Apparently the month of July is THE time to release surveys on Cloud. In fact, a quick scan shows surveys from Evolve IP, the Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance (CTTA), Research In Action (RIA) and a Gartner research paper.
As the lead survey designer and analyst I was thrilled to have some comparative information that might provide additional insights into our data. Unfortunately, as they would say on Family Feud … SURVEY SAYS? X!
The Evolve IP survey focused on mid-market cloud adoption and included 1,181 IT professionals and cloud decision makers. On the other hand:
- The Gartner study on midsize enterprises was based on a survey of 90 companies
- The CTTA study was of 151 channel partners speaking on behest of cloud buyers
- The Research In Action survey was based on interviews with 468 large enterprise companies across the globe – just 104 in the US
What a let down.
First lesson, before you take a look at the results of any survey go to the back page and read the methodology. I’m too familiar with the spin other marketers will put on only the facts that cast them in a good light.
Speaking of facts, while the majority of the results in our survey didn’t surprise us (they mirrored what we see in our business every day) there were several interesting nuances.
- 70%+ of IT Directors and C-level executives considered them cloud believers while 53% of IT managers did so.
- 6 out of 10 (62%) of those in the cloud had already experienced disaster avoidance / business continuity benefits
- Of the 43% that had a budget increase in 2013 a whopping 82% expect an increase again in 2014 – guess they must be pretty happy with Cloud J
One area where we showed a sharp divide with the RIA survey was over security.
In our survey, security, compliance and privacy were far and away the top concerns or barriers to adoption for these mid-market professionals – cited by well over half of all respondents.
The CTTA study cited security as the top concern (approx.55%) and Gartner also called it out in their paper.
The RIA survey showed hidden costs, poor end-user experience and performance as top concerns. They didn’t even mention security as a concern.
So what happened with security and RIA? I have a couple of thoughts:
- Enterprise organizations are more trusting than mid-market companies and other countries aren’t concerned with cloud security (ok, so that’s not likely)
- They only asked about current cloud offerings and the executives are confident that their current solutions are secure
- Perhaps they forgot to ask?
Regardless, I can tell you that 65% of our potential customers think that security, compliance and privacy are a concern and that everyday our technical advisors are being asked about security audits, HIPAA compliance, our data center protections and more.
To that end we’ve joined / qualified for CSA STAR, have SOC II/III and PCI certifications and accordingly have made it a focal point of our offering.
For more information about the Evolve IP cloud adoption survey click here. For more information about Evolve IP visit our Website.
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About Don Mennig
A B2B technology marketing expert, Don Mennig has enjoyed a 20-year career building brands, driving leads and generating revenue. Prior to joining Evolve IP he served as the Executive Director of Marketing for ASI. There he grew ASI’s Software as a Service (SaaS) product from 3,000 to 50,000 seats and its hosted web platform from 4,000 to 14,000 sites. He previously owned Satient Marketing Communications where he consulted with clients ranging from the Fortune 500 to start-ups in online marketing, PR, advertising, graphic design, and branding. Mr. Mennig has won several awards including a 2012 Communicator Award, the 2008 Telly Award, and the 1999 Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design, he was also a finalist for American Business Media’s 2009 CEBA (best B2B marketing campaign). He was recognized in 2007 by the Web Marketing Association for landing page design, in 2005 as the Rising Star Employee of the Year for ASI, and has received the Dale Carnegie award for Outstanding Individual Achievement. Mr. Mennig graduated from Rowan University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a specialization in radio and T.V. with a concentration in journalism.
