Monthly Archives: August 2013

Cloud Computing Trends 2013: CompTIA 4th Annual Research Report

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is expected to release their fourth Annual Cloud Computing Trends research study this week.  This cloud computing research is based on a survey of over 500 IT and Business Professionals collected in June 2013.

The Fourth Annual CompTIA Cloud Computing Trends report is expected to reveal cloud computing trends and  buying patterns, benefits and challenges related to cloud computing use by businesses.  In addition, over 400 IT firms were surveyed on how the cloud is changing the IT technology channel.  Here are some anticipated highlights of cloud computing trends:

Cloud Computing Trends:  Cloud is an Increasing Component of IT Architecture

According to the research, 90% of companies are using cloud computing architecture in their business.  The research indicates “as cloud components are becoming more prevalent in IT architectures, more companies are relying on cloud computing for business processes such as storage (59%), business continuity/disaster recovery (48%), and security (44%).  This strong usage and strong market indicators show that cloud computing is becoming a default part of the IT landscape.”

Top Benefits of Cloud Computing

As Cloud Computing becomes more mainstream a range of business benefits are reported.  While no single reason stands out, businesses report a broad range of benefits by adopting cloud computing technologies:

Benefits of Cloud Computing

 

Top Cloud Computing SolutionsCloud Computing Reaches Maturity

The research indicates that more than half of  those delivering, managing, integrating and supporting cloud computing solutions feel their cloud computing businesses are mature and strategic.

 

Integration Remains the Top Cloud Computing Challenge

According to the cloud computing study by CompTIA, integration remains at the top of the list for all companies.  Integration of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications with legacy systems using Application Program Interfaces  (APIs) was reported as a challenge almost half the time.  Additionally, changes to IT Policy (40%) and the learning curve for the cloud model (39%) are also reported as challenges of moving IT systems to Cloud Computing.

This research report indicates as more companies rely on cloud computing models, the better equipped channel partners are becoming to support the many challenges related to implementing cloud computing.  Insights suggest partnering with a company with mature cloud expertise will help avoid many of the challenges of moving to the cloud, while maximizing a company’s ability to reap the benefits of cloud computing.


Solving Infrastructure Challenges for the Mobile Workforce

If you have a mobile workforce who use mobile devices within your business you want them to be productive, connected and have secure access to your companies applications and data. According to a recent research report by the Computing Technology Industry Association, mobile workers complain about poor connection speeds 49% of the time. In addition, mobile workers have difficulty transferring data and also are challenged by applications that are not optimized for the mobile environment.

Make Sure Your Network is Ready for the Mobile Workforce

Your Mobile workforce need ssecure and ready access to your network via WiFi communications while in your office. If you WiFi is insufficient your workers will suffer unnecessary downtime or slow connections and you will lose productivity and have decrease worker satisfaction.

Secure your Mobile Workforce

You also need to make sure those devices connecting to your corporate network are authorized and secure with the latest anti malware updates and O/S Patches for their specific mobile device. Mobile devices are the target of malware, phising schemes and virus threats. These exploits could expose your company and your data to data leaks or losses resulting in privacy and data breach. Undetected, your company could face fines, loss of reputation and other business interruption issues.

Make Sure Your Data and Voice Plans Have Policy Control

No one likes big surprises at the end of the month, so managing expenses for your mobile workforce should take into consideration travel and various roaming and out of network charges. Make sure your policies are clear who is responsible for voice and data usage and what is or is not reimbursable by your company.

Don’t wait until it is too late to detect challenges with your mobile workforce. You should have a plan that includes decisions on Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Acceptable Use for your mobile workforce and methods to manage mobile devices, mobile applications and their data. Contact your IT Support organization for an assessment of your readiness for supporting a mobile workforce.