Brennan IT cloud survey reveals organisations want more expertise from their providers

Brennan IT cloud survey reveals organisations want more expertise from their providers

●      Survey finds local datacentres for Cloud providers is a must

●      Mid-market organisations are looking to Cloud as a consequence of the need to increase profit

●      63% of organisations are willing to pay for superior support, which with many providers they’re not currently getting

19 February 2015, Sydney, Australia: For many Australian businesses through 2015, cost savings will be the key objective, according to Brennan IT’s annual Cloud Survey. This will drive more businesses to adopt Cloud services in a bid to improve profit. However, the survey also found that in many cases organisations are still on the look out for a technology provider with a level of expertise that they can leverage to get the most out of their Cloud investments.

The survey of more than 100 Australian mid-market organisations, (conducted in January 2015) found that 47% expect the need to increase profit, revenue and sales will be the biggest challenge facing the business in the next two years. This will drive them to seek greater cost efficiencies within their businesses, with 41% of organisations reporting they were looking for value for money in their Cloud services as they plan for the year ahead.

Relying on partners to help leverage the Cloud

For the hype behind the Cloud, the survey also shows that many Australian organisations are not leveraging the Cloud to its fullest extent. According to the survey, 59% of organisations are making use of the Cloud currently (with the number rising to 69% in smaller organisations of 50-199 people), and while 31% said they would recommend the Cloud to other organisations based on its ability to back up data, the survey also found that 37% of respondents do not have a Disaster Recovery plan, and 65% of those that do only test their plans once every six to 12 months.

This is despite the ability for Cloud services to enable real time replication of data, increase regulatory compliance in terms of data retention, and seamlessly integrate with existing systems.

Brennan IT managing director, Dave Stevens says that these findings show that mid-market organisations are looking for technology partners that can engage with them deeply in order to leverage the Cloud to their ultimate advantage. “Organisations in the mid-market have been underserved by many providers, who don’t understand their needs or how to help them achieve their business objectives,” Stevens says. “There is clearly an appetite in the mid-market for the adoption of a broad range of Cloud services, but they need a partner that understands where their pain points are and how to best address them.

“It’s not enough to simply offer a Cloud service to the mid-market,” Stevens adds. “According to the survey, 63% of organisations are willing to pay for superior customer support service, and 77% said it was critical that the provider had expert knowledge in the service and was easy to contact. As this survey makes clear, they want a partner that is reliable and able to act as an extension of their internal IT team.”

The Cloud in 2015

We can expect to see Cloud adoption accelerate over the course of the year, but organisations will be highly selective about what Cloud services they take on. 52% of organisations identified themselves as being conservative with the adoption of new technology, and while Cloud has a good reputation in the mid-market, with only 13% of existing users saying they would not recommend Cloud to another party, the survey also found that for many Australian businesses, having their data hosted within local datacentres is of critical importance, with 74% of respondents claiming that it was “very” important that the Cloud provider was local.

Furthermore, a full 84% of respondents reported that security was of critical importance when selecting a Cloud service. This was supported by a further 77% of respondents that said the provider’s knowledge of the service and the ease of contacting them was a key consideration in determining the right service for the business.

Stevens says the survey shows that there is still room for Australian Cloud providers to meet new customer needs, as more mid-market organisations look for and demand local and custom solutions that suit their specific needs.

“We’re seeing that organisations absolutely need adopt Cloud services in order to adapt to the economic climate,” Stevens says. “In order to meet their business objectives, however, they are at times finding it difficult to find a local partner that has the expertise to understand and then deliver a tailored service to their needs.”

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About Brennan IT

Founded in 1997 to meet the business and technology needs of Australian businesses, Brennan IT is a privately owned Cloud and managed services company that employs more than 250 staff across offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle and India. Our wide range of products and services encompass cloud services, data networking,  video and unified communications, IT security, software development, IT services & support, hardware procurement and software licensing. For more information visit: www.brennanit.com.au