SMB Opportunities in Bundled Cloud

According to Amdocs (NASDAQ:DOX), communications service providers have an opportunity to capitalize on the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) segment by offering cloud-based services and bundling them with traditional communication services.

The research surveyed 1,311 SMB decision makers from North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Among the findings:

• 66% of respondents said cloud-based services are very important to their business, with 57% stating that their companies already take advantage of cloud-based services; 44% of those who are not yet using cloud-based services are actively considering it.
• Most consumed services are for storage and backup (72%), computer networks (48%) and office software (41%).
• SMBs engage with three different vendors on average for their cloud-based services requirements.
• 45% of respondents said their companies get cloud-based services from their primary service provider; 74% of respondents said they prefer to receive cloud-based services from their primary service provider, but 41% believe they can get better deals from independent cloud vendors, 32% did not ask for or receive information about cloud-based offerings from their primary service provider, and 31% do not believe their primary service provider even offers cloud-based services.
• 68% said they are more likely to select a service provider that offers cloud-based services over one that does not, and 44% said they will switch from third-party cloud services providers to their primary communications services providers if offered bundles of traditional and cloud services.
• 80% of respondents said they want to receive one bill for all the communication services they consume.