The Australian Bureau of Statistics adds Cloud adoption data

Summary

This blog post, "The Australian Bureau of Statistics adds Cloud adoption data", is a blueAPACHE article from 2015 covering cloud. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the latest ‘Business Use of Information Technology’ data (ABS 8129.0), which includes data on the usage of cloud computing for the first time. It is written for readers evaluating emPOWER Cloud, Storage as a Service (Private S3). The cloud infrastructure considerations it raises, around resilience, scalability and management overhead, remain relevant to organisations evaluating or operating cloud environments today.

Key facts

Article

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the latest ‘Business Use of Information Technology’ data (ABS 8129.0), which includes data on the usage of cloud computing for the first time. The report shows that over 19 percent of Australian businesses used ‘paid cloud computing’ as at 30 June 2014. And this is where the value of data comes into question. In such a fast moving sector where we are seeing significant growth and rapid adoption, the data provided by the ABS is lagging far behind. Of more value is the data proffered deeper in the report. In adoption per sector, it shows that proportion of businesses paying for cloud changes significantly by industry – from 43.1 percent in Information Media and Telecommunications to just 9.1 percent in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. There is significant (although expected) variance in adoption depending on the size of the business – 37 percent of larger organisations (more than two hundred employees) have adopted paid cloud computing, compared to 16 percent of businesses with less than five employees. The data also delved into what the 19 percent of organisations are using cloud for:

• Over 86 percent are using cloud applications (Software as a Service).
• Near 10 percent are using cloud computing to run their own applications.
• Over 56 percent are using it for storage.

The core benefits of cloud adoption were identified as:

• Over 47 percent identified the simplicity of deployment of cloud-based solutions.
• Over 46 percent noted the increased productivity.
• Over 34 percent claimed a reduction in IT costs.
• Over 33 percent said the flexibility to either up-scale or down-scale services was a key benefit.

The key barriers to cloud were:

• Near 59 percent claimed there were no factors limited or prevented the use of paid cloud computing.
• Over 22 percent responded that an insufficient knowledge of cloud computing services was prohibitive.
• Near 11 percent stated that the high cost of cloud computing services was a challenge.
• Over 10 percent identified that the uncertainty about the location of data was their barrier to entry.

While we believe the overall cloud adoption rate is well out of date, there are some interesting insights to be found deeper in the data. To access the ABS report, click here. To learn more about private, public and hybrid Cloud, contact the blueAPACHE Cloud team.

Related

• emPOWER Cloud
• emPOWER Cloud (pillar hub)
• Storage as a Service (Private S3)

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of Australian businesses used paid cloud computing as at 30 June 2014, per the ABS report cited in this post?

The post says the ABS report shows over 19 percent of Australian businesses used paid cloud computing as at 30 June 2014.

Which industry had the highest cloud adoption rate in the ABS data, and which had the lowest?

The post says Information Media and Telecommunications had the highest adoption rate at 43.1 percent, while Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing had the lowest at just 9.1 percent.

How did cloud adoption vary by business size, according to the ABS data cited in this post?

The post says 37 percent of larger organisations with more than 200 employees had adopted paid cloud computing, compared to 16 percent of businesses with fewer than 5 employees.

What were the 19 percent of cloud-adopting businesses mainly using cloud computing for, per the ABS data?

The post says over 86 percent were using cloud applications (Software as a Service), near 10 percent were using cloud computing to run their own applications, and over 56 percent were using it for storage.

What core benefits of cloud adoption did the ABS report identify, according to the post?

The post lists simplicity of deployment (over 47 percent), increased productivity (over 46 percent), reduction in IT costs (over 34 percent), and flexibility to scale services up or down (over 33 percent).

What percentage of businesses said nothing limited or prevented their use of paid cloud computing?

The post says near 59 percent of respondents claimed there were no factors that limited or prevented the use of paid cloud computing.

What barriers to cloud adoption did the ABS data identify, per the post?

The post lists insufficient knowledge of cloud computing services (over 22 percent), the high cost of cloud services (near 11 percent), and uncertainty about the location of data (over 10 percent) as the key barriers identified.

What criticism does blueAPACHE make of the ABS cloud adoption data in this post?

The post argues that in such a fast-moving sector with significant growth and rapid adoption, the ABS data lags far behind, and that the overall 19 percent adoption figure is well out of date even though some of the deeper insights in the report remain interesting.

Source

• origin post (2015)

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