Small and medium businesses that currently use cloud applications plan to add an average of three new cloud business applications in 2012, according to a survey sponsored by Dell (News - Alert) Cloud Business Applications and conducted by Techaisle.

About 70 percent of cloud services as “software as a service” apps and usage of those apps has doubled over the last two years, from an average of two apps to four, with an expectation that a typical user will be running seven apps by the end of 2012.

Customer relationship management has the highest penetration of any cloud application, at up to 55 percent, an increase of up to 34 percent from 2010. That is up from 34 percent usage in 2010.

But several other applications were not far behind. Some 54 percent of respondents use cloud-based project management apps. About 49 percent reported using business analytics on a cloud basis.  Some 48 percent use a sales automation tool; the same percentage reporting use of a cloud-based payroll app, some 43 percent

Dell notes that cloud delivery has lowered costs enough that many smaller organizations now can afford to use CRM apps. Of respondents using CRM, about 25 percent report they are likely to add business intelligence and marketing automation apps within the next 12 months.

Perhaps 50 percent of respondents noted significant challenges in keeping track of different service level agreements, while up to 48 percent complained that explaining their business to each vendor was tedious and time consuming.

As many as 74 percent of respondents use in-house information technology staff to integrate new cloud applications with on-premise technology.
On average, respondents believe they have experienced up to a 38 percent improvement in operational efficiency due to reduced manual processes and up to a 39 percent improvement in employee productivity due to automation of tasks and information.

The survey was conducted with 400 SMBs in the United States that are using at least one cloud-based business application. The survey was conducted online in December 2011 and included both IT and business decision makers. 






Edited by Jennifer Russell