Perceptions About Cloud Computing

By Stephanie Jordan
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About a year ago, I wrote Pinching Pennies with SaaS for Messaging News. At that time, I wrote:

There is a lot of talk about “cloud” computing, often being used interchangeably with the term SaaS (software-as-a-service). It is interesting to note that these terms mean different things to different people. According to IDC, cloud-based software, as well as SaaS and hosted messaging security are “essentially variations of the same thing; such software is characterized by the software, services, and support offerings that are specifically built and designed for one-to-many delivery over the Internet.”

Earlier this month results were announced from an August survey, conducted by Osterman Research and Proofpoint, Inc., which concluded that cloud computing confusion continues.

It seems that the confusion still stems from the fact that “cloud” means different things depending on definitions and perceptions assigned to the term. The contention of the survey is that this confusion may be stalling enterprise adoption of cloud computing technologies.

The uncertainty is not only among non-IT folks — although of the 200 information technology (IT) professionals that participated in the survey just 24 percent thought their CEO could define cloud computing, and 59 percent thought their CEO would fail – but also IT types too.

According to the report: “Nearly 40 percent of IT professionals answered ‘yes’ to the question, ‘when I hear the term ‘cloud computing,’ I am generally confused given the many definitions’ (52 percent answered ‘no’). Thirty-three percent believe cloud computing is more hype than substance, while 24 percent ‘weren’t sure’.”

Definitions are not the only inconsistency. Perceptions in quality also range when it comes to cloud-based offerings. “When asked about the difference in the quality of cloud-based email security services and cloud-based email archiving services, a large number of IT professionals polled believe the differences are significant,” says the report. “Forty-six percent of respondents see a significant difference between the cloud-based email security offerings on the market (19 percent do not), while 43 percent see a significant difference between the cloud-based email archiving solutions (21 percent do not).

Regarding the survey, Gary Steele, CEO of Proofpoint, comments: “The takeaway is that clearly all clouds are not created equal. Given the increasing number of SaaS email security and compliance solutions available and differences in data security, service level agreements, effectiveness and ease-of-use, enterprises must conduct their due diligence when moving these types of functions to the cloud.”

Regardless of the confusion, interest in the cloud continues to grow, aided by current economic conditions. As an example, in this month’s cover story Preserving Email Through Hosted Archiving, The Radicati Group’s  research shows that while a greater percentage of archiving solutions are deployed on-premises, “the deployment of hosted archiving solutions is growing at a faster rate than the deployment of on-premises products. Hosted services are much more affordable in the short run, which helps many companies to give them a try particularly in a slow economy.”

It will be interesting to see where we are in the definitions, perceptions and adoption of cloud-based solutions a year from now.

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Eye on Messaging is written by Stephanie Jordan, editor in chief of Messaging News. If you have story ideas or news to share, email her: sjordan [at] messagingnews [dot] com

Published November 30, 2009