Microsoft Study Tracks Steady Momentum Toward Cloud Solutions

SMBs Continue Rapid Movement to Cloud-Hosted Business VoIP

If you’ve had a chance to review Microsoft’s Hosting and Cloud Study 2014, you’ll find a most-obvious takeaway in the report’s subtitle: Hosting and Cloud Go Mainstream.  The revealing 75-page report reflects the continued rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions and outlines the IT resources that decision-makers are looking to implement in the near term. Combing through the results, we see a distinct parallel with the active movement of small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to cloud-hosted business VoIP phone solutions. Below, we’ll highlight a few points of the research and further explore why more SMBs are adopting cloud-hosted business VoIP.

Cloud Maturity, Accessibility Stand Out in Research

The study points to an increase in spending on hosted infrastructure services and a decrease in on-premise infrastructure spending. In fact, hosted cloud environments – such as the Vonage solutions’ cloud-hosted model – are expected to experience significant growth among off-premise infrastructure.

“It’s clear that we have reached a tipping point where most companies have moved beyond the discovery phase and are now moving forward with cloud deployments to deliver improved business results and capabilities,” said Microsoft VP Marco Limena, referring to the report.

Looking ahead to the next two years, SMBs within the study acknowledge several key challenges, including: “increasing customer base/market share” and “decreasing costs/issue with rising costs/cost control.” Such priorities would appear well served by increased adoption of hosted cloud services. Several points in the study also reflect the maturity of, and confidence in, cloud solutions. For example, those stating that they would recommend cloud computing to a peer most often cited “good experience/better service/it works” and “improves costs/cost effective/cheaper.”  Check out the full report.

Cloud-hosted Business VoIP “Goes Mainstream”

The Microsoft study aligns naturally with what we’re seeing in the hosted business VoIP space, as SMBs confidently step away from legacy solutions where hosting is maintained on premise. In fact, an Infonetics report last year attributed the huge boost for the VoIP services market primarily to cloud telephony and the hosted infrastructure.

Today, SMBs are moving to cloud-hosted business VoIP for a number of reasons:

SMBs are more cloud-confident. SMBs are increasingly moving all their solutions to the cloud for more streamlined operations and improved efficiency (think Salesforce.com or any other common cloud-based business tool). Confidence in the cloud is clearly on the rise, aided by more familiarity and experience among SMBs. And notable industry developments – such as Google and Microsoft’s public agreement earlier this year that the cloud is safe for businesses – further bolster trust and consideration.

The time has come for cloud-hosted business VoIP. Hosted VoIP is evolving from a once-disruptive solution to one that is mature, defined and confidently used by SMBs as a business advantage. It allows for more business phone features than were ever possible with traditional wire-based service – such as superior teleworking and mobility features, desktop plugins, and training and compliance features. The Vonage business phone system is an extremely reliable example of hosted VoIP. The system has been in place since 2006 and has matured into an industry-leading solution.

Business VoIP levels the playing field for SMBs. Cloud-hosted business VoIP technology empowers SMBs with a more-capable solution, with efficiencies that were once available only to larger enterprises. With hosting services administered within the secure private cloud setting – instead of on premise with equipment and maintenance obligations – hosted cloud solutions are also delivering substantial savings for the SMB. Now, there’s no need for a dedicated IT team, and the old closetful of equipment becomes a remnant of the past.

Closing Thoughts

We find research like the Microsoft study particularly encouraging for small to mid-sized businesses aspiring to streamline and grow their businesses. When businesses have access to, and confidence in, the marketplace’s premier cloud-based tools – anything is possible.  And when we witness businesses thriving with our cloud-hosted business VoIP phone system, it’s a particular source of pride.

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