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SMBs gain from cloud computing

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Small and medium businesses have a lot to gain through adopting cloud computing, a recent research from comScore — sponsored by Microsoft — shows.

Not only would these companies benefit from important time and money savings when adopting the cloud, but they also see increased security levels, the aforementioned research shows.

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According to the survey, which was conducted among both cloud and non-cloud SMBs in the U.S., India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, most businesses who chose to make the move to the cloud consider it a great step in their evolution.

The study shows that SMBs are increasingly more confident on the benefits of cloud computing after adoption, and that twenty percent of companies spend less on security, while only 4 percent of non-cloud businesses suggest the same

Forty-one percent of cloud users considered the service provider as being entirely responsible for the security of their information, which suggests both the level of confidence in such services and that they need to be educated on their responsibilities on the area.

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Fifty-seven percent of surveyed companies said that they felt that responsibility was shared with their cloud provider.

This also means that companies that offer cloud services have to ensure that their software is constantly updated so that they can meet the latest requirements in terms of security and reliability.

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Microsoft is one of the main players in the provision of cloud services, with an offering that includes products such as Windows Azure, Windows Intune, Office 365 or Dynamics CRM, available for all customers interested in benefiting from public cloud capabilities.

Moreover, the software giant offers private cloud products as well, including Windows Server, SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, Lync, SharePoint and the like, all of which are being periodically updated with patches for discovered vulnerabilities and with new features.

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Of course, this does not mean that all targeted companies install these updates, due to a variety of reasons, including the costs and the lack of expertise to adjust the business to these updates.

All in all, it seems that cloud computing is indeed helping SMBs become more competitive and enjoy important savings and increased security levels.

However, not all of them consider the cloud as reliable. Those who haven’t adopted it yet are worried of transparency and identity security say that industry standards for cloud security would help them reconsider their position on the matter.

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Non-cloud users are also concerned about security (40 percent) and the cost of transitioning (33 percent) to a new business model, yet the research shows that, in fact, they have nothing to fear on this.

Businesses need to make their own decision when it comes to cloud computing, but that they also need to make informed decisions, and that Microsoft is one of the companies focused on ensuring that this indeed happens.

Source: www.meship.com