October 14, 2010 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Cloud enablement leader,
Parallels today released the results of recent research that indicates over eight in ten (84%) respondents believe APAC small businesses are likely to adopt Cloud computing services in the next three years. The research was conducted amongst delegates at the recent Parallels APAC Summit in Singapore. Attendees unanimously agreed that Cloud computing is set to transform IT operations for small businesses in APAC.
Almost three quarters of those surveyed (68%) agreed that Cloud computing will be an influential factor in driving efficiency and profitability amongst small businesses in APAC in the next 12 months. When asked about the specific benefits that the Cloud has to offer, 69% agreed that scalable flexibility is the biggest advantage that Cloud services can bring to small business IT, while 60% cite cost reduction as a key factor in the uptake of Cloud computing.
While the focus fell on driving efficiency through service automation at the vendor level, participants of the Summit were keen to discuss which Cloud services are likely to take off fastest amongst small businesses in APAC. While over half (52%) of respondents agreed that Virtualised Infrastructure services will fuel adoption of Cloud computing, 44% believed that Shared Web Hosting services will also prove a hit with small businesses in the region. Messaging and collaboration applications are also likely to gain traction in coming months, according to 42% of delegates.
“We were absolutely thrilled to welcome some of the region’s brightest minds to participate in this year’s APAC Summit, and with over 300 delegates in attendance from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, India and Japan, we felt a huge buzz of excitement regarding the future of the Cloud services industry in Asia,” said Jan-Jaap Jager, Vice President and General Manager APAC, Parallels.
He continues: “All signs point towards the expansion of the market in this region. For example, Go Daddy took an important step by underscoring its expansion into Asia with the announcement of a new data centre in Singapore, and analysts from Tier1 Research, IDC and Springboard pointed to evolving market models including the entrance of telcos into the Cloud space.”
In accordance with the speakers and panelists at the Summit, seven out of ten respondents (70%) agreed that small businesses should choose the public Cloud over private Cloud because it reduces the need for dedicated IT support, and 40% reiterated the benefits of cost savings that the public Cloud can bring to the small business sector. In addition, over one third (36%) of respondents believed that there is a much wider range of applications available in the public Cloud.
Speakers at the Summit included executives from Microsoft, Go Daddy, VeriSign and Open-Xchange, covering topics as diverse as the standardisation of Cloud services across markets, security, and growth strategies for Cloud Service Providers targeting the small business market that will help them profit from the Cloud. The Saturday panel discussion featuring speakers from PacHosting, Webvisions, Directi, AussieHQ and Tsukaeru.net further explored Cloud strategy including the need to compete in a niche market versus the advantages of providing a full service portfolio.
“The networking sessions were also a great success. We cannot underestimate the need for Cloud service providers to partner with one another to foster industry innovation. Since Parallels is the leader of Cloud services enablement, our value lies in connecting people and ideas, and I believe that we were really able to move boundaries with the quality of discussion generated by the attendees of the APAC Summit this year,” added John Eng, Vice President of Marketing & Alliances APAC, Parallels.
Daryl Webb, Executive Director, Webvisions (Singapore) says: “We come to the Parallels APAC Summit for networking with other Cloud Service Providers from markets around Asia, to learn how we can help each other to come up with new ideas, and to create new partnerships. Parallels is open to creating dialogue; they are not talking to us, they're talking with us, and we find that extremely valuable, I would definitely recommend that others in the Cloud industry attend the event next year!”
“This is the best event for the hosting industry in Asia. It was definitely worth the trip for our team. If you have any part to play in the Asian hosting market, from the perspective of networking and understanding the dynamics of the market, it's very necessary to be at the event”, concludes Sandeep Ramchandani of Logic Boxes (India).
About Parallels
Parallels is a global leader in virtualization and automation software that optimizes computing for consumers, businesses, and Cloud services providers across all major hardware, operating systems, and virtualization platforms. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with more than 700 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.
