Consumer confusion around Cloud technology

From online banking to storing email, social media and streaming services, cloud technology underpins the majority of online technology in both our personal and professional lives. In Juniper’s new survey of more than 2,000 U.K. consumers, 30 percent of respondents who indicate that they understand the use and benefits of cloud technology identified “peace of mind” - through data back-up capabilities to protect special items such as photos and contact information - as one of the greatest benefits of cloud technology.

The research further revealed that more than 70 percent of respondents spend more time on devices such as smart-phones, tablets and PCs than they do chatting face-to-face with colleagues, friends and family. Juniper’s findings also illustrate how highly we value the various technologies that we use to create, store and share information with friends and family, with nearly half (45.5 percent) of respondents saying that their laptop or tablet is the most important device they own. The survey also revealed a difference between the value of the technology and its usefulness, with less than 10 percent citing tablet devices as the most useful piece of technology in their lives, compared to the laptop at 39.7 percent.

CLOUD AWARENESS: Just under one quarter (21.8 percent) of respondents stated that they don’t use, are not aware that they use, or don’t know what cloud technology is, despite online streaming services such as Netflix (which accounts for more than one third of all bandwidth usage in the United States) being on the rise in the U.K.

There is a clear education need among those who are unknowingly relying on or not fully leveraging cloud technology, with 73.2 percent of respondents saying that cloud technology has either not made a difference or made only a moderate difference to their lives.

There is an apparent age differential, as respondents 24 years old and younger (53.6 percent) said cloud technology has either completely changed or significantly changed their way of life. Only three percent of those over 55 years old said cloud technology has ‘completely transformed’ their lives, with the majority of over 55 year olds (65.4 percent) saying it has made ‘no difference’ to their daily lives.

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPORTANCE: 31 percent of respondents stated that peace of mind from data back-up and protecting special items/information capabilities is a key benefit of using cloud technology, while 30 percent said that the ability to access information from anywhere, anytime, is a key factor in storing and sharing information in the cloud. Nearly one fifth (17.4 percent) of those surveyed said the ability to access the same information across multiple devices is cloud technology’s best benefit.

More than half (53.60 percent) of under 24 year olds said the ability to connect anywhere at any time is the best part of using cloud technologies, rather than data security.

DEVICE IMPORTANCE: 45.5 percent of those surveyed considered their laptop or tablet to be the most important device they use with the most useful piece of personal technology found to be the laptop (39.7 percent), even more than smart-phones (22 percent). More than one third (31.5 percent) of over 55 year olds value their TV over digital items like emails and social media accounts, which indicates a big generation divide when using technology and the impact it has on lifestyle.

PAYING TO RESTORE DIGITAL ASSETS: The survey found that people are placing increasing value on their digital personal possessions. Nearly half (48.5 percent) of respondents said they would be willing to pay at least £50 cash to get their digital assets back if lost; across the respondents, two percent admitted they would be willing to pay as much as £10,000 to get their personal online lives back. Nearly one quarter (23 percent) of the 34 years or younger category would be willing to pay between £200-300 while six percent of the 16-24 age group would be willing to spend £10,000 to retain their digital lives. If their online lives were wiped clean, 60 percent of over 55 year olds wouldn’t pay any money to get those assets back.