Insights into how small and mid-size companies use cloud services to support file sharing, email and productivity applications.

1. Voice of IT July 2012
TM
The Spiceworks Cloud Barometer:
Insights into how small and mid-size companies use cloud services to
support file sharing, email and productivity applications.
A Spiceworks Market Insights Report sponsored by EMC
To say the IT market is going through a transformative period would be an understatement. Yes, cloud
computing is changing the way businesses and individuals purchase and consume technology. Yes,
consumerization and BYOD (bring your own device) are mashing together personal and business data
and applications on the sameMigration to yes, Cloud via smartphones, tablets and, soon, ultralight
devices. And the mobility
notebooks is on companies using the cloud today or in the next 6 months)
(Based making accessibility to applications and data universal.
70% 71%
While much of the market calls cloud, consumerization and mobility “transformative trends,” they’re
equally characteristic of a larger movement around “comprehensive productivity.” And what business
60%
9%
couldn’t use a little boost in output? Businesses and their employees are searching for ways to remain
50% 48%
connected, collaborate, and share data while simultaneously having complete access to their personal
6%
digital life. Consumerization is the trend driving the convergence of business and personal digital lives,
40%
but the trends of cloud computing and mobility are truly enabling consumerization.
30%
52% 20%
To grasp how this is impacting small and mid-size businesses, Spiceworks conducted a study with 323
20%
42%
users across North America and EMEA to find out how the cloud is effecting three business applications
6%
that influence employee productivity: file sharing/storage, email and productivity suites. Spiceworks is the
10%
14%
world’s largest social business network for IT pros that offers free network management software coupled
0%
with an active community for discussion around all things IT. In 2011 alone IT professionals spent almost
File Sharing Email Productivity
three billion minutes in Spiceworks, making it one of the most active sites in the IT industry.
Suites
Use Today Plan to use in next 6 months
Migration to the cloud
Use cloud today
File Sharing
52% 9% 61%
Plan to use cloud in next 6 months
Email
42% 6% 48%
Productivity
Suites 14% 6% 20%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
EMC on Spiceworks

2. Use Cloud Today 52% 53% 49%
THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Email Total North America EMEA
Use Cloud Today 42% 43% 37%
Productivity Suites Total North America EMEA
Overall, the findings show that productivity is a powerful lure. Cloud apps are in demand that reduce
Use Cloud Today 14% 15% 13%
burdens on internal IT management while simultaneously enabling access to data and applications
wherever and whenever users want. But SMBs struggle to find the best way to implement cloud-based
solutions while maintaining their principles around data control and security.
While both North American and EMEA companies have fairly similar usage rates across all of the cloud-
services measured, North America leads the way in each category.
Usage of the cloud today by region
60%
50% 52% 53%
49%
40% 42% 43%
37%
30%
20%
10% 14% 15% 13%
0%
File Sharing Email Productivity Suites
Total North America EMEA
*
Based on companies using the cloud today
2

3. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Cloud-based file sharing: the employee-driven app
Users want access to data whenever they want and from whatever device is in their hands.
To facilitate universal data, a broad field of innovative cloud-based companies has popped up across
the landscape under the monikers of file-sharing, file synchronization and content management
services. They all share the same basic characteristics: allowing users to store and back up
unstructured data files (text, audio, video, images) in the cloud and making this data available on
demand via any Web-compatible device.
Over half of respondents state they’re using cloud-based file sharing services in their organization
today and there’s a distinct possibility every business has some level of file-sharing activity since
employees can bring these services in through the front door. This is true for 33% of respondents who
state they know their employees are using these services on their own and without approval. Another
5% are not sure what their employees are doing. IT departments are mixed on how to manage this
behavior with 31% of companies allowing employees to use any provider they wish and another
32% discouraging the behavior at some level. This reluctance to implement policy indicates that
employees and businesses want so badly to see the productivity benefits of file sharing that they
might loosen their standard around security, access control and data management.
By region, North American companies are more likely to have an approved vendor for file sharing (25%
vs. 12% for EMEA), while EMEA companies are more likely to have employees using file sharing services
on their own (37% vs. 27% in North America).
Company use and management of file sharing services
“
Do your employees use any
cloud-based file sharing services? FROM THE COMMUNITY
How does your IT department manage I tend to give more
employee usage of cloud-based
Yes, they are using them
on their own 33% file sharing services?
leeway to some users if
(file sharing) will make
their work-life a little
easier without negatively
8%
24%
31%
Darko1884
Spiceworks User
“
impacting the company.
community.spiceworks.com
Yes, and we have an
approved vendor 19%
12%
25%
Nope, but planning to
implement these services in
the next 6 months
9%
Not Sure 5% We allow employees to use
any provider they wish
We allow employees to use any provider,
but we monitor bandwidth
We allow employees to use only those
providers approved by the IT department
Nope 35% We discourage this behavior,
but do not monitor it
We strongly discourage employees using
these services in the office
284 Respondents 89 Respondents
3

4. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
While accessibility, collaboration and convenience are the top advantages gained from cloud-based file
sharing, businesses often feel insecure about the data that’s being passed through these services. This is
why the lack of control over data and security, legal liabilities and compliance issues, and reliability are
the top three concerns businesses harbor over file sharing. Only 6% have no concerns about file-sharing
services. While many file-sharing companies tout the security of their services and how protection of data
is paramount, they still operate in the public domain and are not impenetrable to hackers and malware.
Advantage and concerns with cloud-based file sharing
What do you believe are the primary advantages of
cloud-based file sharing services? (Select top 3.)
80%
70% 76%
60%
50%
51%
40%
36%
30% 32%
20% 25%
19% 14%
10% 12% 3% 2%
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What concerns does your company have with
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80%
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4

5. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
When it comes to the selection of cloud-based file sharing providers, employees play an essential role.
Employees have a clear preference for Dropbox with 87% of IT pros stating this is the vendor their employees
are using on their own. But vendor preference among IT pros isn’t quite as clear. While Dropbox leads the
way with nearly 30% of companies stating they use or plan to use them as their approved vendor, nearly
40% are using a file sharing provider in the “other” category. This fragmentation among IT pros indicates that
there’s no one solution that’s accurately addressing the concerns of the IT department.
Cloud-based file sharing vendor preference
“
Employee Preference IT Pro Preference FROM THE COMMUNITY
Which cloud-based file sharing What provider did you select or are you
vendors are your employees using? most likely to select to support I love Dropbox and use
(Select all that apply) cloud-based file sharing for your
it daily for my personal
company? (Select only one)
files. That being said I still
have some concerns with
corporate data being in a
Dropbox 87% Dropbox 28% Dropbox account.
IT Freak
Spiceworks User
“
community.spiceworks.com
Box 8% Box 10%
Egnyte 0% Egnyte
8%
Trend
Micro 0% Trend
Micro 6%
Other 20% Other 37%
Don’t
know 11%
93 Respondents 71 Respondents
Overall there’s a clear desire for cloud-based file sharing services by small and mid-size businesses and
their employees. But it’s evident, from the IT perspective, that the playing field for this category remains
open and no one vendor has emerged as the clear leader for this service. Therefore vendors need to
find the right solution that addresses companies’ concerns around security, compliance and reliability
while giving them what they want: complete accessibility, collaboration and low cost. Otherwise the
employee rather than the IT pro may be choosing the winner in this category.
5

6. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Email: onward movement up to the cloud,
but on-premise still leads
When it comes to email, productivity improvement is the goal. The pursuit of productivity, though,
is different from that of file sharing, mostly because of the nature of email systems and how they’re
bound to a brand and domain. For that reason, businesses must sponsor their email system, whether
it’s on-premise or hosted.
Hosted email offers the advantages of accessibility, scalable storage, management, administration and
security. This explains why 42% of companies have moved to a hosted email solution and another 6%
plan to migrate in the next 6 months. These companies are most attracted to relieving administrative
burdens for their IT staff and the service’s ease of deployment. Surprisingly, security, storage and
backup features are not rated as the top motivating factors for implementing a hosted solution.
By region, North American companies are slightly more likely to have a hosted solution vs. EMEA
companies with 43% vs. 37% currently using a hosted solution.
Hosted email adoption and reasons for migration
Is your company’s email solution currently hosted or on-premise?
FROM THE COMMUNITY
52% 42% 6% SpiceList*: How do you
feel about hosted email?
On-Premise Currently Hosted Currently on-premise, but plan to move to
a hosted solution within the next 6 months #1 I love on-site Exchange
#2 I’m not convinced
262 Respondents
about outsourcing
#3 I’m already hosting and
What are the primary reasons for moving your happy with my provider
company’s email to a hosted solution? (Select top 3). #4 Considering moving,
60% but waiting for the
right time
56% #5 I’m looking to switch
50%
from on-site to hosted
46% 46%
40%
*
A SpiceList tells you what
30% 32% IT pros in the Spiceworks
Community think about a
particular issue.
20% 22% 21%
18% For a complete list click here.
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6

7. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Microsoft dominates the on-premise email market with Exchange but in terms of cloud-based email
service providers Google leads the way followed by Office 365. The almost 40% using “other” providers
reflects the broad availability of POP3 and Exchange email services through service providers.
Hosted email vendor preference
What vendor are you using or looking to use to support your
company’s hosted email solution? (Select only one.)
Office 365 Go Daddy
34% 16% 4% 3% 3% 40%
Google Rackspace Intermedia Other
116 Respondents
When selecting a hosted email service provider, reliability dwarfs all other considerations, including
security and lowering costs. This deference speaks to the desire for improved productivity. Email outages
can cause significant business and revenue disruptions. Businesses often elect to retain their on-premise
email because it gives them greater control over operations, information flow, security and support.
Top selection criteria for hosted email vendors
What are the primary considerations when choosing
the vendor for your company’s hosted email solution? (Select top 3.)
80%
70% 75%
60%
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46%
40%
40% 38%
30%
20% 22%
10%
17% 17%
11% 9%
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While hosted email is seen as a means for reducing IT burdens and increasing productivity, it’s still not
the preferred model. The survey revealed that 58% of businesses surveyed are currently using on-
premise email, and only 6% of them will migrate to cloud-based email in the next 6 months. That makes
for a huge base of potential customers to convert, provided a service provider can clearly demonstrate
reliability, security and cost-containment.
7

8. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Cloud-based productivity suites: the jury’s still out
When it comes to moving productivity suites to the cloud, which include word processing, spreadsheet
and calendar applications, adoption is slow among SMBs. Cloud-based productivity suites have the
lowest adoption rate among the three applications reviewed in this study. Nearly two out of three
businesses have no plans to use cloud-based productivity suites. Only 14% of those surveyed are
currently using cloud-based productivity suites, and another 22% are thinking about adopting these
services sometime in the future.
North American companies are marginally more likely to adopt cloud-based productivity suites, with
38% currently using or planning to adopt vs. 30% of EMEA companies.
Adoption of cloud-based productivity suites
Does your company use or plan to use any cloud-based productivity suites for
word processing, spreadsheets, etc.?
14% 6% 15% 64%
Yes Yes, within the next 6 months Yes, but not sure when Nope
247 Respondents
This low adoption rate is consistentor thinking about usingresearch: According to the Cloud & Technology
What vendor are you using with other industry for your cloud-based
Transformation Alliance’s 2012 State ofsuite? (Select only one)
productivity the Cloud Channel1 report, demand for cloud-based productivity
increased a scant 6% compared to 22.5% for cloud backup and 23% for cloud storage.
Does your company use or plan to use any cloud-based productivity suites for
48% 43%
word processing, spreadsheets, etc.? 8%
When it comes to cloud productivity suites, there are only a handful of choices beyond the two market
leaders, Microsoft and Google. This explains theOther (pleasebetween Google Apps and Office 365. Google
Google Apps Office 365 polarity specify)
14% 6% 15% 64%
has surprised many with its ability to grow market share in an application segment dominated by
Microsoft. Still, it’s not all that surprising given that Google is, by its very nature, a cloud native.
Yes Yes, within the next 6 months Yes, but not sure when Nope
Cloud-based productivity suites vendor preference
What vendor are you using or thinking about using for your cloud-based FROM THE COMMUNITY
productivity suite? (Select only one)
Over 60,000 IT pros are
following Office 365
48% 43% 8% or Google Apps in the
Spiceworks Community.
Google Apps Office 365 Other (please specify)
community.spiceworks.com
83 Respondents
8

9. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
The adoption rationale and the purchasing considerations for cloud productivity suites virtually mirror
each other, with ubiquitous accessibility, collaboration features, and lower cost topping the list. Cost
savings is a secondary consideration, but significant since cloud-based productivity suites typically
have a lower acquisition cost but a longer total cost of ownership given their open-ended recurring
subscription fees.
Top reasons for migration and vendor selection criteria
for cloud-based productivity suites
Why have you moved or plan to move to a cloud-based
productivity suite solution for your company (Select top 3.)
70%
69%
60%
50% 54%
40%
37%
30%
30%
20%
25% 24% 21% 20%
10%
7% 2%
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What are your company’s top considerations for selecting
your cloud-based productivity suite vendor? (Select top 3.)
50%
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40% 42%
30% 33%
31% 31%
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81 Respondents
9

10. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Given that current vendor preference in this category is essentially a horse race between Google and
Microsoft, it’ll be interesting to see how adoption trends continue as Microsoft dives deeper into mobile
platforms and lightweight endpoint devices powered by Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. It’ll also be
intriguing to watch how Google continues to challenge Microsoft with the release of new versions of its
operating system Chrome, flavors of the Android operating system, and hardware such as Chromebooks
and the new Nexus 7 tablet.
Wrapping Up
The core tenets of cloud computing are scalability, elasticity, flexibility, accessibility and cost
containment – all of which add up to greater productivity. Cloud-based applications such as file sharing,
email and productivity suites are proving tremendously adept at producing the tangible results desired
by business, particularly by SMB and midmarket companies.
However, concerns and objections to these cloud services persist. Security, reliability and true-value
doubts will hinder adoption as on-premise applications prove exceedingly resilient despite not having
the same levels of accessibility and ubiquity. Nevertheless, the draw to cloud apps is evident with file
sharing leading the charge. As a mechanism for moving around documents with greater efficiency, file
sharing extends the value and usability of on-premise applications such as email and productivity suites.
Cloud-based applications such as file sharing, email and productivity applications will only become
more appealing as their reliability and usability increases. Businesses will continue to expand their use of
these services as they search for applications and resources that reduce overhead costs while increasing
productivity and output.
This report was sponsored by EMC.
EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and
service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a
service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.
Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates
the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to
store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset —
information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way.
Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.
10

11. THE SPICEWORKS CLOUD BAROMETER
Respondent Profile
44% Industry Education Healthcare Finance Non-Profit Consulting
17% 10% 8% 7% 6% 5% 5% 5% 4% 3% 31%
32% IT Service Provider Manufacturing Retail Engineering Software Other
Sample = 259
Company Size Region
250+ employees
100-249 North
employees 7% America
18%
44% 52% 48%
32% EMEA
1-19 employees
20-99 employees
Sample = 282 Sample = 281
References
1
2012 State of the Cloud Channel, Cloud & Technology Transformation Alliance (The 2112 Group and Virgo
Publishing), March 2012
About Spiceworks Voice of IT®
The Spiceworks Voice of IT® market Insights program publishes stats, trends and opinions collected from small
and medium business technology professionals that are among the more than 2M users of Spiceworks. Survey
panelists opt-in to answer questions on technology trends important to them.
About Spiceworks™
Spiceworks™ the world’s largest social business platform for IT, connects 2 million IT professionals with more
,
than 1,200 technology brands. By combining a Facebook-like community with free IT management software,
Spiceworks helps businesses to discover, buy and manage $350 billion worth of technology products and
services each year.
To learn more, visit: Be first to hear about Spiceworks Voice of IT® insights, email:
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The contents in this report are a result of primary research performed by Spiceworks. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents
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All rights reserved. 2012.
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