A cloud computing specialist is launching a brand new service to help East Lancashire companies migrate their IT into the cloud after research showed a lack of understanding is holding businesses back.

In a survey undertaken by Red Plane, 47% of businesses polled who hadn’t switched to cloud based services said that they didn’t feel they had enough information to make the change, whilst 23% said they were apprehensive about moving to something away from the safety of their own offices, 12% highlighted budget constraints, 10% were worried about disruption to the workforce and 8% said they simply didn’t have time to think about it.

In total 49% of those polled said that they had or were about to implement cloud services within their business, which is below the UK cloud adoption rate of 69%*.

In response to the survey results, Microsoft Partner Red Plane is launching a new service that will focus on helping companies with 25 users or more to adopt Microsoft Office 365. As well as full email migration, the new service will include multiple training sessions and seminars educating customers on cloud and online safety and also includes the installation of a “starter” intranet to get companies going.

Red Plane Director Mark Stokes said: “Everyone in IT recognizes cloud is the future, but our research shows fear of the unknown and of disruption is holding Lancashire companies back from harnessing the benefits.

“Whilst there is some adoption as companies realise the potential of cloud, there’s clearly a lot of work to be done in educating the wider business arena about the key benefits of introducing this technology and how it can help transform the way they work, as well as dispelling some of the myths surrounding security, ease of migration and cost.

“One of the key benefits of cloud is that businesses no longer need to buy expensive hardware, software licences, or manage IT in house – they can pay for what they use whether it’s email, CRM, payroll systems, online backup, web hosting or team collaboration and can adapt the number of licences on a month-by-month basis so it’s completely scaleable as businesses grow.

“Cloud’s flexibility can help businesses move into new territories and alter their business model quickly, which is much more difficult if you’re restricted by in-house IT and having to wait weeks for a new server to arrive.

“Our new service has been launched to guide companies through the process and ensure that changing to the cloud is not something to be feared but a valuable business opportunity.”

For advice and support about moving your business to the cloud contact Red Plane on 0845 004 2247 or go to www.redplane.co.uk/onboarding