BMO Study: Cloud Computing Still a Mystery to Half of Canadian Businesses

BMO Financial Group released today the results of a recent BMO study asking Canadian business owners about their knowledge and appetite for cloud computing. The study conducted by Leger Marketing found that:

Absolutely new IT service model

While not an absolutely new IT service model, cloud computing is a rapidly growing information innovation trend, marketed as the provision by a third-party of shared software, data storage and computing capacity through a web-based server.

"At BMO, we continually advise small business owners to keep abreast of new ideas and developments that have the potential to be cost- and time-effective solutions for their businesses. Cloud computing provides small businesses with access to platforms and enterprise solutions once reserved solely for big businesses," said Cathy Pin, Vice President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal.

"The advantage of cloud computing for business owners is that it can help avoid major capital expenditures on hardware, software and other services, with their businesses paying only for what they use." explained Bal Sahjpaul, Director, eChannel, BMO Financial Group. "This service model can as well lower overall IT costs, during giving businesses access to valuable analytics, productivity and collaboration tools."

For news media inquiries, please contact: Paul Cunliffe, Toronto 416-867-7645 paul.cunliffe@bmo.com Sarah Bensadoun, Montreal 877-8224 sarah.bensadoun@bmo.com Laurie Grant, Vancouver 604-665-7596 laurie.grant@bmo.com Internet: www.bmo.com