Odin. SMB Cloud InsightsTM UNITED STATES

Transcription

1 Odin 2015 SMB Cloud InsightsTM UNITED STATES

2 DEFINITIONS SMBs Defined We define SMBs also known as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as companies with one to 999 employees. There are around 7 million SMBs in the United States today. SMB categories include micro (1-19 employees), small (20-99 employees), and medium ( employees). Cloud Opportunities Cloud leapers: SMBs that are not currently using an in-house IT solution (no servers, web servers, or PBX systems) and are likely to move straight to the cloud, i.e., leaping over in-house IT solutions. Cloud converters: SMBs with in-house solutions but moving or planning to move to hosted services. For example, an SMB with in-house servers who is planning to switch to hosted servers when they next upgrade their infrastructure. Cloud Services Defined This research focuses on the cloud services that matter most to SMBs: IaaS, web presence and web applications, unified communications, and other general business applications. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS): Cloud servers, dedicated servers, virtual private servers (VPS), fully managed hosting, as well as add-on applications and services for hosted infrastructure such as control panels, development platforms, LAMP stack, security, and server backup. Web presence and web applications: Third-party web hosting, domain registration, and web applications including web server backup, content delivery networks (CDN), content management systems (CMS), e-commerce, site health monitoring, mobile optimization tools, search engine optimization (SEO), site-building tools, SSL, web server backup, and web server security. Unified communications: Business-class services including security, and archiving, along with mobility and hosted business voice services such as hosted PBX. Includes communication and collaboration applications such as web and phone conferencing, instant collaboration, and mobile device management (MDM). Business applications (also known as software-as-a-service or SaaS): The major types of software applications that can be accessed online such as file sharing, online accounting, online backup and storage, online customer relationship management (CRM), payroll and human resources (HR), support and help desk, and virtual desktop (VDI).

3 United States Overall SMB Cloud Services Market $24B 2014 $25.2B 2015 Odin SMB Cloud Insights has entered our fifth year of research into the consumption of cloud services by small and medium businesses (SMBs). Globally and locally, we are finding that SMBs from a variety of sectors are moving their business functions into the cloud. Tools and solutions that were previously reserved for enterprise-level organizations are being implemented in smaller firms as developers create services specifically for the SMB market. Our research is intended to help cloud service providers take advantage of market trends to meet the evolving needs of their SMB customers. New to this year s research is a lifecycle approach or an exploration of how SMBs buy, use, and experience cloud services. Understanding these trends will help service providers build successful relationships with their customers. $9.4B $3.2B $6.3B $6.3B Infrastructure-asa-service Web presence Unified communications Business applications 1

4 INFRASTRUCTURE-AS-A-SERVICE (IaaS) The 2015 US overall cloud services market for SMBs is $25.2B. This represents more than 7 million SMBs that annually spend an average of $3,323 on their cloud services. 32% of Total Server Add-ons SMBs have in-house by Industry servers 4% of SMBs have both hosted and in-house servers. Top Barriers to IaaS Price 48% Security and privacy Legacy systems and other tech concerns 34% 24% The US IaaS market grew 12% from $8.4B in 2014 to $9.4B in This market represents the 2.4 million SMBs that use a hosted or cloud server, including virtual private servers (VPS). Growth over the past year is the result of a strong US economy and the movement of SMBs from in-house servers to hosted servers. This section explores the hesitations SMBs have when moving to the cloud and how cloud-enabled SMBs are using their IaaS. US SMBs are evenly split between hosted and in-house servers. This is a shift from 2014, when in-house servers were more popular. Among SMBs with in-house servers, price and security concerns are the top barriers to moving to a hosted solution. Price is also the most significant factor for cloud-enabled SMBs in choosing their IaaS provider. Conclusion: Service providers can attract and retain more customers by offering competitive pricing and robust security systems. When SMBs move to IaaS, they use multiple sources to compare available offerings. Online research is the most common source for researching and purchasing IaaS, which demonstrates the importance of a strong web presence for service providers. 2

5 Our research indicates that SMBs use in-house and hosted servers differently. Hosted servers are used for a variety of workloads, with the most common being content management systems and e-commerce. However, in-house servers are used heavily for a few specific workloads such as ERP and payroll. We expect that hosted servers will continue to rise in popularity as existing in-house hardware reaches its end of life and the cost benefits of IaaS become more apparent. Buying IaaS 32% Total Server Add-ons of SMBs use hosted by Industry servers Top Purchase Triggers for IaaS 1 2 Business model changed In-house servers did not do enough or had too many challenges IaaS Research Methods 30% 26% 20% 19% Online research Trusted advisor Local IT resource Industry news 53% of SMBs use at least two sources to research IaaS Total Server Add-ons by Industry 3

6 IaaS is Purchased from Web hoster Local IT resource (VAR) Pure cloud provider Telco/cable co 47% 21% 10% 6% Purchase Method 47% Online 22% Phone 13% VAR 10% Direct sales Most Important Factor in Choosing a Service Provider 36% Price 21% Existing relationship 15% Ease of management 14% Security 4

7 Using IaaS Top Workloads in Production 32% 26% Content management 29% 10% E-commerce systems 25% 32% 23% 28% Database applications CRM 19% 47% Project management/ productivy tools 17% 55% ERP Hosted 17% 16% 15% 44% Business intelligence/ analytics In-house Payroll/ HR admin Top Hosted Server Add-ons 28% 51% 53% 27% 37% 54% 23% 40% 40% 6% 18% 27% 5% 10% 20% Security Server backup Control panel Development platform Micro Small Medium LAMP stack 5

8 Customer Experience 79% of SMBs have a positive opinion of their IaaS provider Total Server Add-ons by Industry Areas for Improvement Performance Support experience Security vulnerabilities Self-service administration Usability 23% 22% 21% 18% 16% 54% 47% of SMBs would pay an additional $10 per month for unlimited storage of SMBs would pay an additional $10 per month for high availability How SMBs are Resolving Issues 6 Exploring alternative options Escalating with the vendor Moving in-house Cancelling the service 50% 32% 12% 6%

9 The vast majority of SMBs are pleased with their IaaS service provider. However, this does not mean that service providers should stop improving. Overall, SMBs would like to see improvements in performance, support, and security from their service providers. Specific to server add-ons, security and backup are the most important areas, although all add-ons will see growth over the next three years. Continuous improvement is particularly critical due to the competitive nature of the IaaS market and the willingness of SMBs to switch service providers. Looking toward 2018, the US IaaS market will grow at a CAGR of 7.8% and reach $11.8B. Despite the increased maturity of the market, opportunities for service providers still exist. The greatest of these opportunities will come from SMBs that switch from in-house servers to hosted servers. IaaS Opportunities through 2018 $9.4B $11.8B % CAGR Probability of Entering the Cloud Market 26% 35% Cloud leapers (New adoption) Cloud converters (Switch from in-house) 7

10 WEB PRESENCE The US web presence market is valued at $3.2B in 2015 and represents the 5.5 million SMBs with a website. Over the past year, the number of SMBs with websites has remained constant. Due to the relatively low price of basic web hosting, 84% of SMBs currently use a third-party hoster. This has simultaneously encouraged SMBs to be extremely price-sensitive when choosing their hoster. 16% of SMBs have websites hosted in-house. Of those, 62% plan to add a third-party hosted website within three years. 16% 84% 84% of SMBs have a website hosted by a third-party. Buying a Website Key Factors in Choosing a Web Hoster 62% Price 32% Customer experience 23% 17% Existing relationship Security Website Service Provider 76% 5% 4% 4% Web hoster Local IT consultant Telco Pure cloud provider 8

11 Top Purchase Method 1 57% Online 2 20% Over Phone 3 15% Direct sales Building a Website 57% of SMBs build their website in-house 38% of in-house used a site builder 43% of in-house used a third-party web designer Mobile Optimized Website 30% Mobile optimized 34% 36% Displays on mobile without optimization Only displays properly on a computer 9

12 Website Management Top Website Add-ons 36% 47% 26% 41% 24% 39% 20% 32% 15% 35% 13% 35% SEO Backup Security SSL E-commerce Content management Add-on Purchase Location Web hoster: bundles with website purchase Third-party provider Web hoster: returned after website purchase Directly from the application developer 42% 25% 19% 14% (61% from web hoster) Type of Management 17% 12% Third-party 12% of SMBs plan to move to third-party management within the next three years. 83% In-house 10

13 Customer Experience 75% of SMBs have a positive opinion of their web hoster Total Server Add-ons by Industry Areas for Improvement 27% 36% 24% 44% 18% 12% 15% 17% 13% 32% Performance Support experience Self-service administration Usability Security vulnerabilities Micro/small Medium How SMBs are Resolving Issues 50% 38% 8% 5% Exploring alternative options Escalating with the vendor Moving in-house Cancelling the service 11

14 Due to this highly competitive market, service providers can increase their margins and incremental value by offering site building tools and website add-ons. For example, SEO, backup, and security are currently the most popular website add-ons and will continue to be popular through Our research shows that web hosters are uniquely positioned to sell these additional tools and services, with 61% of such sales made through the web hoster. Many SMBs at least 75% are pleased with their web hoster. However, there is still room for improvement. Micro and small businesses would like to see enhanced performance while medium businesses would prefer stronger customer service and security. Service providers should work to address these concerns because half of SMBs are exploring other options, or in other words, they are willing to switch service providers if their concerns are not resolved. Looking toward 2018, the market will maintain steady growth at a CAGR of 6.3%. High-touch and built-out services will help drive growth from SMBs with in-house hosted websites or without websites. 12

15 Web Presence Opportunities through % CAGR $3.2B $3.8B Probability of Entering the Cloud Market 33% 62% Cloud leapers (New adoption) Cloud converters (Switch from in-house) 13

16 UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS , phone, and new types of web-based communications are critical to the operations of most US businesses. Not surprisingly, cloud-based communication tools have been developed for SMBs, and many firms are moving their traditional communication tools to the cloud. Type of Business 65% 23% Hosted by a service provider Free service 7% Hosted by an in-house server Top Purchase Triggers for Premium Hosted Good price point Need professional look and feel Increased need for security 77% 54% of SMBs have a positive opinion of their service provider of third-party hosted is bundled with website hosting or a hosted server 14

17 Top Areas for Improvement Self-service administration Security Performance Usability 25% 22% 18% 15% How SMBs are Resolving Issues 1 Exploring alternative options 2 Escalating with the vendor 3 Moving service in-house is used by 95% of US SMBs with the majority hosted in the cloud. Free services, such as Gmail and Yahoo!, hold similar market share with paid hosting. Many SMBs are willing to pay for hosted , but the price and features must be attractive enough to switch from free offerings. More than 75% of SMBs with paid hosted are pleased with their service. However, self-service administration is the primary area that SMBs would like improved. Service providers should consider this when deciding which brands of hosted to offer or resell. 15

18 HOSTED BUSINESS VOICE SERVICES 3.4 million 2.8 million 1.4 million 45% 37% 18% of SMBs do not have business voice services of SMBs have in-house business voice services of SMBs have hosted business voice services Main Barriers to Hosted Business Voice Services 53% 46% 17% 13% Price Lack of knowledge about hosted business voice services Concerns about complexity Technical concerns Top Purchase Triggers for Hosted Business Voice Service 1 Significant growth to business 2 Good price point 3 Current phone system becomes outdated 16

19 Purchase Location Telco or cable company service provider Web hoster 42% 23% 11% Top Features that Improve Customer Satisfaction 1 2 Integration with employer s mobile devices Instant messaging presence Top Features that Improve Productivity 1 2 Single number reach Smartphone client 76% of SMBs are satisfied with their hosted business voice service provider 17

20 Top Areas for Improvement Support experience 42% Performance Security 31% 14% How SMBs are Resolving Issues Escalating with the vendor Exploring alternative options Moving service in-house Eighty-two percent of SMBs do not use hosted business voice services (traditionally referred to as PBX services). Price and lack of knowledge are the largest barriers to adopting this cloud service. Service providers with cloud customers can use multiple channels (including online, phone, and support) to educate and eventually sell to their customers. Growth in this market will primarily come from SMBs with in-house voice services that are switching to a cloud solution. 18

21 Collaboration Applications Communications Applications through % 41% 24% 27% 2% 6% Instant collaboration Web conferencing Mobile device management

22 Communication applications offer strong opportunities for service providers in the coming years. Currently, 3 million SMBs use instant collaboration and 1.7 million use web conferencing. By 2018, there will be 3.5 million and 2.5 million users of these applications, respectively. Service providers should note that the freemium model (offering a free basic service with paid premium features) is working because as the overall user base expands, the paying user base also expands. Over the next three years, this market will expand at a CAGR of 4.7% and reach $7.3B. Service providers who can educate potential customers about their value proposition, potentially with a free trial or freemium service model, will be able to take advantage of this growth. Unified Communications Opportunity through 2018 $6.3B $7.3B % CAGR Probability of Entering the Cloud Market 33% 22% 34% 37% Cloud leapers (New adoptions) Cloud converters (Switch from in-house) Business voice services 20

23 BUSINESS APPLICATIONS The business applications market is currently $6.3B. Over the past year, more SMBs entered the cloud while the number of SMBs without any SaaS dropped from 32% to 28%. This change has been a result of declining costs, development of SMB-specific services, and a deeper understanding of SaaS by SMBs. Researching Options Business Application Research Methods 32% 28% 15% 15% 8% Trusted advisor Web searching Local IT resource Industry news Existing service provider Most Important Factors in Choosing Business Applications 31% Price 30% Features and capabilities 29% Business need 10% Customer experience 21

24 Trial Software Free Trial Usage 52% Purchased without a free trial 48% Purchased after a free trial Purchasing Preferred Purchase Location 40% 22% 10% 8% No preference Directly from developer Local IT consultant Web hoster Bundling 13% Within bundle 87% Separate from bundle 22

25 Bundled with Broadband provider Hosted server Other business applications 36% 35% of SMBs would like their cloud services to integrate with single sign-on of SMBs would like their cloud services to share data with each other SMBs gain product knowledge through a variety of resources, with IT advisors and web searching being the most common. Service providers should educate and market to IT professionals while developing a web presence that is highly accessible to the SMB user. The purchase location for business applications is not a high priority for SMBs. Other considerations, such as price and features, are more important which indicates that service providers can provide a tangible advantage by offering bundles. 23

26 SaaS Usage through % 39% File sharing 27% 30% Online backup and storage 28% 30% 28% 30% Payroll and HR Online accounting 8% 10% 7% 9% 6% 8% VDI Support and help desk Online CRM 24

27 The most popular cloud application used by SMBs is file sharing but only 17% of SMBs pay for this service. Contrastingly, online CRM is used by only 6% of SMBs but 83% of users pay for this service. Online accounting and payroll/hr have landed in the ideal location, with both a high usage and a high proportion of paying customers, with each having more than 1.7M paying customers. Over the next three years, the business applications market will see significant growth. Online CRM will be a major player in this field, growing at a CAGR of 27% and adding 417,000 paid users by Online backup will be another application to watch as it will add 370,000 paid users by Overall, the market will grow at a CAGR of 23.9% to $12B by Business Applications Opportunity through 2018 $12B 2018 $6.3B % CAGR 25

28 Overall The overall cloud service market in the United States will grow at a CAGR of 11.4% and reach $34.9B by This growth is fueled by the increased development of SMB-focused cloud services and a growing demand by SMBs. Service providers will maintain their customer base and gain market share if they answer customer concerns across all possible channels and offer competitive pricing. Cloud Market Opportunity through 2018 $11.8B $12.0B 7.8% CAGR $7.3B 4.7% CAGR 23.9% CAGR $3.8B 6.3% CAGR $9.4B $3.2B $6.3B IaaS Web presence Unified communications $6.3B Business applications Overall Opportunity through % CAGR $25.2B $34.9B

29 Learn More This report covers only a portion of the extensive data included in Odin SMB Cloud Insights research. Please contact SMB@odin.com with any further questions. Odin is committed to helping our partners understand the best opportunities in the SMB cloud market. About Odin Odin provides the software that powers the cloud ecosystem, from small and local hosters to some of the world s largest telecommunication companies. By partnering with Odin, service providers gain access to industry expertise, a catalog of the most in-demand cloud applications, and the most comprehensive selection of software including web server management, server virtualization, provisioning, and billing automation. With offices in 15 countries, Odin supports more than 10,000 service providers in delivering applications and cloud services to more than 10 million SMBs. For more information, visit follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook Parallels IP Holdings GmbH. All rights reserved. Odin and the Odin logo are trademarks of Parallels IP Holdings GmbH. No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted without the express written consent of Parallels. 27

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