How much do you know about IT construction in the early stages of entrepreneurship?

The Internet entrepreneurial environment is becoming more and more free and open. Countless small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this trend and, based on their own dreams and interests, are joining the entrepreneurial boom.

But we say that entrepreneurs often understand products, users, and business models, but they are a group of people who don’t understand IT. However, in today’s era, IT is so important. Without IT, how can we support products?

In order to enable entrepreneurs to have a macro understanding of IT, 51CTO conducted a survey on the IT construction of entrepreneurial teams and presented the current IT construction status and awareness of entrepreneurial teams.

The survey lasted for one month, and a total of 336 questionnaires were collected, of which 305 were valid.

Next, let’s take a look at how entrepreneurial teams think about IT construction issues.

Question 1: How long have you been in business? ([Single-choice question]

The data shows that 62% of people have just started their business and have been in business for less than one year; 27% have been in business for more than three years; and the rest have been in business for between one and two years.

In September 2014, Premier Li Keqiang called for "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" at the Summer Davos Forum. Our survey data shows that as the entrepreneurial environment continues to improve, the entrepreneurial atmosphere is very good, many people have joined the entrepreneurial army, and many companies that have been in business for many years are still persisting.

Question 2: What is the direction of your entrepreneurship? [Single-choice question]

With so many people starting businesses, what are they starting? According to our survey, smart hardware accounts for 20%, which explains why you can see all kinds of novel smart hardware in many conference venues; the second place is Internet finance/medical care and e-commerce. So, what are the "others" doing? Some are doing task platforms, some are doing application software, and some are doing film and television production. In summary, they are providing services for enterprises.

Question 3: How many users does your startup currently have? [Single-choice question]

For startup teams, the number of users is one of their biggest concerns. Seeing this survey result, the editor also wants to give you some encouragement. After all, more than 80% of the teams have less than 10,000 users, and it is not easy for everyone to increase the number of users. Fortunately, 10% of the teams have tens of thousands of users, and 6.9% of the teams have hundreds of thousands of users.

Starting a business is difficult, and attracting users is even more difficult. A good entrepreneurial environment and more entrepreneurs will inevitably lead to serious homogeneous competition. Entrepreneurs must weigh the entrepreneurial model in the early stage. Entrepreneurship is important, but thinking and research in the early stage of entrepreneurship are even more important.

Question 4: In your opinion, how should startups choose to use public cloud or build their own systems? [Single-choice question]

If you have thought about your business model, how should you do your IT part? The startup team has to face a question: where should your business be placed? On the cloud? On a self-built system? Or both?

According to our survey, more than half of the respondents said they would consider both, that is, deploying their business on the cloud and in their own systems based on actual business decisions, with the proportion reaching 65%. This actually illustrates a very good question: will the future of cloud computing be private cloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud? At least for now, hybrid cloud is the trend. From our survey, we can see that everyone still recognizes the hybrid cloud model, even if they are just a relatively small startup team.

24% of people think that their business should be placed on the public cloud, and 10% think that it should be placed on self-built systems. I think this is of course related to their own entrepreneurial projects.

Question 5: Which of the following businesses do you think are suitable for cloud computing? [Multiple choice]

Since more people have chosen the hybrid cloud model, let's take a look at the businesses that everyone thinks are suitable for cloud computing. Among the many businesses, the top three are social image information (80%), video information (61%), and user login information (29%).

What do these services have in common? The biggest feature is that they take up more storage space. Currently, the price of storage is getting lower and lower in the market. Of course, part of the reason for users to make such a choice is cost considerations. At the same time, the confidentiality of these data is relatively low.

Question 6 Which of the following businesses do you think are suitable for self-built systems? [Multiple choice]

So, which data startup teams want to focus on self-built systems? The highest proportion is transaction information (77%), followed by user personal information (67%), and user registration information (64%).

Compared with businesses placed on the cloud, businesses placed in self-built systems mostly involve user-related information or the most critical supply chain information. From everyone's choice, it can be seen that everyone is more inclined to place core businesses on self-built systems, which also reveals everyone's concerns about public cloud security and privacy.

Question 7: Which brands do you prefer when choosing IT equipment? [Multiple choice]

If you want to build your own IT, what considerations will you take into account when purchasing equipment? According to the survey data, Dell, Lenovo, and Huawei are highly recognized brands, accounting for 61%, 47%, and 33% respectively.

The editor believes that Dell's products are well-known for their high cost-performance ratio and are suitable for small and micro enterprises and entrepreneurial enterprises, so it is not surprising that they are recognized by entrepreneurial teams; Lenovo's channels are very good, and its local after-sales service is also quite recognized; Huawei's product line is very comprehensive, and its brand effect has become stronger in recent years. The editor speculates that these may be the reasons why entrepreneurial teams choose them.

Question 8: What confusion do you encounter regarding IT equipment? [Multiple choice]

No matter how you choose to deploy your IT, the cost of IT is always high. And with the development of science and technology and the further improvement of information technology, the proportion of IT in enterprises will only increase. For entrepreneurial teams, the biggest problem is still "money". Insufficient funds for equipment procurement and the cost of upgrading and replacement have become their biggest confusion.

Question 9: How do you view the importance of mobile office for entrepreneurial team members? [Single-choice question]

Mobile office has been advocated for so many years. How do entrepreneurial teams view this issue? 58% of the teams think it is very important, 29% of the teams think it is important, and 12% of the teams still think it is just so-so.

We all call this an era of mobility, but it is unimaginable that there are still such a large group of people who think that mobile office is only moderately important. Therefore, media publicity is often ahead of the times, but it is precisely because of these advanced publicity that more companies are being guided to turn to mobile office.

Question 10: How does your team work? [Single-choice question]

The data of this question can actually explain the above problem, because 48% of the teams still work in a fixed location, and the number of teams that work completely freely is still small, accounting for only 12%. The number of teams that adopt both methods accounts for 38%.

Question 11: What office equipment does your team commonly use? [Multiple choice]

Judging from the data of this survey alone, the working style of entrepreneurial teams is still very traditional. Desktops and laptops are the most commonly used office equipment, mobile phones account for 48%, and tablets account for the lowest proportion. Printers are irreplaceable office equipment, and 61% of teams often use them.

After reading the survey from more than 300 friends, have you gained anything? Is there a gap with your imagination?