Start-ups And SMBs To Drive Cloud Adoption

Small businesses and start-ups will push the use of cloud computing into the IT mainstream as security concerns continue to hinder take up among larger firms.

Steve O’Donnell, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ cloud technology division, explained that the needs of small companies are perfectly met by cloud technologies.

“Start-ups need to be agile. They’re concerned about costs and speed of execution but not about risks, so they adopt cloud platforms quickly, such as Gmail, customer relationship management and accounting platforms,” he said.

“Start-ups doing cloud and then moving up [as they grow] will definitely drive cloud, and so will students and young IT professionals who will drag their enterprises into the 21st century.”

However, O’Donnell explained that issues around reliability, data security, privacy and compliance all present obstacles for many larger firms that will take time to overcome.

“Larger enterprises are market leaders and have a lot more to lose so are far more risk averse and are more concerned about issues of security than increasing their agility,” he said.

“They often don’t trust the cloud and, while most firms will put non-critical applications in the cloud, there is resistance to putting critical investments in the cloud.”

O’Donnell also noted that many larger companies use two cloud vendors for key services to provide resilience against potential outages.

“By running with two vendors if one fails there is still availability with the second. This may mitigate the cost savings, but enterprises are willing to do this to ensure continuity and data recovery,” he said.

Author: Dan Worth
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Managing Partner at meshIP, LLC

Brian Byrne is the founder and Managing Partner of Dallas based meshIP, a technology services firm offering cloud computing strategies and services. He is an accomplished executive with senior management experience in all facets of the technology, telecom, cloud computing, and SaaS industries. He has proven success in developing, financing and executing strategic plans as well as launching new ventures. His background includes a record of significant achievement in international business development and his credentials include a MBA in Marketing and Management Strategy from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS from the School of Computer Science at DePaul University, and a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

He is also the inventor of the patented meshDETECT, Secure Prison Cell Phone Solutions.

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