US Small Business Apple iCloud Users Report Most Issues – Clutch

This article was published on February 07, 2018, being written by Riley Panko, senior content developer and marketer, Clutch, a B2B research, ratings, and reviews firm.

Small business IT decision-makers using iCloud report the most issues among popular cloud storage providers, according to a new survey from Clutch, a B2B research firm.

In the past 12 months, only 17% of iCloud users reported no issues, such as downtown or limited access to their data, compared to 42% of Dropbox users. Almost one-third (30%) of small businesses overall reported no issues with their cloud storage provider in the past 12 months.

The survey of 300 IT decision-makers at U.S. small businesses also found that over one-third (35%) are primarily influenced by features and capabilities, such as remote access, automatic syncing, and flexible storage space, when deciding to commit to a cloud storage provider. Marketing tactics, such as free trials or online ratings and reviews, are less influential to IT decision makers when they are selecting a cloud storage provider.

The data indicates that small businesses view cloud storage as a more comprehensive tool to enhance their data, rather than to just store it.

“Cloud adopters some years ago used the cloud only to provide increased availability to the information, or as a backup mechanism when their data center failed,” said Sebastian Velez Ruiz, director of engineering, PSL SAS, a software development company. “Now, cloud storage is beginning to focus on capabilities.”

More Small Businesses Pay for Cloud Storage
Over 80% of small businesses now pay for their cloud storage provider, an increase of 10% since Clutch conducted its 2016 cloud storage survey.

Experts point out that small businesses can save money by separating data based on how frequently it needs to be accessed. Data that is infrequently or rarely accessed can be placed in ‘cold’ cloud storage options, such as Amazon Glacier or Google Coldline. These services offer lower prices than traditional collaboration-oriented cloud storage.

“For the mortgage industry, or any industry with regulations requiring you to keep copies of contracts for 60 years or 30 years, Glacier is a great option,” said Ghazanfar Ghori, CTO, 10Pearls, a software development and end-to-end digital services company.

To read the full report