Published on the 26/08/2015 | Written by Donovan Jackson
Market watcher says SMBs ARE taking advantage of the cloud…
With the Alternative Board recently claiming that a significant proportion of small to medium businesses in New Zealand are missing out on the advantages of the cloud, the local branch of the International Data Corporation has stepped in to say ‘that’s not how we see it’.
Research director for IT services Adam Dodds said that according to figures from its APeJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan) Cloud Maturity 2014 report, the New Zealand market as a whole is one of the top three countries in the region for cloud adoption. “This means that 97% of New Zealand organisations have ‘given cloud a go’ in some way.”
That’s a long way ahead of the one third of business which the Alternative Board said haven’t yet used the cloud.
Dodds added that the challenge facing SMBs now, is shifting from ‘giving cloud a go’, or ad hoc usage, to maturing into a cloud first strategy where there is a focus on people, process and governance. “Some 42 percent of New Zealand organisations are looking to invest in cloud to simplify their technology environment and enhance its structure for greater management and flexibility,” he added; the figure is drawn from IDC’s NZ C-Suite Survey 2015.
Digital business is a big deal for local companies large and small, and there is a growing focus on the value of data, he continued. “With information emerging as a true asset, there is an increased awareness and consideration around the location of the information and its availability. There is not one board that I talk to that isn’t considering the risk profile of the path to digital,” he said.
However, what businesses are wrestling with inasmuch as the cloud is concerned, is risk. “The impact of taking an off premises strategy, be it in the hosted or cloud space, is the increased perception of data risk. Some boards are recognising that a digital transformation executed well can considerably increase the value of the organisation, and as such are leveraging this as a driver around investment.”
Dodds said that within this context, “It is no wonder that 83 percent of local SMBs are looking to invest in some form of security solution this year – and that’s positive, because New Zealand has one of the lowest usage of security services in the APeJ region.”
