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Half of UK businesses to implement cloud computing by 2011
Half of all small and medium sized businesses in the UK will have implemented collocation services such as cloud computing by 2011, according to reports.
Business internet service provider EasyNet Connect revealed in a report released recently that cloud computing is already proving popular with larger businesses - with 50 or more employees - as 66 per cent are already using the cloud or planning to do so in the next 12 months.
Chris Stening, managing director of the company, says that the results show that Britain is almost embarking on a mass adoption of the strategy within businesses.
He advises that companies need to be suitably prepared for a shift in business operations by "creating a formal migration strategy, increasing security, ensuring they have a reliable and good quality internet connection or considering the impacts on their bandwidth and data demands".
Mr Stening goes on to predict that for many companies, it will soon become the case that the internet becomes the most significant aspect of their plans with regards to business continuity.
Therefore, it is vital that they know just how reliable their bandwidth is and exactly how it is being used, he added.
London has been shown to be the region where businesses are most likely to adopt the medium, with 70 per cent stating that they plan to do so in the next year.
According to the report, companies that operate in the fields of marketing, media or sales are currently the most cloud-savvy.
Some 30 per cent already use cloud software, while a further 40 per cent hope to implement it within the next two years.
Mr Stening advises that those who are thinking about adopting the technology may wish to consider their upload speed as it is a pivotal aspect of sending information efficiently and supporting cloud computing.
He suggests that because of this reason, symmetrical internet connections are an increasingly popular option for businesses.
Web 2.0 Journal has suggested that there can be many benefits for companies that choose to adopt collocation services such as cloud computing.
One major advantage is that it can save organisations money by being paid for incrementally.
Additionally, employees of businesses that use cloud can enjoy increased mobility as they will be able to access information that is relevant to the company from wherever they are, meaning that working from home will be a more viable option.
While organisations can store more data using cloud than on private computer systems, they will no longer need to employ an internal IT team to keep software up to date as this will all be done remotely.
The EasyNet Connect report states that in 2008 some 53 per cent of businesses said they would never adopt the cloud, that figure has now dropped to just 27 per cent.
If we see a drop this substantial at the end of the coming year, it could be that Mr Stening is correct in his estimation that 2010 will be the "year of the cloud".
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