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Survey: E-mail, Storage Are Top IT Functions in the Cloud

Fifty-nine percent of IT and network managers in a recent survey use the cloud to support e-mail at their institution, and 41 percent for data file storage. The survey, by Extreme Networks, polled 633 IT and network managers around the globe; the majority of respondents work in small IT departments at K–12 or higher education institutions supporting about 5,000 users.

Among the findings:

  • More than 17 percent of respondents have already implemented a cloud-managed network;
  • Nearly 55 percent are investigating or plan to deploy cloud solutions within the next two years (up from 41 percent in 2016);
  • Over the next five years, 34 percent of respondents are planning to outsource their data center management, 35 percent will outsource their server management and 26 percent plan to outsource their network management;
  • Top reasons to move IT to the cloud include improved security (cited by 76 percent of respondents, enhanced access to resources from any location (60 percent) and ease of management (53 percent);
  • Perceived drawbacks of moving to the cloud include security, cost, reliability and user experience; and
  • 70 percent of respondents expect their network size to increase and 65 percent expect to support a growing number of users, while only 41 percent think their IT budget will go up and 32 percent expect an increase in IT staff.

An infographic on the survey findings is available on the Extreme Networks site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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