Cloud-based software is a major revenue source for service providers

Communication service providers (CSPs) have spent the last few years investing heavily in cloud software provision to expand their business.

A new report by Israel-based Allot Communications shows that this is paying off as software as a service is now a major revenue source for CSPs.

The most innovative CSPs surveyed have addressed enterprise CIO concerns around security and performance by responding with specific cloud-based visibility, control, quality of service (QoS) and security managed service offerings.

Of those surveyed 47 percent offer hosting services, and 42 percent have specifically developed cloud applications aimed at SMBs. 45 percent offer public cloud applications and services for enterprises, ranging from basic email and storage to sophisticated CRM and ERP solutions. . Microsoft’s Office 365 is the most popular cloud office suite, well ahead of Google, and is offered by 33 percent of surveyed CSPs.

Quality of service management for the cloud is lagging behind according to the results. Just 23 percent of CSPs are currently offering QoS and/or visibility solutions for mission-critical applications. 32 percent of CSPs offer some form of cloud-based security service such as anti-DDoS or URL filtering. However, QoS management is more popular when unified communications or Office are involved. With unified communications, 32 percent of CSPs offer QoS management, 48 percent offer it with Office applications and 50 percent with Microsoft Lync .

"Workforce productivity and mobility needs are causing CIOs to re-evaluate their network infrastructure and operations. At the same time, CSPs are responding by evolving their SMB and enterprise cloud services to reach beyond classic connectivity and IT solutions traditionally provided," says Yaniv Sulkes, AVP Marketing at Allot Communications. "The market trends surfaced in our report reflect what we are seeing with our CSP and enterprise customers. CSPs around the globe are increasingly delivering value added digital services that can help enterprises overcome their toughest adoption challenges and achieve the cost and efficiency benefits promised by the cloud".

For more details of the report visit the Allot website.

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