Corporate Online File Sharing and Collaboration Market Trends

Transcription

1 Research Report Abstract: Corporate Online File Sharing and Collaboration Market Trends By Kristine Kao, Market Research Analyst, Terri McClure, Senior Analyst, and Jane Wright, Senior Production Analyst November 2012

2 Introduction Research Objectives Research Report: Online File Sharing and Collaboration Market Trends ESG surveyed 499 North American IT professionals representing small (20 to 99 employees), midmarket (100 to 999 employees), and enterprise-class (1,000 employees or more) organizations to find out about their organizations usage of, interest in, and opinions regarding online file sharing and collaboration services. All respondents were personally responsible for evaluating, purchasing, or managing, file storage and collaboration platforms (such as shared file servers, NAS systems, or Microsoft SharePoint) for their organization. ESG s objective was to learn how organizations are storing, sharing, and collaborating on their files today, and what their plans are for online file sharing and collaboration technologies over the next few years. ESG investigated the online file sharing and collaboration (OFS) services that organizations use, the reasons they currently use or plan to adopt (or do not plan to adopt) a corporate-wide OFS solution, the data they are entrusting to their OFS provider, and the challenges they have encountered along the way. ESG defines OFS solutions as: Internet-based services that enable users to store, access, share, and collaborate on documents and other files. Files can be accessed by and (typically) synchronized across multiple endpoint devices including desktop PCs, laptop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones. The survey was designed to answer the following questions: Which types of file storage and collaboration tools are currently in use by organizations? How will this picture change going forward? How pervasive has online file sharing and collaboration usage become within an organization? How pervasive will it become? How does current OFS adoption vary by company size and industry? How long have organizations been using corporate OFS solutions? For what purposes have organizations implemented or will implement OFS solutions? What does the scope of current OFS deployments look like? How will this scope change over time? What level of interest do organizations have in private or hybrid OFS deployments? How are organizations dealing with rogue (unsanctioned) usage of OFS solutions by individual employees? What attributes are most important in evaluating an OFS service provider? What specific features and functionality are viewed as must-haves by current and prospective customers? What are the reasons organizations are not interested in implementing OFS solutions? Survey participants represented a wide range of industries including manufacturing, financial services, communications and media, health care, retail, government, and business services. For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.

3 Research Methodology To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT professionals from private- and public-sector organizations in North America in late July and early August To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to be responsible for the operation, management, and protection of file storage and collaboration platforms such as shared file servers, NAS systems, or Microsoft SharePoint. Respondents were required to be familiar with the details of their organizations document and file storage and sharing technologies and processing, including the products and services their organizations use, the policies employees in their organization must follow, how much data employees generate and store, and information security issues related to their online document file storage and sharing. All respondents were provided an incentive to complete the survey in the form of cash awards and/or cash equivalents. After filtering out unqualified respondents, removing duplicate responses, and screening the remaining completed responses (on a number of criteria) for data integrity, we were left with a final total sample of 499 IT professionals. Please see the Respondent Demographics section of this report for more information on these respondents. Note: Totals in figures and tables throughout this report may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

4 Respondent Demographics The data presented in this report is based on a survey of 499 qualified respondents. The figures below detail the demographics of the respondent base, including respondents role in purchasing decisions and current job responsibility, as well as the respondent organizations total number of employees, primary industry, and annual revenue. Respondents Role in Purchasing Decisions Respondents current role in online file sharing and collaboration purchasing decisions is shown in Figure 23. Figure 1. Survey Respondents, by Role in Organization s Purchasing Process Please describe your role in your organization s purchasing process for document/file storage and sharing technology products and services. (Percent of respondents, N=499) I influence purchasing decisions, 53% I make purchasing decisions, 47% Respondents Current Responsibilities Respondents current responsibility within their organizations is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Survey Respondents, by Job Responsibility Which of the following best describes your current role within your organization? (Percent of respondents, N=499) Other, 10% Non-IT Business Manager, 11% IT Staff (e.g., Storage Administrator, Systems Administrator, etc.), 29% IT Management (e.g., CIO, VP of IT, Director of IT, etc.), 58%

5 Non-IT respondents current functional group within their organizations is shown in Figure 3. Figure 3. Survey Respondents for Non-IT Roles, by Functional Group Within Organization Which of the following best describes your current functional group? (Percent of respondents, N=68) Administration Finance Executive Management Engineering Sales Manufacturing/Logistics Purchasing Facilities Marketing Other 1% 3% 4% 7% 9% 10% 13% 13% 15% 24% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Respondents Organization Size The number of employees in respondents organizations is shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Survey Respondents, by Size of Organization Respondents by company size. (Percent of respondents, N=499) Enterprise (1,000 employees or more), 39% Small (20 to 99 employees), 20% Midmarket (100 to 999 employees), 40%

6 Respondent organizations annual revenue is shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue What is your organization s total annual revenue ($US)? (Percent of respondents, N=499) Small (20 to 99 employees, N=102) Midmarket (100 to 999 employees, N=200) Enterprise (1,000 employees or more, N=197) 50% 46% 40% 30% 20% 10% 20% 2% 29% 4% 20% 32% 8% 3% 25% 14% 9% 35% 33% 12% 6% 8% 0% Less than $5 million $5 million to $ million $25 million to $99 million $100 million to $499 million $500 million to $4.999 billion $5 billion or greater Not applicable (e.g., public sector, nonprofit) Respondents Industry Respondents were asked to identify their organization s primary industry. In total, ESG received completed, qualified responses from individuals in 20 distinct vertical industries. Respondents were then grouped into the broader categories shown in Figure 6. The remaining industries are shown in the Other category. Figure 6. Survey Respondents, by Industry What is your organization s primary industry? (Percent of respondents, N=499) Other, 22% Manufacturing, 18% Healthcare, 5% Financial, 11% Retail/Wholesale, 8% Business services, 10% Communications & Media, 8% Information Technology, 9% Government, 9%

7 Contents List of Figures... 3 Executive Summary... 4 Abstract... 4 Report Conclusions... 4 Introduction... 6 Research Objectives... 6 Research Findings... 7 Corporate OFS Service Adoption... 7 Typical OFS Deployments... 9 Reasons for Deploying OFS Reasons for Not Deploying OFS OFS Data Volumes Impact of OFS on Existing File Storage and Collaboration Technologies Challenges for Organizations Adopting OFS Dealing with Rogue OFS User Accounts OFS Purchasing Criteria Research Methodology Respondent Demographics Respondents Role in Purchasing Decisions Respondents Current Responsibilities Respondents Organization Size Respondents Industry... 32

8 List of Figures Research Report: Online File Sharing and Collaboration Market Trends Figure 1. Establishment of Corporate OFS Accounts... 7 Figure 2. Usage Trends for Online File Sharing and Collaboration, by Company Size... 8 Figure 3. Usage Trends for Online File Sharing and Collaboration, by Industry... 9 Figure 4. Length of Online File Sharing and Collaboration Deployment... 9 Figure 5. Scope of Online File Sharing and Collaboration Deployment, Now and in the Future Figure 6. Types of Online File Sharing and Collaboration Users, Now and in the Future Figure 7. Number of Active Users in Online File Sharing and Collaboration Deployment, Now and in the Future 11 Figure 8. Objectives for Using OFS Current Users Figure 9. Purpose for Using OFS Current Users Figure 10. Purpose for Using OFS Current Users by Company Size Figure 11. Reasons Organizations Have Not Deployed OFS Figure 12. Percentage of Total File Data Stored in OFS Account Figure 13. Amount of Data Stored by Typical Users in Corporate OFS Account Figure 14. Technologies Organizations Expect to Use Less with OFS Implementation Figure 15. Challenges Experienced Since Deploying OFS Figure 16. Employee Usage of Non-IT-approved OFS Solutions Figure 17. Policies Against Employee Usage of Non-IT-approved OFS Solutions Figure 18. Policies Against Employee Usage of Non-IT-approved OFS Solutions, by Company Size Figure 19. Monitoring for Employee Usage of Non-IT-approved OFS Solutions Figure 20. Actions Taken Against Employees Using Unsanctioned OFS Accounts Figure 21. Most Important Criteria for Organizations for Selecting an OFS Provider, by Company Size Figure 22. Most Important Features and Functions in Evaluating an OFS Service, by Company Size Figure 23. Survey Respondents, by Role in Organization s Purchasing Process Figure 24. Survey Respondents, by Job Responsibility Figure 25. Survey Respondents for Non-IT Roles, by Functional Group Within Organization Figure 26. Survey Respondents, by Size of Organization Figure 27. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue Figure 28. Survey Respondents, by Industry All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at

9 20 Asylum Street Milford, MA Tel: Fax: