A survey by non-profit group TechSoup Global found that 53% of 10,500 respondents plan to move a "significant portion" of their IT to the cloud within three years.
TechSoup’s 2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey – which was taken by nonprofits, charities, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 88 countries – also found that 90% of respondents worldwide are using at least one cloud computing application.
Other key findings included 60% of respondents finding a lack of knowledge the greatest barrier to greater use of the cloud, and 79% saying that the greatest advantage of cloud is easier software or hardware administration.
In addition, 47% of respondents said that cost-related changes and ease of setup would be the greatest motivators for moving their IT to the cloud.
TechSoup says that the survey is the most extensive technology survey ever conducted of NGOs worldwide, and that the results will enable the global NGO sector to make more informed decisions about cloud computing adoption.
The survey will also help capacity-building organisations, funders, corporate donors and partners develop programmes that maximise the potential of these technologies, TechSoup says.
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However, the non-profit group added that more education is needed to support and take full advantage of the benefits of cloud computing regarding costs, productivity and collaboration.
“Many NGOs are not even aware that they are using cloud applications already, or they are not familiar with the full suite of cloud-based applications available to them,” said TechSoup in a statement.
“TechSoup Global is thrilled to better understand how and why cloud computing can rapidly advance the causes of every social benefit organisation in all parts of the world,” said TechSoup global co-CEO Rebecca Masisak. “By sharing the voices of NGOs with the sector as a whole, this survey will allow us to better use cloud computing to improve organisations’ effectiveness, collaboration and access to data.”
Dan Webb, TechSoup Global’s director of solutions and services, added, “TechSoup Global has long worked to bring available technologies to non-profit organisations. And this survey shows that the global NGO sector can do more to make the cloud easier by creating solutions that address the precise needs of organisations across the world.”
