Over one third of Dutch internet users engaged in cloud computing

According to a survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands, more than one in three internet users in the age category 12 years and older were engaged in cloud computing in 2014. Young internet users in particular embrace this internet facility, which allows centralised data storage instead of data storage on the user’s own PC.

Cloud computing is a fairly recent internet service offered to internet users for storing and sharing files and information. In the age category 12 years or older, 35 percent of people who have used the internet during the past three months, have stored data via the internet. Storage space in the cloud is frequently offered free of charge, in combination with software for tablet computers and smartphones. Users of cloud computing services more often than non-users have tablet computers or smartphones at their disposal.

Internet users under the age of 45 (45 percent) more often use cloud computing services than their over-65 counterparts (18 percent). Higher educated people more often use cloud computing services than lower educated people. One quarter of lower educated people use cloud computing services, versus 46 percent of higher educated people. Generally, cloud users have more internet skills than non-users. As young persons are more competent with computers, they are much more often engaged in cloud computing than older persons.

Cloud predominantly used for photo storage
About 90 percent of internet users report they use the cloud for photo storage. The cloud is also frequently used to upload text files, spreadsheets and presentations; 64 percent indicate to use the cloud for these purposes. Music, videos or e-books are less frequently uploaded.

Three-quarters of persons engaged in cloud computing use this service to store data on a server and access these data by means of various devices; nearly as many people use the cloud to share files with other people or as back-up to prevent data from getting lost. Four in ten people use the cloud to acquire extra storage space.

One third of internet users not engaged in cloud computing are not familiar with this online service. Two in every three people are familiar with cloud computing, but have never used it, mainly because they are apprehensive about security and privacy issues.