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

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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

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Copyright, Licensing, and Terms of Use

2012 Global Cloud Survey Results is licensed under the Creative Commons

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.

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2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey Results, September 2012

Advantages of Cloud Computing ... 28

Lack of Knowledge Is the Greatest Reported Barrier to Cloud Computing Adoption ... 31

Do NGOs Plan to Move Their IT to the Cloud? ... 36

What Would Increase Cloud Computing Use? Reported Motivators ... 43

Costs, Training, and Data Issues Cited as Current IT Challenges, Regardless of Cloud

Computing Use ... 47

Conclusion ... 50

Appendix ... 51

About TechSoup Global and the TechSoup Global Network ... 51

Methodology ... 62

App Usage Detail Tables ... 70

Survey Instrument ... 74

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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.

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.

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.

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Our survey joins other surveys, such as the Nonprofit Technology Network’s (NTEN’s) U.S. nonprofit-focused 2012 State of the Nonprofit Cloud Report3, 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 <http://www.techsoupglobal.org/countries> 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 languages4 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:

<http://www.nten.org/research/cloudreport/download>

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.

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Survey Respondents by Country

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.

Executive Summary Figure 1: Number of respondents by country captured by IP address. (N=10,593)

10,593

Responses

88

Countries 100+ Responses 10-99 Responses Less than 10 Responses

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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.

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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 email (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 based apps were using at least one cloud-based 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."

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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

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."

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)

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 No need Noncontrollable externalities • Gov’t. regulations • Unstable electric grid • Lack of dependable Internet connectivity • Foreign currency issues

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Regional Perspective: Respondents in countries5 with lower gross domestic product (GDP) per capita cited barriers at higher levels than respondents in higher-per-capita GDP countries. In particular, respondents in lower-per-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

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.

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

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Reported Major Advantages to Cloud Computing

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)

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

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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 Average

South

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%

Are NGOs Planning to Move to the Cloud?

When asked if they planned to move a "significant portion of their IT" to the cloud6:

• 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, email, or data storage. However, the definition of the word "significant" was ultimately left up to the interpretation of respondents. 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)

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Differences by Organization Size: Medium-sized organizations7 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.

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)

Timeframe for Moving a Significant Portion of IT to the Cloud

19%

Within

1 year

19%

Within

1-2 years

11%

More than

3 years

15%

Within

2-3 years

36%

Have no plans to move to the cloud

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Reported Timeframe for Moving a "Significant Portion" of IT to the Cloud by Country and 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, email, 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.

Higher Per-Capita GDP Lower Per-Capita GDP More likely within 3 years Less likely within 3 years Australia • Netherlands • Belgium • Japan • Canada • Germany • United Kingdom • Czech Republic • Slovakia • Spain • Hungary • Poland • South Africa • • United States • Sweden • Ireland • Italy • France New Zealand • • Hong Kong • Taiwan • Mexico • Bulgaria • Romania • Egypt • India

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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.

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)

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.

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

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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 cloud-based technologies).

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.

Other Motivators

22% of respondents said a reduction in cloud security risks would motivate additional cloud computing adoption.

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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

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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, 2012.

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Survey Responses by Country

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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 country8. 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

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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.

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.

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.

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Cloud Computing Usage by Region

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 email (55%), social networking/Web 2.0 (47%), file storage/sharing (26%), web conferencing (24%), and office productivity (23%). 93% 93% _91% _91% 88% _87% 84% _83% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Australia/New

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What Do Organizations Use Cloud-Based Apps to Do?

Function % Using Cloud-Based Application Email 55% Social networking/Web 2.0 47% 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% Email 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.

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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)

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Lack of Clarity about What Constitutes a Cloud-Based App

Interestingly, when we asked respondents if they use a specific cloud-based app (such as Skype), responses were different than when we asked if they use a cloud-based app to perform a particular function (such as web conferencing):

• While 24% of respondents said that they used cloud-based web conferencing, 55% of

respondents said that they used WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, ReadyTalk, or Skype10.

In their 2012 report, the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) labeled this phenomenon the "invisible cloud" and suggested that users often are not aware that they do, in fact, use cloud-based applications.

This seems to further indicate a level of confusion around which apps are cloud-based and what actually constitutes "cloud computing."

 A Closer Look at the Data

Penetration is Relatively Low for Most Categories of Cloud-Based Apps

To better understand whether organizations were using cloud-based apps to perform a function, such as office productivity or accounting, we also needed to understand whether they were using a computer app to perform that function at all. Details on which computer apps respondents said they currently use are available in the appendix.

10_{Question 9 asked if respondents used cloud-based "web conferencing, such as Skype, WebEx, ReadyTalk, or Citrix}

GoToMeeting." 2,593 (out of 10,593 total respondents) respondents said yes. In question 27, when asked if they used any of those specific applications (Skype, WebEx, ReadyTalk, Citrix GoToMeeting), 4,064 out of 7,379 total respondents said yes.

NGO Voices

"A lot of people might be using cloud tools like Gmail. They don't necessarily see it as a cloud product." TechSoup Global Network partner NGO, India

"The vast majority of nonprofits we surveyed were using hosted software, but our interviews revealed that many didn't even realize those systems could be considered hosted, or 'cloud' solutions." The State of the Nonprofit Cloud, NTEN, 2012

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Cloud penetration is the percentage of respondents that reported using a cloud-based app to perform a particular function compared to those that are using any kind of application – cloud-based or not – to perform that function:

The median penetration level across all types of cloud apps that we measured in the survey is 24%.

Cloud penetration ranges from a low of 10% for billing and invoicing to a high of 100% for several apps that are essentially defined by the cloud, including collaboration software, e-commerce/transaction processing, social networking/Web 2.0, and web conferencing. While cloud penetration is 100% for these four application types, only about 25% of respondents indicated that these functions were in use at their organizations at all.

Depth of Cloud Computing Usage

While cloud computing use overall is high, those statistics do not indicate how heavily NGOs use cloud computing. They simply reflect whether NGOs use cloud computing at all.

To better understand the depth of cloud computing usage, we analyzed usage in terms of the different app types in use at an organization. We also analyzed usage in terms of the number of different categories of apps that were used. For purposes of this analysis, we grouped apps by type. For example, all project management software was grouped into a single type of app. So if respondents reported that they use both Basecamp and Huddle for collaboration, this would count as one "type" of app. Types of apps were then rolled into categories. See Figure 7 for details.

÷

=

Number of respondents who use any app to perform a function, regardless of whether the app is cloud-based Number of respondents who use a cloud-based app to perform a particular function Cloud Penetration: of those respondents who use any app to perform a function, the

percentage who use a cloud-based app

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Cloud-Based App Categories and Types of Apps

Administration and Ease of Use, Cost, and Partnership Opportunities

Reported as the Primary Advantages of Cloud Computing

Reported Major Advantages to Cloud Computing

Figure 9: Whether your organization is using cloud computing or not, please indicate whether these items represent an advantage of using cloud computing (Question 10, N=9,051). Percentages reflect respondents who said yes to any of the specific items included within a category.

When respondents were asked what advantages they saw to cloud computing, administration-related benefits topped the list. Administration-related benefits included easier access to software and reduced system administration, and 79% of respondents cited this as a major advantage.

Despite the security concerns identified in the barriers section below, 39% of respondents still cited better data security as a major advantage of 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

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Individual items that were noted as major advantages by at least one half of respondents include:

• Availability/ease of access to hardware and software: 63%

• Improved information sharing and collaboration: 57%

• Easier to recover after a disaster: 55%

• Little or no capital investment: 50%

Additional Detail: Major and Minor Advantages to Cloud Computing

Figure 10: Whether your organization is using cloud computing or not, please indicate whether these items represent an advantage of using cloud computing (Question 10, N=9,051). Nets represent the percentage of respondents who said yes to at least one item within a particular category.



A Closer Look at the Data

Regional Perspective: South Africa, Egypt, and Mexico cited all cloud computing advantages at higher levels than the worldwide average.

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Reported Major Advantages to Cloud Computing by Country

Worldwide

Average South 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%

Perceived advantages also differ by per-capita GDP of the respondent's country. Respondents in lower-per-capita GDP countries saw more advantages to cloud computing than those in higher-per-capita GDP countries.

Lower-per-capita GDP countries represent just 8% of our sample. However, the correlation between per-capita GDP and perceived advantages of cloud computing that is suggested by our data is worth further study.

Advantages by Number of Cloud Apps Used: The perceived advantages of cloud computing appear linked to the number of categories of cloud-based

apps used. Specifically, the more categories of cloud apps respondents reported that their organization used, the more advantages they cited for cloud computing use. This trend starts to be noticeable when organizations used cloud-based apps in three categories. Clear

differences emerge when organizations used cloud-based apps in four or more categories.

NGO Voices

"The first obvious benefit to NGOs adopting cloud services is that they don't have to maintain the platform. They can use it as a service." TechSoup Global Network partner NGO, Hong Kong

"You simply stick your credit card on there, fill in the details, and away you go. You're up and running in five minutes." Technology development manager, South African NGO

Figure 11: 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

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Reported Major Advantages by Number of Categories of Cloud-Based Apps Used

Figure 12: Categories of cloud-based apps and number of reported advantages to using cloud computing. (Questions 8, 9, 26, 27, and 10, N=9,051). This question was multiple choice, so respondents may have selected more than one major advantage.

Opportunity for Further Study

We asked survey respondents about the perceived advantages of cloud-based technologies. As a next step, it would be also useful to understand how satisfied respondents are with their current cloud solutions.

Lack of Knowledge Is the Greatest Reported Barrier to Cloud Computing

Adoption

Our survey found that lack of knowledge is the most frequently reported barrier to cloud computing adoption. 60% of respondents cited it as a major barrier, and an additional 26% cited it as minor barrier. Lack of knowledge was consistently cited as a barrier across geographies and organization sizes.

In addition, 30% of respondents said that they did not know enough about cloud computing to know what the barriers are. This is consistent with NTEN's U.S. report results. They found 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."

Cost-based issues are the second largest set of barriers, noted by 49% as a major barrier.

NGO Voices

"It's kind of a fear of letting go, letting the information go from your hands to something bigger. …You don't know exactly where it sits, where it exists." IT manager, Israeli NGO

"Maybe it’s a fear of the unknown." Director, Kenyan NGO

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Barriers to Cloud Computing

Figure 13: What are the barriers that prevent your organization from using cloud computing or using cloud computing more? (Question 12, N=9, 051)

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Additional Detail: Major and Minor Barriers to Cloud Computing

Figure 14: What are the barriers that prevent your organization from using cloud computing or using cloud

computing more? (Question 12, N=9,051). Nets represent the percentage of respondents who said yes to at least one item within a particular category.



A Closer Look at the Data

Regional Perspective: Respondents in lower-per-capita GDP countries were more likely to see advantages to cloud computing. Yet they also cited barriers to cloud computing adoption at higher levels than respondents in higher-per-capita GDP countries.

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In addition, lower-per-capita GDP countries appear to face some significant obstacles in terms of

"noncontrollable externalities." These issues include unstable electric grids, foreign currency issues, lack of dependable Internet connectivity, and government regulations. While these were reported as issues in all countries, they emerge much more frequently in responses from lower-per-capita GDP countries.

Our qualitative survey results also indicate that language is a barrier to increased cloud computing adoption. Several respondents to our qualitative survey indicated that cloud-based products and related information – such as blogs and newsletters – were not available in their local language.

Cloud Computing and the Internet:Cloud-based services are most often accessed via the Internet, so a fast and stable Internet connection is often considered a basic prerequisite for cloud computing usage.

Internet connectivity problems as a barrier to cloud adoption are reflected in the survey responses. The survey results also reflect major differences in the availability and cost of Internet services in different countries:

• 15% of respondents worldwide said that the cost of Internet connectivity is a major barrier. This was cited as a major barrier twice as often by respondents from lower-per-capita GDP

countries as it was by respondents in higher-per-capita GDP countries.

• 19% said that Internet connectivity is not

available or not good enough. This was cited as a major barrier by 31% of respondents from lower-per-capita GDP countries and by 17% of respondents in higher-per-capita GDP countries.

Security in the Cloud: In our survey, data security issues rank as the third most frequently reported type of barrier. Data security issues were cited by 45% of respondents, closely behind cost-based issues (cited by 49% of respondents).

NGO Voices

"I would say about 20-30% of NGOs might have access to the Internet, but that does not imply they have Internet for eight hours … a lot of them might have electricity for four hours of a working day." TechSoup Global Network partner NGO, India

"For many people working in Russia … they have no stable Internet

connection." Deputy general director, Russian NGO

"One of the biggest problems is the language barrier. All of these

newsletters and information on blogs … are all in English. There aren’t a lot of technical-focused blogs and online portals in Arabic." IT consultant, Egyptian NGO

"We have some fairly strict requirements about where our data is allowed to be stored with our government contracts, and we’re basically not allowed to store it offshore. Australia, at the moment, doesn’t have a lot of locally based cloud providers." IT manager, Australian NGO

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Major Barriers by Organization Size: Reported barriers to the adoption of cloud-based solutions increase with organization size.

• The only barrier cited more frequently by smaller organizations was lack of knowledge.

• Medium organizations were on average 10% more likely to cite barriers to cloud computing adoption. Large organizations were 18% more likely to cite barriers.

• Respondents at large organizations cited all the barriers to cloud computing adoption (except lack of knowledge) at higher levels than other organizations.

Reported Major Barriers by Organization Size

Figure 15: What are the barriers that prevent your organization from using cloud computing or using cloud computing more? (Questions 12 and 20, N=7,225)

Barriers by Number of Cloud-Based Apps Used: Unlike perceived advantages, perceived barriers did not vary substantially by number of categories of cloud-based apps used. There is one exception. Those respondents who used four or more categories of cloud-based apps were more likely to cite cost as a barrier than those who used fewer categories.

Mixed Views on Costs and Security in the Cloud

Survey respondents identified costs and data security as both advantages and disadvantages to cloud computing.

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Costs and Security in the Cloud

Figure 16: Reported barriers to and advantages of using cloud computing (Questions 10 and 12, N=9,051)

Do NGOs Plan to Move Their IT to the Cloud?

When asked if they planned to move a "significant portion of their IT" to the cloud:

• More than half (53%) of respondents worldwide indicated that they would move to the cloud within two to three years or sooner.

• However, a sizeable minority of respondents (36%) also said that they had no plans whatsoever to move their IT to the cloud.11

11_{It would be interesting to explore}_why_{these respondents have no plans to move to the cloud. Is it because they have}

already moved a significant portion of their IT to the cloud? Or do they believe that the barriers to cloud computing adoption outweigh the advantages?

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Reported Timeframe for Moving a "Significant Portion" of IT to the Cloud

Figure 17: What is your organization’s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT (such as your database, email, or data storage) to the cloud? (Question 15, N=8,183)

In the survey, we provided database, email, or data storage as examples of what we considered a "significant portion of IT." However, it is important to note that the definition of the word "significant" was ultimately left up to the interpretation of respondents.

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

A Closer Look at the Data

Differences emerged based on region, per-capita GDP, organization size, and number of cloud-based apps already in use at an organization.

Regional Perspective:The most accelerated timetables were noted in Egypt, South Africa, Mexico/Latin America, and India, where half of respondents indicated that they would move a significant part of their IT to the cloud within the next two years.

Differences in planned cloud computing adoption timelines emerge even more clearly when responses are viewed by per-capita GDP. Our data indicates that the lower the per-capita GDP of a respondent's country is, the faster their reported timeframe is for moving a significant portion of their organization’s IT to the cloud12.

12_{Given that lower-per-capita GDP countries represent only 8% of our total responses, this represents an opportunity for}

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Reported Timeframe for Moving a "Significant Portion" of IT to the Cloud by Country and Per-Capita GDP

Figure 18: What is your organization’s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT (such as your database, email, or data storage) to the cloud? (Question 15, N=8,183)

Timeframe for Moving to the Cloud by Organization Size

Medium-sized organizations reported the most aggressive timeframe for moving IT to the cloud. 22% of medium-sized organizations reported that they plan to move a significant portion of their IT to the cloud within one year.

Higher per-capita GDP Lower per-capita GDP More likely within 3 years Less likely within 3 years Australia • Netherlands • Belgium • Japan • Canada • Germany • United Kingdom • Czech Republic • Slovakia • Spain • Hungary • Poland • South Africa • • United States • Sweden • Ireland • Italy • France New Zealand • • Hong Kong • Taiwan • Mexico • Bulgaria • Romania • Egypt • India

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Reported Timeframe for Moving a "Significant Portion" of IT to the Cloud by Organization Size

Total

Sample Small Medium Large

Within 1 year 20% 20% 22% 18%

Within 1-2 years 19% 19% 19% 21%

Within 2-3 years 14% 13% 14% 16%

More than 3 years 11% 10% 12% 13%

Not planning to move a significant

portion of IT to the cloud 36% 38% 33% 32%

Figure 19: What is your organization’s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT (such as your database, email, or data storage) to the cloud? (Question 15, N=8,183)

Differences in Reported Cloud Computing Adoption Timeframe by Number of Categories of Cloud-Based Apps Currently in Use

Figure 20: What is your organization’s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT to the cloud? By number of cloud app categories currently in use (Questions 8, 9, 26, 27, and 15, N=8,183)

The more categories of cloud-based apps an organization already uses, the more aggressive its timeframe is for moving to the cloud.

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Differences by Responsibility for IT

Respondents who reported that they have sole responsibility for IT also reported more accelerated timeframes for moving significant portions of their organization’s IT to the cloud.

Differences in Reported Cloud Adoption Timeframe by Level of IT Responsibility

Timeframe

Total

Sample

IT Responsibility

Sole

Not Sole

Within next 6 months 8% 11% 8%

Within next year 20% 23% 18%

Within next 2 years 39% 44% 37%

Within next 3 years 53% 57% 51%

More than 3 years 11% 3% 12%

No plans to move a significant portion of IT to the cloud

36% 34% 37%

Figure 21: What is your organization’s likely timeframe for moving a significant portion of its IT to the cloud? By IT responsibility. (Questions 3 and 15, N=8183)

What Types of Apps Are NGOs Likely to Adopt?

File storage/sharing, email, and data backup/disaster recovery were the app types that organizations reported that they were most likely to adopt from the cloud.

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Cloud-Based Applications Likely to Be Adopted

Figure 22: Which applications are your organization most likely to adopt from the cloud? (Question 13, N=8,085)

The app types that organizations plan to adopt from the cloud vary by organization size and location:

• Differences by organization size: The cloud apps that large organizations reported that they planned to adopt were client/constituent relationship management (CRM) database and collaboration apps. Small and medium organizations did not report above-average interest in any specific cloud-based app types.

• Differences by per-capita GDP13: Respondents in lower-per-capita GDP countries reported that they planned to adopt a wider variety of apps than those in higher-per-capita GDP countries. Lower-per-capita GDP country respondents reported interest in donor, volunteer, and grant management applications as well as accounting/financial management

applications.

13_{As with other data based on per-capita GDP, note that lower-per-capita GDP countries represented 8% of total}

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What Would Increase Cloud Computing Use? Reported Motivators

When asked what most would motivate them to move to the cloud, responses were consistent with overcoming barriers.

NGO Voices

"It’s the cost. We have been researching some tools and trying to understand how to make it work, and we couldn’t find one with a price that we could afford." Communications manager, Brazilian NGO

"It has to be very, very user friendly to make the switch as easy as possible." IT manager, Israeli NGO

"Maybe I need to look deeper to understand what added value it will give us. Why this product will be better than what we are using right now." IT manager, Israeli NGO

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Motivators for Moving IT to the Cloud

Figure 23: What would most motivate your organization to move your IT (or more of your IT) to cloud services? (Question 14, N=8,272)

Motivators are the specific items that would actually catalyze respondents to adopt cloud computing solutions. This is in contrast to reported advantages, which may or may not directly motivate

respondents to adopt additional cloud technologies.

The data in figure 23, above, represents the percentage of respondents who said yes to one or more sub-questions within a particular category. The following specific answers were reported most

frequently:

• Reduce cloud-based services costs: 38%

• Provide training to their staff

:

30%

• Make cloud-based services easier to customize: 22%

• Reduction of cloud security risks was a motivator for 22% of respondents. This is consistent with other results that show that data privacy and security concerns were barriers.

• Obtaining a recommendation or endorsement from a trusted source was also a significant motivator, and was cited by 21% of respondents. This is consistent with other results that show a lack of trust was a barrier to cloud app adoption.

Motivators were generally cited at lower rates than perceived advantages, which may indicate that there is not one single thing that would motivate additional cloud computing adoption. Rather, it is a

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

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combination of factors that motivates technology adoption. NTEN noted that there was a similar trend in their U.S. survey results: "The decision to use a cloud-based software package is a matter of weighing features, cost and time, just like any other kind of software."



A Closer Look at the Data

Motivators by Number of Cloud-Based Apps Currently in Use: The number of motivators that respondents identified increased with the number of cloud-based apps that they have already adopted:

• Organizations that currently used only one or two cloud-based app categories showed average or below-average interest in each motivator.

• Organizations that used three or more cloud-based app categories selected motivators at an above-average rate.

Motivators by Size of Organization: Motivators for moving to the cloud also varied by size of organization.

Motivators for Moving IT to the Cloud by Organization Size

Total

Sample Small

Medium Large

Cost-related changes 47% 46% 50% 56%

Increased ease of setup 47% 45% 50% 53%

Increased training 37% 39% 36% 30%

Increased trust 29% 30% 30% 23%

Reduce cloud security risks 22% 21% 23% 28%

Remote management of cloud services 9% 7% 10% 10%

Not planning to move to any cloud

services 20% 21% 18% 15%

Figure 24: What would most motivate your organization to move your IT (or more of your IT) to cloud services? (Question 14, N=8,272). Respondents could select more than one answer.

• Large organizations cited more motivators overall for moving to the cloud than smaller organizations. In particular, they reported cost-related changes, making integration easier, the reduction of security risks, and providing remote management at higher-than-average rates.

• Medium-sized organizations reported making integration easier, adjusting their budget, and providing remote consulting at higher-than-average rates.

• Small organizations showed heightened interest in remote consulting and the advice of a trusted advisor.

Regional Perspective:Africa/Middle East and Mexico/Latin America cited more motivators overall than other regions.

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Specific motivators differed significantly by region:

• Reduction of costs ranked most prominently as an incentive in Africa/Middle East, but was also an above-average motivator in the U.S. and Canada.

• Adjusting their organizations’ budget so that respondents could afford monthly cloud service fees was an above-average motivator in Africa/Middle East, Mexico/Latin

America, and the U.S./Canada. For Western Europe and Central/Eastern Europe, this was a significantly below-average motivator.

• Ease of setup was an above-average motivator in Asia, Africa/Middle East, and

Mexico/Latin America. Within this category, making cloud services easier to set up was a particularly high motivator in Asia. Easier setup was also a higher-than-average

motivator for Africa/Middle East and Mexico/Latin America. However, Africa/Middle East was more focused on making customization easier, while Mexico/Latin America was more focused on making integration easier.

• Training was a key motivator in Mexico/Latin America, where respondents had a very high interest in the availability of remote consulting. Training was also an above-average motivator in Africa/Middle East and Central/Eastern Europe. Training was a below-average motivator for Western Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and U.S./Canada.

• A trusted advisor's recommendation was most highly ranked by respondents in Australia/New Zealand and Asia.

• Reduction of cloud security risks was an above-average motivator for Western Europe, Central/Eastern Europe, and the U.S./Canada.

• Remote management of cloud services was more attractive to respondents in Asia and Mexico/Latin America and was even more attractive to respondents in

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Important Motivators by Region

Figure 25: What would most motivate your organization to move your IT (or more of your IT) to cloud services? By region (Question 14, N=8,272)

Costs, Training, and Data Issues Cited as Current IT Challenges,

Regardless of Cloud Computing Use

We also wanted to understand the current state of NGOs’ technology overall, unrelated to whether respondents used (or planned to use) cloud-based services.

Respondents said the major IT challenges their organization faced were:

• High IT costs were cited by three-quarters of the respondents as a major challenge. This included the total cost of IT activities as well as inadequate IT systems and staffing. (The latter we have assumed to be directly related to costs that are associated with staffing and with the need to upgrade systems.)

• Training-related issues ranked second and were cited by 59% of respondents. They included inadequate end user skills as well as insufficient training for end users and IT staff.

• Data integration and reporting issues ranked third, cited by 45% of respondents. These outweighed data security and privacy challenges, which were cited by 27% of respondents.

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Major Organizational IT Challenges

Figure 26: What are the three biggest challenges facing your organization’s IT activities? (Question 4, N=10,928)

Note: These figures reflect the reported state of NGOs’ technology overall, unrelated to whether respondents used (or planned to use) cloud-based services.

NGOs Report Lack of IT Staff and Reliance on Outsourcing

Most respondents also said that IT support was provided by staff who had other responsibilities or came by their IT position "accidentally":

• 64% of respondents did not have any full-time IT staff in their organization.

• 87% of respondents indicated that their designated IT person also had other responsibilities.

• 63% of respondents agreed that "my role in IT emerged accidentally because I was more adept than other staff as a user of IT."

Respondents also indicated that they outsourced some or all of their IT activities:

• 23% outsourced most or all of their IT activities.

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<

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