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Study: Cloud Services From On-Premises To On-Demand: Page 2 of 2

AMI believes the following applications will accelerate need for on demand/cloud among SMBs from SaaS plus on-premise vendors:
    * Email/messaging: Approximately, 134k of non-SaaS US SMB users plan to adopt this application, allowing companies like Microsoft, who not only provide hosted solutions like exchange online in its BPOS bundle, but also its ubiquitous 'exchange on premise', to live in co-existence. This flexibility provides visibility to SMBs. And eventually with the realization of the TCO of on-premise many have the potential to migrate from Windows and .NET-based applications to the cloud.
    * Online storage and backup (archiving): Approximately, 129k non-SaaS US SMB users plan to adopt this solution, allowing companies like Seagate/i365 a local- and cloud-based disaster recovery backup for SMBs.
    * Document management and collaboration solutions: Over 125k US SMBs are looking in this direction for a collaborative tool, to companies like Microsoft with its product Sharepoint, or Yousendit as a solution.

Now as the budgeting season is just around the corner for most SMBs, economic headwinds are once again forcing businesses to revaluate a scalable strategy using IT. This said, companies such as Microsoft, SAP AG, and IBM, have a leg up with mixed local and cloud-integrated solutions.

"These companies are enjoying the SaaS tailwind, and it will be these companies with their hybrid model, which have a better chance of breaking down the barriers of the potential 5.7M non-SaaS US SMB users," Ms. Chew says.

SMB preferences for cloud-based application bundles, their price sensitivity and purchase channel preferences are further explored in AMI's upcoming Worldwide SMB Cloud Services Study. This study provides comprehensive coverage of: platforms and devices; IT infrastructure services; business productivity applications; business management/line-of-business applications; and unified communications. Research will be available later in 2010.

For more information about AMI-Partners, our Global SMB Cloud Services, or our other global SMB research, please call 212 944 5100, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ami-partners.com.