To Cloud or not to Cloud? A lot of Companies are doing this question internally, compared to some year ago’ when the answer was “not to Cloud” we see something is changing also in the SMB and Mid-Market, not just in the Enterprise and Top Market, and it is changing quickly.

The Cloud is still one of the main trend in IT Market, it is more then a vogue, a new way the IT can be delivered as a service to everyone, everywhere using any device (infrastructures, platforms, applications, any IT service), moving Capex to Opex and improving the speed of the Business.

Compared to USA where an average of 70% of Companies already defined their Cloud Strategy in Europe Companies have some delay. In Europe the speed of Cloud adoption is not the same to each Country,  on the Podium we have  Finland, Iceland and Italy (and I m proud of it 🙂 ).

I think in Italy we are in a competitive position also thanks to Companies like Easycloud.it, acting as Cloud Service Broker we act as a facilitator and an accelerator for the demand generation.

But what is changing in the SMB and Mid-Market and why Companies are considering to move to the Cloud? And what they are considering to move first?

Well there is not a general answer to this question, it really depends on the CIO culture , vision and passion for innovation as well on the Property culture and vision to consider the IT as a Strategy and not just a cost.

There are Companies that are considering the Cloud as a long-term strategy to achieve YoY and there are others Companies that see the Cloud just for specific applications or needs. Of course there are still Companies , but they are becoming less year of year, with a “not to cloud” mentality, but the curiosity for Cloud is growing.

For sure in Italy and in Europe the approach is always to wait someone else to start, maybe in order  to avoid mistakes, and the approach is to start testing or considering pilot projects in order to introduce granularly the Cloud.

What Cloud Services Companies have as priority? The top three services we see of interest are:

1. Backup and Disaster Recovery in the Cloud
2. Collaboration (Audio, Video, Email, Sync&Share apps, ..)
3. Cloud Security

What CIOs expects as value from the Cloud? Essentially they expect the Cloud to keep the promise of a Service available always, easy to scale, simple to use and to manage, but at the same time they expect by the Cloud to win the challenge of cross-integration and the possibility for an hybrid strategy.

Let me give you an example. Imagine a Company with an on-premises video conferencing solution and a desktop collaboration solution, these two services don’t speak each other breaking the collaboration opportunity inside and outside the Company. Today by the Cloud Companies can use collaboration services that can work in a traditional room environment and at the same time  in a desktop or mobile environment, moving the concept of workspace to a new one where at the core of the strategy there are no more rooms or the devices, but the employees.

Another example can be the Cloud Security. Why Companies have to define policy for the Cloud, internal DCs or for a specific application? CIOs want the possibility to define the IT policies for the whole Company or for an application and to focalize on their core business; they expect if they move an application to one DC or to another or to the public Cloud to keep the IT Security security policy. Today it is possible thanks to Security in the Cloud!

What CIOs and Entrepreneurs today need is to define their strategy to the Cloud, in order to define the best and personalized Cloud Roadmap, and this is what we are doing for our Customers.

Companies need to be aware about the opportunity of the Cloud, to have a clear vision about what the Market is offering, and to define the best Cloud Roadmap; in order to achieve this goal Companies need of an independent actor , able to define the strategy understanding of business models and technology, Companies are asking the competences of a Cloud Service Broker.

Also the world of Vendors and System Integrators are moving to the Cloud; a lot of System Integrators are doing the mistake to sell the Cloud like an additional offer to their catalogue, and not as a strategy, for this reason I think a Cloud Service Broker could be useful also for System Integrators and Cloud Service Providers in order to define the best go-to-market strategy and to improve the execution in the Market.

Well at the question To Cloud or not to Cloud? I have already my answer, I have founded the first Cloud Service Broker in Italy and I will not be credible telling something like “Not to Cloud”.

If you are a “Not to Cloud” Company, please accept the challenge for a conversation with an Easycloud.it consultant and I’m sure you will change your opinion!

Kind Regards,

Alessandro Greco

founder &  ceo @easycloud.it