than CEOs or managing directors (MDs). In smaller companies without IT departments, the decision was mostly taken by the MD or owner.

With 94 per cent of respondents satisfied with their use of cloud services the majority stated that they expect usage to significantly increase during the next 12 months, particularly with email services, data back-up and data storage services. However data security still appears to be a concern with 80 per cent of respondents claiming they were reluctant to move sensitive data to the cloud, especially employee information, account and financial data.

The research findings follow the launch of another industry body earlier in July, the UK Cloud Alliance. The UK Cloud Alliance, is a collective of UK-based technology firms and service providers aims to guarantee the full transformational benefits of cloud computing.

Ricky Hudson, CEO of Star, a founding member firm of the Alliance said: “Beneath all the hype, cloud computing is very much in demand by a significant and growing proportion of medium sized UK businesses. This is about serving up UK technology to UK businesses because they like being served by local organizations that they can get to know, grow with and trust.”