Cloud and virtualisation eclipse other
technologies in 2011
Consumer devices yet to be accepted by IT departments
Technologies based on cloud and virtualisation have had by far the biggest positive impact on businesses in 2011, according to the latest research* from BT Engage IT, the IT services division of BT Business.
Of the CIOs questioned by independent research agency Vanson Bourne, 70 per cent said that virtualisation and cloud-based technologies had the biggest positive impact on their businesses in the last year, compared with only 13 per cent who believed it was mobile technology.
Despite much hype surrounding the consumerisation of IT, only seven per cent of respondents said employees using their consumer devices in a work environment had had a positive impact on their business, a figure which dropped to three per cent when not talking specifically about devices such as tablets.
Interestingly, for smaller firms the gap is even greater. 76 per cent of CIO’s from companies with 1,000 to 3,000 employees said cloud and virtualisation had had the biggest positive impact. None of the smaller organisations identified the use of consumer devices.
When split across vertical sectors, the results paint a strikingly similar story. A similar amount of respondents from the manufacturing, financial services and retail, distribution and transport sectors credit the positive impact to virtualisation and cloud. Where these sectors differ most noticeably is in their view of consumer devices and tablets, with 16 per cent in financial services citing these as the most positive versus only four per cent in all other sectors.
John Thornhill, CEO, BT Engage IT, said: “The research shows that we’re nearing the end of the hype for cloud and virtualisation. The industry has been talking about them for a number of years – and they’ve become business, rather than just technology terms – but companies are now using these technologies in earnest. Talking to our customers, the ‘positive impacts’ referred to by CIOs in the survey could be a range of things – cost savings, productivity gains or even improved levels of customer service. Whatever it means for companies, it’s clear that cloud and virtualisation are maturing as technologies, and now delivering real business benefits.”
* Independent research by Vanson Bourne in November 2011, commissioned by BT Engage IT, which interviewed 100 CIOs and senior IT decision makers within UK enterprises (1,000+ employees) split across financial services, manufacturing, retail, distribution and transport, and other commercial sectors
