A new survey has shown that senior IT professionals are confused by cloud computing, which may demonstrate the need for IT outsourcing.

Research performed by Version One found that 41 per cent of senior IT professionals do not know what cloud computing actually is.

However, there is also confusion among the 59 per cent who claim to know about the innovation, with 17 per cent of these simply saying it is internet-based computing.

In addition, the survey found that just five per cent of respondents claim to use the solution “a lot”, with 19 per cent using it sparely.

Some 47 per cent also revealed that their organisation does not use cloud computing and 29 per cent do not know if it has been implemented.

Julian Buck, general manager of Version One, commented: “There are a number of contrasting views as to what cloud computing really is, which is hardly surprising in light of the many different cloud computing definitions in the public arena.”

Earlier this week, IT industry analyst Gartner claimed that cloud computing platforms must be service-based, scalable, metered by use, delivered via internet technologies and shared.