In partnership with the TechSoup Global Network 2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey Results

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1 In partnership with the TechSoup Global Network 2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey Results The Significance of Cloud Computing in the Social Benefit Sector: A Survey of 10,500 Nonprofits, Charities, and NGOs from 88 Countries on Barriers and Motivators in Cloud Computing September 2012

2 Copyright, Licensing, and Terms of Use 2012 Global Cloud Survey Results is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. Copyright 2012 TechSoup Global. To request permission for use beyond what is permitted by this license, please Terms of Use: The original collector of the data, TechSoup Global, bears no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.

3 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 2 Full Report Introduction Terminology and Definitions About the Survey Respondent Demographics Cloud Computing Usage Is High Overall How NGOs Use Cloud Computing Administration and Ease of Use, Cost, and Partnership Opportunities Reported as the Primary Advantages of Cloud Computing Lack of Knowledge Is the Greatest Reported Barrier to Cloud Computing Adoption Do NGOs Plan to Move Their IT to the Cloud? What Would Increase Cloud Computing Use? Reported Motivators Costs, Training, and Data Issues Cited as Current IT Challenges, Regardless of Cloud Computing Use Conclusion Appendix About TechSoup Global and the TechSoup Global Network Methodology App Usage Detail Tables Survey Instrument Our Sponsors Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

4 Executive Summary In February and March, 2012, the TechSoup Global Network conducted a survey of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) 1 around the world to better understand current cloud computing usage and future plans for cloud computing adoption. Cloud computing is a significant change to the information technology (IT) 2 paradigm one that has already arrived, or is coming soon, in all parts of the world. This technology advance, combined with increased computing mobility and configurability of software and services, represents an opportunity for increased effectiveness inside organizations, sharing applications and services between organizations, and a deeper level of information sharing and access to data across the sector as a whole. However, taking advantage of these opportunities requires an accurate understanding of their benefits, costs, and barriers to use. The information in this report highlights these benefits, costs, and barriers to empower NGOs to make sound decisions about cloud computing adoption and usage. This information will also help capacity-building organizations, funders, corporate donors, and partners develop programs that appropriately maximize the potential of these technologies. Cloud Computing Survey Key Findings 90% of respondents worldwide are using cloud computing. 60% say lack of knowledge is the greatest barrier. 79% say the greatest advantage is easier software/ hardware administration. 47% say cost-related changes and ease of setup would be the greatest motivators for moving their IT to the cloud. 53% report plans to move a "significant portion" of their IT to the cloud within three years. 1 Various terms are used to refer to our target audience, including NGO, community benefit organization (CBO), civil society organization (CSO), charity, nonprofit, and social benefit organization (SBO). We have chosen to use "NGO" as an umbrella term for the sector in this report. 2 "IT" refers to the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, hardware, and networks. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is another commonly used term Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

5 Our survey joins other surveys, such as the Nonprofit Technology Network s (NTEN s) U.S. nonprofitfocused 2012 State of the Nonprofit Cloud Report 3, in providing baseline information for NGOs that are making decisions about cloud computing adoption. Using the data we gathered in our survey, TechSoup Global will work in concert with our network of partner organizations, corporate donors, and foundations to improve content and programming in all the areas in which we operate. About the Survey TechSoup Global operates programs in Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East through a network of independent capacity-building NGOs. We promoted this survey through the 36 partner organizations < of the TechSoup Global Network using a variety of methods, including outreach to the network's more than 200,000 registered member organizations. The broad reach of the TechSoup Global Network allowed us to translate the survey into 21 languages 4 and generated more than 10,500 responses from NGOs in 88 countries. This includes robust base sizes (more than 100 responses) from 26 countries around the world. Details on responses by country are available in the appendix of the full report. This large sample size enables us to examine differences by geography, organization size, and other factors in a meaningful way. We are reporting our results at a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of +/- 1% for all global results. The margin of error for regional results ranges from a low of +/- 1.6% for U.S./Canada to a maximum of +/- 5% for Latin America, Africa, and Australia/New Zealand. 92% of survey respondents described themselves as partly or solely responsible for IT decision-making in their organization. We believe this means that the vast majority of survey respondents are knowledgeable representatives of their organizations perspectives on cloud computing. 3 The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) is a U.S.-based nonprofit capacity-building and education organization. Its 2012 State of the Nonprofit Cloud Report, which includes survey results from U.S. nonprofits, is available for download at: < 4 The 21 languages used in the survey were: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

6 Survey Respondents by Country 100+ Responses Responses Less than 10 Responses 88 Countries 10,593 Responses Executive Summary Figure 1: Number of respondents by country captured by IP address. (N=10,593) Respondents represented a wide range of organizational mission types, from social benefit activities to poverty relief to faith-based activities. The most represented NGO mission types were education organizations (13%), social benefit activities (10%), disability (8%), and health services and related activities (8%). Our survey was performed online using FluidSurveys, a product donated by Chide.it, a TechSoup Global donor partner. We contracted with survey experts George Perlov Consulting and S. Radoff Associates to help us design, conduct, and analyze the results of this survey to ensure the validity of the findings Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

7 Despite High Cloud Computing Usage Overall, Penetration Is Relatively Low for Most Categories of Cloud-Based Apps Our survey found that the vast majority of NGO respondents are already using cloud-based services. In fact, 90% of respondents worldwide indicated using at least one cloud-based application. We defined "cloud usage" as using one or more cloud-based applications to perform a particular function, using specific cloud vendors, or using specific branded cloud-based applications. For example, a respondent would be considered a "cloud user" if they reported using a cloud-based application to manage projects, such as Basecamp. We did not include typical browsing and Internet searching as a category of usage and therefore do not include that in our analysis. Regional Perspective: Responses to this survey indicate relatively high adoption of cloud-based applications across all geographic regions, with a high of 93% for the U.S./Canada and Australia/New Zealand and a low of 83% for India. Cloud Penetration: We calculated "cloud penetration" to determine the percentage of organizations that are using a cloud-based application to perform a particular function compared to those that are using any kind of application cloud-based or not to perform that function. We found that cloud penetration ranges from a low of 10% for billing and invoicing to a high of 100% for several categories of apps that are essentially defined by the cloud, such as collaboration software and web conferencing. The median penetration level of the cloud-based apps we measured in the survey was relatively low, only 24%. Defining the Cloud The definition of cloud computing we used in the survey was: Cloud computing allows you to access software via the Internet instead of from your hard drive or your local computer network. When you use cloud-based software, it is available anywhere you can use the Internet not just in your office Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

8 NGOs Report Using Complex Tools in the Cloud While cloud app usage overall is high, those statistics do not address how heavily NGOs are involved with cloud computing. To better understand this, we looked at which cloud-based apps NGOs reported they are already using: Organizations reported using an average of three to four types of cloud-based apps. However, 35% of organizations reported using only one to two types of cloud-based apps. The cloud-based services cited most frequently by respondents were (55%), social networking/web 2.0 (47%), file storage/sharing (26%), web conferencing (24%), and office productivity (23%). The specific cloud-based apps most often used were Facebook (70%), Gmail (63%), and Skype (50%). Interestingly, when we asked respondents if they were using a specific cloud-based app (such as Skype), responses were different than when we asked if they used a cloud-based app to perform a particular function (such as web conferencing). For example, while 24% of respondents said they were using cloud-based web conferencing, 55% of respondents said they were using WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, ReadyTalk, or Skype. This discrepancy seems to be a further indication of lack of knowledge about cloud computing. 9% of cloud-using respondents were only using a basic or "lightweight" cloud-based application, such as social networking, SMS/text messaging, or office productivity. The remaining 91% of respondents who used cloud-based apps were using at least one cloudbased tool that was more complex. Current Cloud-Based Application Usage and Future Adoption Plans The number of cloud-based applications currently in use by an organization is important because it seems to relate to NGOs' reported perspective on cloud computing. Specifically, our data indicates that the more cloud-based apps respondents say are being used at their organization, the more advantages they report to using cloud computing and the faster their reported timeframe is for adopting cloud-based apps in the future. NTEN reported similar findings in its report on U.S. nonprofits, saying that "once a nonprofit starts using one cloud software solution, it's likely to use more." Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

9 Reported Major Barriers to Cloud Computing Adoption Our survey found that lack of knowledge is the biggest barrier to cloud computing adoption, cited by 60% of the global respondents as a major barrier and by an additional 26% of respondents as a minor barrier. Lack of knowledge was consistently reported as a barrier across geographies and organization sizes. Cost-based issues are the second largest set of barriers, noted by 49% of respondents as a major barrier. Reported Major Barriers Lack of Knowledge Inadequate training No management support for cloud No funder support Cost Monthly costs Setup costs Migration costs Internet costs Data security Data security concerns Data loss concerns Lack of trust Cloud not ready to depend on Integration issues General lack of trust Noncontrollable externalities Gov t. regulations Unstable electric grid Lack of dependable Internet connectivity Foreign currency issues No need Executive Summary Figure 2: What are the barriers that prevent your organization from using cloud computing or using cloud computing more (select as many as are applicable)? (Question 12, N=9,051) 30% of respondents said they "don't know enough about cloud computing to know what the barriers are." This is consistent with NTEN's report findings that many U.S. nonprofits don't know exactly what hosted software is let alone have the ability to accurately gauge the pros and cons of using it." Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

10 Regional Perspective: Respondents in countries 5 with lower gross domestic product (GDP) per capita cited barriers at higher levels than respondents in higher-percapita GDP countries. In particular, respondents in lowerper-capita GDP countries appear to face some significant obstacles in terms of "noncontrollable externalities," including: Foreign currency issues Unstable electric grids Lack of dependable Internet connectivity Government regulations about storing data offshore NGO Voices "As the projects grew, we realized that if we wanted to keep them in the cloud, it would get terribly expensive. It was getting so expensive that it was better for us to purchase our own hardware." IT project manager, Slovakian NGO "When you re talking about broadband in South Africa, you re not talking about broadband in somewhere like San Francisco. You re talking about something that s probably about a quarter of the speed." Technology development manager, South African NGO NGOs Cite Administration/Ease of Use, Cost, and Partnership Opportunities as the Primary Advantages of Cloud Computing When respondents were asked what advantages they saw to cloud computing, administration-related benefits such as easier access to software and reduced system administration topped the list and were cited by 79% of respondents as a major advantage. 5 Per-capita GDP statistics came from 2011 International Monetary Fund (IMF) data Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

11 Reported Major Advantages to Cloud Computing Administration Easier software access Easier disaster recovery Reduced system admin. Rapid deployment Cost Low capital investment Fewer IT staff needed Transforms capital expenses to operating expenses Partnership Improved collaboration Easier to partner with other orgs. Data Improved data security Better data organization Data under my control Executive Summary Figure 3: Whether your organization is using cloud computing or not, please indicate whether these items represent an advantage of using cloud computing (select as many as are applicable). (Question 10, N=9,051) Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

12 Regional Perspective: While they cite barriers at high levels, South Africa, Egypt, and Mexico also cite cloud computing advantages at higher levels than other regions and the global average. Reported Major Advantages to Cloud Computing by Country Worldwide South Average Africa Egypt Mexico Cost-based advantages 62% 77% 73% 75% Data-based advantages 54% 69% 78% 86% Administrative advantages 79% 85% 91% 91% Partnership advantages 61% 71% 80% 80% Executive Summary Figure 4: Whether your organization is using cloud computing or not, please indicate whether these items represent an advantage of using cloud computing (select as many as are applicable). (Question 10, N=9,051) Are NGOs Planning to Move to the Cloud? When asked if they planned to move a "significant portion of their IT" to the cloud 6 : More than half (53%) of respondents worldwide indicated they would be moving to the cloud within two to three years or faster. However, a sizeable minority of respondents (36%) also said they had no plans whatsoever to move their IT to the cloud. 6 In the survey, we provided the following examples of what we considered a "significant portion of their IT:" database, , or data storage. However, the definition of the word "significant" was ultimately left up to the interpretation of respondents Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

13 Timeframe for Moving a Significant Portion of IT to the Cloud 36% Have no plans to move to the cloud 19% Within 1 year 19% Within 1-2 years 11% More than 3 years 15% Within 2-3 years Executive Summary Figure 5: What is your organization s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT to the cloud? (Question 15, N=8,183) Differences by Organization Size: Medium-sized organizations 7 reported the most aggressive timeframe for moving IT to the cloud, with 22% reporting they plan to move a significant portion of their IT to the cloud within one year. 7 Medium-sized organizations were defined as organizations with 10 to 44 full-time staff and volunteers Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

14 Reported Timeframe for Moving a "Significant Portion" of IT to the Cloud by Country and Per-Capita GDP Australia Higher Per-Capita GDP Sweden Less likely within 3 years Netherlands Belgium Japan Spain Canada United States Germany United Kingdom Ireland France New Zealand Hong Kong Italy More likely within 3 years Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Poland South Africa Mexico Bulgaria Taiwan Egypt India Romania Lower Per-Capita GDP Executive Summary Figure 6: What is your organization s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT (such as your database, , or data storage) to the cloud? (Question 15, N=8,183) Regional Perspective: The most accelerated timetables were noted in Egypt, South Africa, Mexico/Latin America, and India, where half of respondents indicated they would move a significant part of their IT to the cloud within the next two years. The survey results also indicate that the lower a country s per-capita GDP, the more likely respondents are to indicate interest in adopting cloud-based applications in the near future Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

15 Polarized Views on Costs and Security in the Cloud Interestingly, survey respondents identified costs and data security as both advantages and disadvantages to cloud computing, indicating some polarization or ambivalence about cloud computing. Reported Motivators for Cloud Computing Adoption When respondents were asked what most would motivate them to move their IT (or more of their IT) to the cloud, their responses were consistent with overcoming barriers. Motivators for Moving IT to the Cloud Cost Reduce costs Adjust budget to afford monthly fees Ease of setup Easier customization Easier integration Easier services setup Training Train employees Remote consulting Trust Recommended by advisor or peer Not planning to use cloud services Executive Summary Figure 7: What would most motivate your organization to move your IT (or more of your IT) to cloud services (select up to three answers)? (Question 14, N=8,272) Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

16 Motivators are the specific items that would actually motivate cloud adoption for respondents, in contrast to reported advantages (which may or may not directly motivate respondents to adopt additional cloudbased technologies). Other Motivators 22% of respondents said a reduction in cloud security risks would motivate additional cloud computing adoption. About the Report In this document, we have made every effort to present the survey results without inferences, assumptions, or conclusions. Our goal was to allow the data to stand on its own so that readers may draw their own conclusions. Over the next year, we will produce and share content that reflects our understanding and point of view on the information that is presented in this report. All results that are reported in this document reflect the survey responses. Given the nature of the outreach, the questions asked, and the fact that the survey was taken online, the survey sample skews toward those working in organizations that have access to the Internet and are engaged with cloud computing. Consequently, cloud usage levels reported here may be higher than actual levels among all NGOs Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

17 Full Report Introduction In late February and March, 2012, the TechSoup Global Network conducted a survey of NGOs and their use of cloud computing around the world. Our goal in gathering and sharing this data was to get a better understanding of how NGOs view cloud computing and to publish the results for the benefit of the social benefit sector. Our hope is that the survey results will provide insight for NGOs on their peers perspective on cloud computing. We also hope the results will help capacity-building organizations, consultants, donors, and foundations better support the social benefit sector in making informed decisions about whether cloud-based solutions are right for them. The goal of this document is to present the quantitative survey results in an objective fashion (to the extent that is possible). Intentionally, we have not drawn conclusions about why respondents may have answered as they did. Nor do we take a stand in this document regarding the potential advantages or disadvantages of cloud computing for particular types of organizations. We took this approach to allow readers to form their own opinions based on the survey results. Our hope is that this will provide insight that will inform a sector-wide conversation on the necessary steps to help organizations appropriately adopt cloud computing technology. Over the next year, we will contribute our own perspective on the information in this report. TechSoup Global will also use the data that we gathered to work collaboratively with our network of partner organizations, corporate donors, and foundations to improve content and programs in all the areas in which we operate. Given that lack of knowledge was identified as an obstacle by so many of our survey's respondents, we will focus on the development of educational content. This content is intended to empower NGOs to evaluate, select, and implement cloud-based solutions (where appropriate) as part of their technology planning process. To help educate NGOs worldwide about cloud computing, the TechSoup Global Partner Network will also translate the survey's executive summary into their local languages. In addition, they will publish the executive summary on their websites for the benefit of their local communities. Terminology and Definitions Cloud computing: The definition of cloud computing that we used in the survey was: "Cloud computing allows you to access software via the Internet instead of from your hard drive or your local computer network. When you use cloud based software, it is available anywhere you can use the Internet not just in your office." NGO Voices "I think everybody knows cloud computing, but everybody has their own definition of it." Director, Belgian NGO Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

18 NGO: There are various terms that are used to refer to our target audience. These include nongovernmental organization (NGO), charity, nonprofit, social benefit organization (SBO), community benefit organization (CBO), and civil society organization (CSO). While there are important differences in the meaning of these terms within each country, they all have something in common. These organizations are mission-based, with a focus on achieving a particular goal, rather than profit. Rather than repeatedly listing all of the terms used internationally, we will use "NGO" to refer to the sector in this report. About the Survey The survey was conducted in late February and March, We received a total of 10,593 responses from 88 countries around the globe Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

19 Survey Responses by Country Figure 1: Number of respondents by country, captured by IP address (N=10,593) Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

20 Respondent Demographics Regional Groupings Our sample size is greater in some regions than others. We present some results by geographic region in order to uncover differences and (where sample sizes are smaller) to identify the potential for additional data collection. In most cases, our regional groupings are consistent with those used by the United Nations. A detailed list of countries that were included in each region is available in the appendix. Respondents by Per-Capita GDP of Country We also examined the survey data based on the per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the respondent s country 8. We divided countries into higher-, middle-, and lower-per-capita GDP groups (see Figure 1). Lower-per-capita GDP countries represent a relatively small portion of the total sample (8%). Therefore, in most cases we have noted that these responses represent an interesting opportunity for further study. Respondent Profile by Responsibility for IT Figure 2: How involved are you in IT decision making? (Question 2, N=11,952) 92% of respondents described themselves as "somewhat responsible" or "solely responsible" for information technology (IT) decision making in their organization. We believe that this means the vast majority of survey respondents are a knowledgeable source for information regarding their organizations perspectives on cloud computing. Respondent Profile by Type of Organization 8 Per-capita GDP statistics came from 2011 International Monetary Fund (IMF) data Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

21 Respondents represented a broad range of organizational mission types, from social benefit activities to poverty relief to faith-based activities. The most represented NGO mission types were education organizations (13%), social benefit activities (10%), disability (8%), health services and related activities (8%), and youth organizations (6%). The full list of organization types is available in the appendix. Respondent Profile by Size of Organization In order to analyze differences based on organization size, organizations were classified as small, medium, or large based on their number of full-time staff, including volunteers. Respondent Profile by Organization Size Figure 3: How many of your staff members (including volunteers) are full time? (Question 17, N=7,309) Key Findings Cloud Computing Usage Is High Overall Our survey found that the vast majority of NGO respondents already used cloud-based services. In fact, 90% of respondents worldwide indicated that they used some type of cloud-based service. A Closer Look at the Data Regional Perspective: Responses indicated that there was relatively high adoption across all geographic regions, with a high of 93% for the U.S. 9, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand and a low of 83% for India. Defining Cloud Usage We defined "cloud usage" as the use of one or more cloud-based applications to perform a particular function, or the use of specific vendors or specific branded cloud applications. See the appendix for details. 9 This is consistent with NTEN s 2012 U.S. State of the Nonprofit Cloud report results, in which 91% of U.S. organizations surveyed said that they use cloud computing in some form Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

22 Cloud Computing Usage by Region 100% 90% 93% 93% 91% 91% 88% 87% 84% 83% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Australia/New Zealand U.S. and Canada Africa/Middle East Western Europe Central/Eastern Europe Asia Mexico/Latin America India Figure 4: Are you currently using a cloud app to perform particular functions or using any of a specific list of cloud vendors and applications? (Questions 8, 9, 26, and 27, N=10,593) How NGOs Use Cloud Computing We asked respondents whether they use a cloud-based solution to perform a particular function. The categories of cloud-based applications that were cited most frequently by respondents were (55%), social networking/web 2.0 (47%), file storage/sharing (26%), web conferencing (24%), and office productivity (23%) Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

23 What Do Organizations Use Cloud-Based Apps to Do? % Using Cloud-Based Function Application 55% Social networking/web % File storage/sharing 26% Web conferencing 24% Office productivity 23% Data backup/storage/sync 21% Website hosting 21% Collaboration software 19% Antivirus/spam filtering/anti-malware 15% E-commerce/transaction processing 15% marketing 15% Remote access/vpn 14% Client/member database/crm 12% Accounting/financial management 11% Media monitoring 10% Telephone and voice service/voip 8% Donor management 7% Payroll 7% SMS/text messaging 7% Training 7% Data analytics 5% Project management 5% Billing and invoicing 4% Grant management 4% Human resources 4% Security 4% Volunteer management 4% Disaster recovery 3% Compliance 2% Figure 5: Does your organization use cloud computing to deliver any of the following services? (Questions 8 and 9, N=10,593) We did not include normal browsing and Internet searching as a category of cloud usage and therefore do not include that in our analysis Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

24 Cloud-Based Application Usage and Familiarity The specific cloud-based apps that were used most often were Facebook (70%), Gmail (63%), and Skype (50%). In most cases, there was a sizeable percentage of respondents who were familiar with a particular cloud-based application, but did not currently use it. Current Use of and Familiarity with Cloud-Based Apps Application Percentage of Respondents Who Currently Use Percentage of Respondents Who Were Familiar With But Did Not Currently Use Percentage of Respondents Who Currently Use or Were Familiar With Facebook 70% 21% 91% Gmail 63% 28% 91% Skype 50% 39% 89% Google Apps 43% 37% 80% LinkedIn 38% 32% 70% Twitter 38% 48% 86% PayPal 34% 44% 78% Dropbox 32% 22% 54% Yahoo mail 25% 56% 81% Hotmail 25% 60% 85% Flickr 21% 42% 63% WordPress 18% 29% 47% Microsoft Security Essentials 17% 28% 45% Figure 6: Which of the following applications are you familiar with or currently using? Due to rounding, "percentage of respondents who currently use or were familiar with" may exceed "percentage of respondents who currently use" plus "percentage of respondents who were familiar with but did not currently use." (Questions 27, N=7,397) The full list of cloud-based applications is available in the appendix Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012