three in ten companies use paid cloud services

19/12/2014 15:00

According to figures released today by Statistics Netherlands, in June 2014 28 percent of companies in the Netherlands were using IT services via the internet (cloud services). These are paid services such as software, computing, and storage capacity via the internet, i.e. not present on servers or computers operated by the companies themselves.

Half of large companies in the cloud

Large companies, in particular, use cloud services. Around half of companies with at least 250 employees use the cloud. Use diminishes with company size, to around a quarter of companies with 10 to 49 employees. Cloud services are most popular in the information and communication sector, which includes telecom companies and IT services providers. A large share of these companies use the cloud. Relatively fewer companies in construction, manufacturing, transport, and hotels and restaurants use cloud services; around one fifth of companies in these sectors pay for cloud services.

Companies using cloud services, 2014

Data storage and database hosting most used services

Companies mainly use the cloud to store data and host databases. Nearly one fifth of companies uses these cloud services. Many companies also pay to use accounting software and e-mail services via the cloud. Actual computing to operate own company software via the cloud is less popular.

Paid cloud services used by companies, 2014

Quick and easy-to-use IT services

Companies report a range of advantages of using cloud services. For 62 percent of companies using these services the main reason is the quick and easy availability of IT applications. They rate this as a useful or very useful benefit of cloud services. In addition, six in ten companies using cloud services report the flexibility of being able to increase or reduce the services they use an advantage. Fewer companies report saving money by using cloud services, although nearly half the user say this is a useful or very useful aspect.

Advantages reported by companies of working in the cloud

Security risks and insufficient knowledge restrict cloud use

In June 2014, 72 percent of companies reported that they did not use cloud services. They stated a wide range of reasons for not doing so: four in ten companies were held back by supposed security risks and insufficient knowledge about the cloud. One third of companies reported high costs of the services, and uncertainty about where their data are stored and relevant legislation and regulations in the case of disputes.