Iconnyx Releases 'State of Nation' Cloud Report for SMB Market

Iconnyx Releases 'State of Nation' Cloud Report for SMB Market

LONDON, April 20, 2011/PRNewswire/ --

    - Research Reveals Business Uptake, Benefits and Barriers

    - Iconnyx Urges Industry to Share Best Practice Examples

    Small businesses are using cloud predominantly for storage (67%) and web
site hosting (56%) according to a recent survey by Iconnyx, the managed IT
and web hosting company.

    Research of over 300 small business leaders conducted over two events in
the past month shows these to be the typical SMB applications, followed by
business continuity and CRM (both 39%).

    The majority of SMBs who had implemented a cloud infrastructure reported
spending 10-30 percent of their working day in the cloud (44%). At extreme
ends of the scale, 11 percent of respondents claimed to spend no time in the
cloud at all, whilst a further 11 percent claimed to spend in excess of 50
percent of time using cloud-based technologies.

    The research also showed there is still confusion around the benefits of
implementing cloud, with cost cited as both a benefit and a top barrier to
embracing the technology. The survey, conducted at Unified Communications
Expo, earlier this month, Iconnyx's own event last week, and a series of
online polls, demonstrated that a lack of education on cloud benefits is
stalling adoption of cloud computing technologies.

    Of the 300+ professionals that participated in the survey, 93 percent
responded that they could explain what cloud computing is. However, nearly 43
percent of participants answered that their organisation is still not
involved in cloud computing. Those using cloud-based solutions cite cost
saving, mobile accessibility and ease of managing infrastructure as the top
benefits of using the cloud (42%). At the same time, a further 54 percent of
companies cited cost as a barrier to implementation.

    "The research indicates that there is still a barrier stopping
organisations from using cloud-based solutions, and uncertainty around the
deployment of cloud, as well as the benefits," said Tim Walker , MD at
Iconnyx. "What is clear is that companies need more education and knowledge
of real-world deployments - this has been the overwhelming feedback. The
industry needs to share best practice examples so companies can appreciate
the cloud in real life scenarios. They need to see the benefits that
companies of a similar size, industry and infrastructure are experiencing,
with whom they can relate and compare."

    Visit http://www.iconnyx.com to request more details of the report or
sign up to the next cloud seminar.

    Notes to Editors:

    Iconnyx is a fast growing provider of managed services to the business
marketplace, including business internet, MPLS VPN, Hosting and Managed IT.
It has a reputation for delivering high quality value-for-money solutions
that fit the requirements of both business & public sector customers.

    http://www.iconnyx.com @iconnyx

    http://www.facebook.com/iconnyx

    PR Contact:

    Thea Parnell, tparnell@clever-touch.com, +44(0)1962-677-000 or
+44(0)7872-464-469

Source: Iconnyx

PR Contact: Thea Parnell, tparnell@clever-touch.com, +44(0)1962-677-000 or +44(0)7872-464-469