Businesses On-Prem Solutions
According to a new survey commissioned by Xtium and performed by Spiceworks, a majority of IT professionals overlook managed cloud providers, but admit they know little about this approach to hosted infrastructure. The results revealed that 77% of IT professionals manage their infrastructure with an on-premise solution – this includes private clouds or data centers. Of that percentage, 56% majority said they were only “somewhat familiar” with managed cloud providers.
(Image Source Courtesy: Xtium Powerpoint Presentation)
Today, there are a number of ways to deliver an effective IT environment. The reality is, what works for one business may not work for another. So while some choose to remain loyal to servers and racks, others jump into the cloud arena. Both landscapes are becoming increasingly complicated and deploying each solution is not without its hurdles. Interestingly, many of the challenges cited by those with an on-premise solution could be solved by partnering with a managed cloud provider.
Knowledge is power
To qualify for the survey, respondents had to work at an organization with 50 employees or more. Those who identified themselves as IT Service Providers, managed service providers and IT consultants were excluded.
Of the IT pros who are at least somewhat familiar with managed cloud hosting solutions, 16% said they were planning to adopt this option in the next 12 months. As the results suggest, the lack of knowledge surrounding the benefits of managed cloud providers prevents many IT pros from considering it a viable option.
For Instance, respondents with an on-premise solution were asked to list the key challenges in managing that kind of infrastructure. More than two-thirds noted “workload of IT staff” as the most prevalent issue. However, those who partner with a managed cloud provider don’t consider workload a pain point.
In fact, when asked to list the top advantages of managed cloud providers, IT pros using this solution said it “frees IT staff to focus on core business applications.” This kind of direct response was the case for the other challenges that came with managing an on-premise solution, including security.
Although risks in security and privacy were among the top concerns with using a managed cloud provider, confidence in data security in either solution was almost identical. 61% of IT pros using a managed cloud solution said they were either “very confident” or “extremely confident” their data was protected, compared to 57% of IT pros using an on-premise solution.
As evidenced in the results, a disconnect appears to exist between IT pros with an on-premise solution and the truth about managed cloud providers.
See for yourself
The best way to find the right option for your business is to simply do the research. Many consider the cloud a disruptive technology, and because of that, there’s a lot of noise associated with it. Hearsay and rumors are widespread – but it shouldn’t prevent businesses from at least learning more about this option.
IT pros should look for information that disputes common myths and misconceptions about the cloud and discover what goes into a migration. Educating yourself and raising your comfort level with cloud technologies allows you to evaluate IT options with an objective point of view.
IT is always evolving, and there certainly is a danger in keeping the status quo. If you could make your businesses more versatile and competitive using an alternative method, wouldn’t that be worth looking into?
By Anthony Cirio
Anthony Cirio is the senior writer for Xtium, the cloud provider with a managed approach to IT solutions. Ready to rethink cloud hosting? Xtium solves your infrastructure challenges and provides you the utmost flexibility and control.
