A recent study reveals that most small businesses use the cloud for backup. In a survey of 438 small businesses conducted by Clutch, 40% of those businesses use cloud computing for file backup. These businesses have 11-1,000 employees.
[Related:Â Nearly Half of All Small Businesses Not Using Cloud Storage]
Access to files from multiple devices was the next most-used cloud service by small businesses. “The great thing about storage as a service systems, is that if I am on the road and someone asks me to answer a question [about a work-related document], I don’t have to wait until I get back home,†said Dave Linthicum, senior vice president of Cloud Technology Partners, a firm that provides cloud computing professional services and software. “I can access my files and give the person an immediate response.â€
In a nutshell, cloud computing is the access to a variety of computing resources, including infrastructure, processing power and storage over the Internet. Cloud computing has emerged as an ideal way to run many IT services because it’s relatively low-cost, highly-scalable, and highly available.
The study also shows that security and compliance reasons make small businesses hesitant to adopt or fully adopt cloud computing technologies. “Many small businesses know just enough about the cloud to be afraid of it and say, ‘I’m not touching that,’†said David Amaya, a consultant at Cardinal Solutions, a firm that helps businesses move to the cloud. Additionally, many surveyed are under the impression that cloud computing is more for large enterprises rather than small businesses.
Recently, another study revealed Dropbox to be the most widely-used cloud storage service for small businesses.
“Dropbox has done a good job at removing barriers, such as set up, and they make it easy to replicate across all of your devices and computers,†says Dave Linthicum, a cloud computing professional and expert.