Parallels: SMBs hold the future for cloud growth

Vendor claims there is still scope for growth despite UK having the most developed cloud market for SMBs in the world

The UK SMB cloud services market is not saturated, according to virtualisation vendor Parallels, which claims that despite the UK having one of the most developed cloud markets for SMBs in the world, it still has potential for growth.

The vendor's Cloud Insights Report, released today, details the most profitable opportunities for delivering cloud services to SMBs, a market it expects to grow by 20 per cent annually to £2bn by 2015.

Expansion of current cloud use and adding new applications and functionality will be the main drivers of growth, according to Parallels' report.

The research outlined which types of SMBs would be responsible for the most cloud services growth. So-called "cloud converter" firms, which are looking to move away from in-house cloud offerings in favour of hosted services, offer the highest growth opportunities, according to the report.

"Cloud leapers", which will skip buying in-house IT altogether, and "cloud expanders" – which upsell expanding cloud offerings – form the second and third major opportunities in the SMB market, claimed Parallels.

John Zanni, Paralells' vice president for service provider marketing and alliances, said the suppliers who find the right cloud balance for their customers are set to grow the most.

"Our research continues to demonstrate that UK service providers who offer SMBs the right bundle of services at the right price will expand their customer base and revenues as well as enjoy the most growth," he added.

"The challenge to service providers is how to better know and understand the buying behaviours of their SMBs."