What benefit do SMEs see for their business in the use of cloud computing? To answer this question and in cooperation with SAP AG, the University of Paderborn and itelligence AG, recently analysed the current and planned use of cloud computing in the SME sector by means of an empirical online survey.
There are still many companies with concerns regarding the use of business-process-relevant services from the cloud, but the SME sector is generally quite open to technical developments. What are the reasons for this discrepancy?
Competitive opportunities with cloud computing
The German SME sector generally sees technical developments in a positive way. What, then, are the current challenges associated with the use of cloud computing? To answer this question, a research team, comprised of participants from the University of Paderborn and itelligence has analysed the responses of 244 participants working in IT in the SME sector. One third of the respondents belonged to companies employing between 501 and 2,500 employees and about half of the respondents worked in companies with annual revenues from 51 to 500 million euros.
Dries Guth, Program Manager SAP Technology Consulting, itelligence AG says: „Above all our customers see improvements in scalability as a key benefit of cloud solutions. For us this means that we need to tailor the way we present the advantages of cloud solutions to each individual customer according to their particular patterns of usage and thereby strengthen the growth potential of our customers through the strategic use of cloud solutions.“
According to the companies surveyed, it is crucial that cloud computing is compatible with existing IT requirements and regulations and that this is a key criterion for or against the active use of the cloud. It appears to be particularly important to decision-makers that consistency with current IT strategy and the existing IT landscape is maintained. Just over half of respondents believe that the integration of cloud solutions leads to the improvement of business processes.
Almost three quarters of respondents can imagine putting integrative process interfaces in the cloud, for example, to external partners, trading platforms or web-based service providers.
Wolfgang Kröner, Global Head SAP Cloud Solutions, itelligence AG says: „Currently we are finding that medium-sized companies in Germany are particularly likely to equip their international offices with SAP cloud solutions, if they expect high growth in revenues or employees. The use of cloud solutions allows our clients to structure their IT solutions both very quickly and at the same time sustainably through the use of standard processes.“
As an international IT full-service provider, itelligence offers an extensive and complex range of cloud services worldwide. These range from custom-tailored solutions for individual departments, such as the Line-of-Business Solutions, SAP Cloud for Customer or SuccessFactors to complete cloud ERP systems. The advantage is that the customer’s existing system landscape can link the cloud services hosted in itelligence’s data centres in North America, Europe or Asia with relevant cloud services such as SAP HANA Cloud Integration (HCI). Comprehensive and global cloud application management support is one of the keys to permanently successful customer relationships.