Flair4IT Helps Cloud Computing Become Mainstream in the EU

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(DARPA, Wikimedia Commons)

11 April 2016. Flair4IT, a UK based IT agency, has been working on making the cloud more mainstream in the EU. They have looked specifically at software applications and infrastructures. To enable the market to become more aware of cloud computing, and to make it as common as what it is in the rest of the world, Flair4IT has released a number of statistics on its current use.

Cloud computing is incredibly widespread. Many mobile devices now come with the cloud installed as standard. As an industry, it has surpassed revenues of $1 billion per year. However, in the EU, it is still not as popular as what it is in the rest of the world.

UK based IT company Flair4IT has gathered a number of statistics on the use of the cloud. In so doing, they aim to spearhead the campaign for more cloud computing in the EU, enabling this market to catch up to the rest of the world. Their findings have been very interesting.

The following information was released after research by Flair4IT:

• In 2014, just 19% of enterprise in the EU used cloud computing. Generally speaking, they did this solely to store electronic files and for email purposes.
• Out of the enterprises that do use the cloud, 46% use advanced technologies, particularly in relation to accounting and financial applications, running business applications, and customer relationship management. This seems to be the most important market segment for EU businesses, therefore.
• 12% of businesses used public cloud servers. Interestingly, just 7% used private cloud servers. Most businesses surveyed that did not use the cloud stated that it was due to lack of security. It seems, therefore, that businesses may not be aware of the fact that private cloud systems also exist.
• Out of the enterprises surveyed that did use the cloud, 39% stated that they were very worried about security breaches, and this is why they chose not to use it excessively.
• Out of the enterprises surveyed that did not use the cloud, 42% stated that their lack of knowledge about the benefits and functions of cloud computing were the reasons why they were currently not using it.

A representative from Flair4IT said:

“What our research showed us more than anything is that business owners simply do not have any real understanding of what the cloud is and what it can do. They believe that, because it is online, it is also open and accessible and therefore unsafe. To enable the cloud revolution to truly reach the EU, therefore, we will be concentrating on providing more education to businesses in terms of what these systems can do for them.”

Flair4IT has started to develop strategies to ensure people can get the most benefit out of the cloud. Particularly, they are focusing on a number of characteristics that good services should offer, being:

• An on demand self-service, which essentially means that businesses want to be able to go ahead with using the service without having to interact with the provider.
• Creating provision with elasticity, enabling businesses to scale their cloud in either direction.
• Creating plans that are payable, with some businesses looking for pre-paid, others for pay-per-use and others still for pay-per-user.
• Flair4IT has also noted that some European countries seem to be well ahead of the pack. They found that:
  30% of businesses in Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Iceland, and Finland currently already use the cloud.
• Less than 10% of businesses in Romania, Latvia, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary use the cloud.

The representative added: “There is an element of lack of understanding of the cloud that is a barrier. But another real barrier is having a stable internet connection, which certainly has to be addressed as well.”

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