Half of IT Directors plan to switch from backup tapes to online back up within the next three years, according to new research published today by Connect Support Services.  The research, conducted for Connect, found that 22% of companies were already using some kind of remote backup service, with a further 28% predicting they will change from traditional tapes over the next three years.  The two biggest reservations about using an online back up solution were increased costs 19% and security concerns 14%.

The survey was conducted by an independent research company on behalf of Connect and consisted of in-depth interviews with IT Managers and Directors at 151 UK companies in a range of industries.

Key findings from the research include:
- The three sectors where the high proportion of IT Directors were anticipating using an Online Backup service were the public sector (69% within three years), business and professional services (52%) and IT/telecoms.  In contrast, only a quarter of IT Directors in property and construction were expecting to ditch their backup tapes for a remote backup solution.
- The reasons why organisations are resistant to moving away from tapes are: 19% increased costs, 14% security concerns about storing data, 7% impact on slowing down internet lines, 5% hassles involved in changing and 5% worries about the technology being unproven.
- Small business with less than 50 employees are less likely to switch to online back up (43%) than larger enterprises with over 250 staff (55%)
- There is no gender gap between those who want to retain their tapes and those who intend to use an Online Backup service with 50% of male IT Directors and 49% of female IT Directors indicating their intention to move from a tape solution within three years.

Mark MacGregor, CEO of Connect, said:
“It is only over the past twelve months that we have begun to recommend to our clients that they move away from the traditional backup tape solution, so it is interesting how quickly the market is now moving towards remote hosted backup.  One of the key factors holding people back from moving to Online Backup is cost – which is obviously even more important in the current economic climate. However,  with the costs of storage falling dramatically, we have found that the price for many online backup services are now significantly lower than they were even six months ago.  We are probably approaching a tipping point where tapes – at least for enterprises with relatively small amounts of data – rapidly fall out of favour in the market.” 

The survey of 151 IT Directors was conducted by The Survey Shop in 2008/2009. Full details of the survey can be found at www.connect.co.uk