Tag Archives: SMB

Embrace The Cloud, Enjoy More Revenue

embrace-the-cloudSMBs that embrace Cloud computing and business websites are much more likely to enjoy rising revenue than others, according to accounting software provider, MYOB.

The company’s March 2013 MYOB Business Monitor study, which was conducted by research firm Colmar Brunton and surveyed more than 1000 SMBs, found that the businesses that adopted Cloud technologies were twice as likely to see an earnings uplift in the past year.

However, only 16 per cent indicated to use Cloud computing and 38 per cent said to have a business website.

MYOB CEO, Tim Reed, said the research findings provide a clear cut case for embracing online technologies in business.

“It’s obvious that as time goes on, Australian business operators using Cloud computing are increasingly likely to achieve positive financial results. This ubiquitous technology has helped so many smaller businesses become better connected, more productive and more competitive,” he said.

Another key finding of the study is the widening gap in financial performance between the online-savvy and the online-cautious.

Business operators in the Cloud were not only more likely to see a revenue rise in the past year (33 per cent versus 16 per cent of those who weren’t) they were more likely to expect one in the next year (37 per cent as compared to 28 per cent).

Similarly, those with a business website were not only more likely to see a revenue rise in the past year (24 per cent versus 15 per cent), but also more likely to expect revenue growth in the next year (35 per cent versus 27 per cent).

“Interestingly, more than half our respondents said they would vote for the political party that proposed ‘free government-funded training on how to use the Internet to enhance their business.’ This says the majority realise they require further education on how to best employ online technology,” Reed said.

Other findings from the study include:

  • The most popular reason for Cloud use was the ability to access data from whatever location they wanted (52 per cent).
  • The top use for Cloud computing was file sharing (50 per cent) and file back-up (49 per cent).
  • 35 per cent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about Cloud computing to implement it.
  • Among the SMBs that didn’t have a website, 68 per cent said they did not set one as they prefer to advertise and market their business using other methods.
  • Businesses exporting goods and services were the most likely to use Cloud computing and business websites.
  • South Australia had the highest proportion of Cloud users (22 per cent) and business website owners (42 per cent).


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Cloud Adoption Increases Security for SMBs

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Small and medium businesses have a lot to gain through adopting cloud computing, a recent research from comScore – sponsored by Microsoft – shows.

Not only would these companies benefit from important time and money savings when adopting the cloud, but they also see increased security levels, the aforementioned research shows.

According to the survey, which was conducted among both cloud and non-cloud SMBs in the U.S., India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, most businesses who chose to make the move to the cloud consider it a great step in their evolution.

The study shows that SMBs are increasingly more confident on the benefits of cloud computing after adoption, and that twenty percent of companies spend less on security, while only 4 percent of non-cloud businesses suggest the same

Forty-one percent of cloud users considered the service provider as being entirely responsible for the security of their information, which suggests both the level of confidence in such services and that they need to be educated on their responsibilities on the area.

Fifty-seven percent of surveyed companies said that they felt that responsibility was shared with their cloud provider.

This also means that companies that offer cloud services have to ensure that their software is constantly updated so that they can meet the latest requirements in terms of security and reliability.

Richard Saunders, director, Trustworthy Computing, explained to Softpedia in a phone briefing that Microsoft is focused on improving the security of their cloud products.

Every second Tuesday, the Redmond-based giant releases security updates to users, in a process that also makes security updates delivery more predictable and transparent.

Microsoft is one of the main players in the provision of cloud services, with an offering that includes products such as Windows Azure, Windows Intune, Office 365 or Dynamics CRM, available for all customers interested in benefiting from public cloud capabilities.

Moreover, the software giant offers private cloud products as well, including Windows Server, SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, Lync, SharePoint and the like, all of which are being periodically updated with patches for discovered vulnerabilities and with new features.

Of course, this does not mean that all targeted companies install these updates, due to a variety of reasons, including the costs and the lack of expertise to adjust the business to these updates.

Other findings of the survey also include:

  • Forty-five percent said it was easier to integrate systems.
  • Thirty-eight percent said they spent less time managing security.
  • Thirty-four percent were more confident in their company’s regulatory compliance.
  • Forty-two percent said the cloud made it easier for them to scale their business to explore new markets.
  • Forty-one percent said they were able to employ more staff in roles that directly benefit sales or growth.
  • Thirty-nine percent said they were able to invest in product development or innovation.
  • Thirty-seven percent felt that they benefited from improved agility and competitiveness.
  • Under Impacts, improved security and agility/competitiveness and better scalability are benefits perceived by cloud users.

All in all, it seems that cloud computing is indeed helping SMBs become more competitive and enjoy important savings and increased security levels.

However, not all of them consider the cloud as reliable. Those who haven’t adopted it yet are worried of transparency and identity security say that industry standards for cloud security would help them reconsider their position on the matter.

Non-cloud users are also concerned about security (40 percent) and the cost of transitioning (33 percent) to a new business model, yet the research shows that, in fact, they have nothing to fear on this.

However, Richard Saunders also notes that businesses need to make their own decision when it comes to cloud computing, but that they also need to make informed decisions, and that Microsoft is one of the companies focused on ensuring that this indeed happens.

Author: Ionut Arghire
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IT spending by SMBs up 15% in first quarter

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Biggest spending is going towards tablets, cloud and virtualization, according to a new study.

Small and medium-sized businesses are spending more money on IT, including adopting tablets, cloud services and virtualization to a greater extent, according to Spiceworks’ State of SMB IT survey.

IT budgets at companies with fewer than 1,000 employees grew 6 percent in the first half of 2012 from the second half of 2011, and 15 percent year-over-year, according to the survey.

The average annual IT budget is currently $152,000, up from $143,000 for the second half of 2011 and the $132,000 reported for the first half of 2011, it said.

Much of the jump in SMB IT spending is due to tablet adoption, the Spiceworks study reveals.

SMBs are spending more on technology across the board, from hardware and devices, to cloud services and virtualization. For example, 62 percent have deployed or plan to deploy tablets within the next six months. That compares to the 50 percent reported for the second half of 2011, according to Spiceworks.

Also, 48 percent use cloud services and 64 percent use virtualization, compared to 28 percent and 54 percent for the first half of 2011, respectively.

While the growth of virtualization is tapering off, the respondents are virtualizing more applications — 3.1 applications versus an average of 2.1 applications a year ago.

The largest portion of IT budgets will be allocated to hardware purchases, followed by software and IT services, according to the survey.

The State of SMB IT survey included 1,498 respondents from around the world. About half of respondents were from North America; 33 percent were from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 15 percent from Asia-Pacific; and 4 percent from Latin America, according to Spiceworks.

Author: Mikael Ricknäs
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What SMBs Need To Know About SaaS

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Software as a Service is one of—if not the most—popular cloud delivery models for small- and medium-sized businesses. According to Gartner—Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing (2011), SaaS is entering the mainstream market in the next two to five years.

The SaaS model levels the playing field between growing businesses and larger competitors, by equipping SMBs with application functionality that only large enterprises previously enjoyed. Moreover, this increase in functionality no longer requires huge investments in technology and resources. SMBs no longer have to worry about the costs and investment associated with building and maintaining an infrastructure to support modern business applications as the SaaS subscription and delivery model now makes these applications affordable to businesses of all sizes.

While SaaS adoption continues to grow amongst SMBs, it’s important to realize that nothing is ever as easy as it seems. There are thousands of SaaS applications on the market today. Which ones have the right features for your business? Which ones have the security and scalability you need? How do you get started and what support should you expect? How do you pull all these solutions together, with your existing applications and make sure they support your business?

These are important questions that growing companies typically have little time to consider, particularly with limited IT resources.Once you get beyond the basics of SaaS like cost, infrastructure, access, maintenance and support, here is the next level of items growing businesses should consider when choosing a SaaS solution:

Integration
As growing businesses increase their use of SaaS technology, the need for integrating the businesses’ applications is critical. With little appetite to rip and replace existing applications at once, SMBs must ensure that they connect new SaaS applications to legacy systems. When looking for a SaaS integration solution, SMBs should look for these main characteristics: 1. Simple to implement; 2. Out-of-the box connectors with cloud and legacy systems; 3. Ability to configure without customization

Analytics
Today’s organizations are overwhelmed with data that is siloed on a number of disparate business applications including sales, finance and human resources. SMBs struggle to access and analyze the data they need to get an overall view of business performance.

Today most businesses rely on spreadsheet-based reports that are cumbersome to build and maintain and are frequently out-of-date. They need an analytics tool that comes out of the box with 70 percent of the cross-application reporting capabilities they need yet is flexible enough to be configured and modified as the business changes.

Partners
While the comfort level with cloud computing is growing, many businesses are still wondering “Where do I begin?” When SMBs start to think about expanding their software portfolio from a sea with thousands of seemingly identical SaaS applications, it’s worthwhile to find a trusted partner to help along the way.

Thankfully, there is a new class of partners emerging who offer an end-to-end solution and who are capable of delivering multiple SaaS applications, plug and play integrations, cross application analytics and turnkey services. These partners have the experience and track record to help SMBs choose a solution and stand behind it. With limited IT staff, they don’t have time to sift through all the options and the value-proposition a partner can bring is significant for a small- or medium-sized business.

Now that the market is transitioning, there are new SaaS partner models emerging with companies offering end-to-end services including implementation, integration, business process consulting and support across multiple applications. If you are a growing company with limited IT resources, consider looking at a partner who offers a total solutions approach.

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Cloud Computing Key To Small Business Success

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Small businesses have the power to revive the nation’s economy; they just need the opportunity, technology and the right government policies to help them succeed, according to a report from the Center for Public Policy Innovation (CPPI) and the Digital Dialogue Forum (DDF). The report also notes small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and they are responsible for two-thirds of the 40 million jobs created in the country over the past 30 years, calling them the nation’s greatest source of innovation and vital to maintaining the country’s economic competitiveness.

A December forum in Washington, D.C., entitled “Creating Jobs and Unleashing the Potential of Small Businesses Through Technology and Innovation” addressed many of the issues that impact the ability of American entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life at home and abroad, including the growing importance technologies like cloud computing and mobile connectivity hold for startups and small businesses.

Steve Felice, president of global consumer, small and medium business at Dell, facilitated the discussion with Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership; Sean Greene, associate administrator for investment and special advisor for innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); and Jonathan Ortmans, president of Global Entrepreneurship Week and senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Felice framed the discussion as one about “access”—access to capital, access to global markets and access to modern technology. According to Felice, focusing on these three elements will help small businesses thrive in a way that will reinvigorate the United States economy as a whole. “This is something we have to keep evangelizing so everyone understands. We tend to focus on the large companies, but it’s the small businesses that create jobs,” said Felice.

In addressing technology, the panel highlighted the fact that cloud computing and mobile technologies have lowered the cost of entry for smaller firms, allowing them to invest more in their innovative ideas. Global supply chains used to be controlled by larger firms, but now, smaller firms have the ability to build virtual supply chains to expand their presence around the world. Access to technology has also allowed some of the brightest minds to collaborate on a global scale, creating a community of innovators unrestrained by distance and geographical boundaries.

While Case spent $3 million on equipment when founding the travel Website Priceline.com in 1997, he estimates that entrepreneurs can now harness the same level of processing power and technology platforms for approximately $1,000, courtesy of low-cost cloud computing providers such as Dell, Intuit and Amazon. “The game has absolutely changed in our ability to leverage technology and the ability to access terabytes at almost zero cost by lowering the cost of entry. Everything has information wrapped around it,” Case said. “There are bits around everything, even the chair you’re sitting on. The movement around startups is about leveraging that platform and being able to invest more in their ideas.”

Access to technology has also helped level the playing field for established small businesses. Felice said he was struck by the way smaller firms are able to compete with large companies. “Traditionally, large companies had a big advantage in the supply chain, and they’ve also had much better access to customers through marketing. But with technology like cloud applications, even the smallest business can get off the ground,” he said.

Author: Nathan Eddy
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Cloud Is The Only Way To Go For SMBs

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The cloud computing model represents an important change in how information technology works. Just as the major changes that happened first with the client-server application model and then with the Internet, the drivers of this new revolution are accessibility and cost – how can computing infrastructure, platforms and applications have more widespread usage and how can they be made cheaper. In fact, price and accessibility go hand-in-hand: the cheaper technology becomes, the more people will use it.

These two drivers are especially valuable for small businesses. By making technology cheaper, the cloud allows more small businesses to adopt IT solutions – from simple e-mail and applications to more complex projects – leading to leaner and more profitable companies. The cloud has also brought a proliferation of service providers, and this gives businesses more options when choosing their vendors.

The advantages of pay-as-you-go for SMBs

The cloud computing model is furthering the shift from products to services that started in IT some years ago. The end-product of this is the pay-as-you-go model for everything, from infrastructure and servers to software applications. In this model, the user only has to pay for the resources used over the course of a given period, such as a month. This means, for instance, that a small business can pay for storage as their storage needs grow, instead of having to buy storage based on growth projections. The same thing goes for processing power, server instances and even application licenses.

This is important for small businesses for several different reasons. First, for a lot of them, making any kind of projections about how their IT needs will grow over time is usually very hard. Even large companies have trouble managing their operations, as evidenced by Wal-Mart’s recent troubles. For smaller companies, predicting future needs is even more difficult. A sudden growth in popularity due to word-of-mouth advertising may bring so many visitors to a small business’s web site that it becomes unresponsive, generating frustration amongst potential customers and having a negative result, instead of a positive one. With the elastic, pay-as-you-go model of the cloud, any small business can have access to easily (or even automatically) scalable computing platforms, reducing the risks of downtime and the need for accurate projections.

Another major advantage of the pay-as-you-go model is that it transforms expenditures in IT from investments into expenses. This means that companies no longer have to buy a new server. They can, instead, pay for a cloud server instance on a monthly basis. This greatly reduces the costs of going into business. As an added benefit, some of the major cloud providers have “free tiers”, focused on small usage scenarios, which means that recently started businesses can have access to top-level providers for free.

Finally, this model solves a major problem of small businesses: the fact that a lot of them fail. If a small company makes an investment in software and hardware and then goes out of business for any reason, it has no way of recovering that investment, since there isn’t much of a market for used servers, desktops or software licenses. By adopting cloud solutions, however, a company can shut down its operations and cancel software licenses at the click of a button. This means, in addition to having to make no investment in the first place, no leftovers if the company goes under.

A deluge of data

An important side effect of the shift to the cloud is the proliferation of data that has become available for anyone to access. Not only are cloud services massive producers of data, usually about their availability, uptime and so on, but more and more services are opening up their data for consumption by others. It is possible today for even small companies to leverage data from several sources, such as Facebook and Google analytics, to improve their offerings and better reach their customers.

Although information is the lifeblood of any business, big or small, Big Data can have a much larger impact for small businesses and startups. By making use of this data, companies can better segment their customers and create more focused marketing campaigns, improving the return on investments. For companies with a more limited marketing budget, having a better response rate to advertisement can make all the difference in the world.

If companies had to depend on traditional data analysis tools to utilize the generated data, costs would be untenable. Fortunately, there are also cloud tools and services that allow anyone to process, make sense of, and extract knowledge from Big Data. With these services, small companies can improve their processes and even have better profits over time.

If I were opening a small business today…

I would definitely jump on the cloud bandwagon. The simple reduction in costs that can be achieved by using cloud-based solutions can make a huge difference in the budget of a new company. If we add this to the fact that by using cloud solutions companies are able to start operating much more quickly, and add it to the possibility to scale operations as needed, it becomes obvious that cloud is the way to go.

The cares that must be taken when hiring cloud services are the same that would need to be taken with any regular IT provider: make sure you need what you are buying, that you are getting a good price, and that your expectations match the service level offered. Information about different providers is only a Google search away, so do some research. In terms of costs vs. benefits, however, there is no other way to go.

Author:Thoran Rodrigues
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Avoid Desktop Virtualization ROI Traps

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If potential cost savings are driving your desktop virtualization decision, beware the ROI killer: Over-provisioning.

Over-provisioning is a nice way of saying you’re throwing money away. That could happen in a variety of forms, such as buying infrastructure that it better suited for a much larger company, planning for growth that doesn’t happen, or not doing your homework on what other technology you’ll need to support virtualization. But fear of wasteful spending shouldn’t stop you in your virtual tracks; rather, it should motivate informed, careful decisions.

Raj Dhingra, CEO of NComputing, believes 2011 is a turning point in desktop virtualization deployments among small and midsize businesses. Dhingra, who left Citrix to take the NComputing helm in April, also said the broader field of virtualization vendors has taken note: “Everybody sees there is a big opportunity there.”

As the number of viable virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) options for SMBs increase, Dhingra recommends paying close attention to four key areas when making a decision. Doing so can help minimize the over-provisioning risk and ensure a real return on the investment.

1. Look for platforms specifically designed for SMBs. While a vendor’s ability to scale with the growth of your company is important, don’t let your daydreams overshadow your actual needs–starting small can provide a bigger ROI in a shorter period time.

“Buy the shoe that fits rather than buying the shoe that’s two sizes bigger in hopes that you’re going to fit into it over time,” Dhingra said.

The most obvious place to look is the cost per seat: This often tops the $1,000 mark in enterprise platforms, which makes the total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI) case trickier for SMBs. “If it’s now costing you more than a PC, that’s your first red flag,” Dhingra said. He added that TCO/ROI analysis for a 100-seat deployment is not the same thing as a 100-seat proof of concept–with an expectation that several thousand seats will be added later.

It should be noted that for some SMBs, ROI isn’t just a matter of comparing virtual desktop versus traditional PC costs. At Infinity Sales Group, for example, both desktop support and power costs were major factors. For Silicon Valley Builders Group, mobility was the critical payoff in going virtual. In fact, the firm’s CIO noted in an interview that just comparing per-seat costs can be a dead-end: “It would be a hard sell. Virtualization is still something like $1,200 per user, versus a PC I can go buy at Fry’s for $500,” he said.

No matter your particular business case, cost-per-seat is obviously still important. The moral: Don’t pay for seats you don’t need.

2. Know your supporting infrastructure needs. Desktop virtualization doesn’t mean you’re leaving hardware behind. Make sure you have a complete understanding of the supporting pieces you need, both on the server or host side and the client side. For the former, this includes things like servers, storage, and networking equipment. On the client side, don’t forget to account for the actual devices–such as thin clients, for example–as well as your software needs.

Dhingra said not taking all the necessary components of VDI into account is a key budget pitfall for SMBs, particularly if the initial investment is based on an expectation of significant growth. It can also lead an organization to an infrastructure it’s ill equipped to manage.

“That means not only the capital to actually procure [VDI], but then do I have internal expertise within my company to actually deal with this and work with it?” Dhingra said.

3. How many vendors are you willing to work with? Another possible sign you’re headed down a path of over-provisioning: If your desktop virtualization project requires one or more multi-vendor components. This is likely a bigger issue for the “S” in SMB. While a midmarket firm with, say, 750 employees has more resources to manage multi-vendor platforms, a 50-person company might not want the potential headaches. More importantly, it might not have enough IT resources to do so. “It becomes a systems integration project that is typically suited to a larger company,” Dhingra said.

4. How soon until you’re up and running? You can’t really start the ROI meter until your deployment is complete, right? For budget-constrained SMBs, a multi-month (or even year-plus) VDI project adds hidden costs–another form of over-provisioning–that can immediately dull the shine of potential savings. Moreover, smaller companies usually thrive on their speed and agility–IT projects should be no different. Dhingra said IT pros at SMBs should factor training and skills developments here, too: If you lose two days at an off-site training, for example, that’s an expense–even if the event is “free.”

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Move to Cloud Computing Drives Virtual Call Center Trend

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In the contact center space today, the cloud is having a significant impact. Not only does this deployment model offer lower cost and greater functionality, it can also open up a broader reach for those operating in nearly every industry. In a recent Contactual white paper, the company took a broader look at the two biggest affects of the cloud on the traditional contact center.

Cost Benefits of the Virtual Call Center

With the integration of the cloud in the contact center space, a number of companies are moving to launch the virtual call center. In doing so, they are enjoying a delivery platform that is much more affordable than the traditional brick and mortar approach. Organizations can now shift from CAPEX to OPEX, while smaller centers have access to functionality and features previously only afforded large enterprises.

The cost benefit has been touted by a number of different companies offering virtual call center technology and such benefits have been proven through extensive research. The topic, in fact, has been studied intently and leading research firms suggest that total cost savings in the acquisition, operation and maintenance of contact center operations have been in the 25 percent to 50 percent range.

Adoption of the virtual call center has been rapid in the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) space and the hosted model has proven itself to be a viable option. As a result of this success, larger enterprises and bigger contact center operations are adopting the virtual call center as a valuable business tool.

The Improved Virtual Call Center Agent

With the rise in the adoption of the virtual call center, we have also seen the increase in the use of at-home agents. The cloud is a key enabler for the at-home agent within the virtual call center as agents can easily and securely connect via the Web from nearly any location. And, as labor continues to be the largest cost associated with any call center, this move to reduce the overall costs associated with staff is one that is gaining momentum.

The at-home agent within the virtual call center delivers other benefits as well. In fact, successful at-home agent models have proven this approach can reduce agent attrition, with some studies showing attrition to be as low as 10 percent, compared with 25 percent to 45 percent in traditional centers. Lower rates for attrition drives significant cost savings, more satisfied agents and better overall customer service.

The virtual call center offers a full range of options to the small or large business seeking to optimize its customer service initiatives. The challenge is to identify the right mix for each business and implement an effective strategy for success.

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The Cloud for Small Business

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Apple Inc yesterday announced the coming of its cloud based platform, aptly dubbed iCloud. According to news reports, the web service will synchronise and coordinate shared content across all devices – a key element being its ability to stream music; in other words an all-new iTunes.

Following its hotly anticipated autumn launch, iCloud has the potential to revolutionise how music is acquired and distributed, offering a service to rival that of Google, Amazon, and Spotify in the UK. Given the huge success of its predecessor, it’s easy to imagine iCloud dominating the industry and becoming the go-to music source.

While MDs, FDs and other senior management will no doubt join up to the iCloud service for downloading their music in a heartbeat (after all, if you don’t have an iPhone, well…) it begs the question why owner managers are so seemingly reticent to use similar services within a working environment? Especially as most people have probably long been using ‘cloud’ based applications for business and leisure without even knowing it nor giving it a second thought.

Not farfetched

If you have a Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo or other hosted email account and use downloaded resources such as Google Docs, you’re already on the cloud. When you think of it that way, becoming a fully fledged cloud convert by entrusting your work email and desktop to the ether suddenly doesn’t seem so farfetched. Especially when you consider that, up until the early 90s, the mainframe technology that most offices relied on was akin to what’s now being billed as ‘The Cloud’.

No applications were hosted on the user’s machine but accessed via a server in the corner of the room. The cloud works on the same principle – instead of sending your device into processing overdrive by running multiple programmes, your assets are held in secure data centres.

The greater peace of mind this delivers from a business continuity perspective is perhaps the strongest argument for making the switch (because your data is stored in at least two locations the chances of complete shutdown are almost negligible) but considerations such as running and environmental costs (cloud services are estimated to save at least £1 per day in electricity charges); more flexible working (the ability to access your documents from anywhere with an internet connection); and the option to determine individual user rights (restrict employee downloads, including social media activity and the extraction of confidential company documents) also make a compelling case for the cloud.

For start-ups too, the upfront savings on physical hardware and deployment make the cloud’s pay-as-you-go model a more viable IT infrastructure solution.

Security scare

What’s holding businesses back then? Recent high profile scares at Sony, Amazon and Google have raised concerns in the media about security on the cloud. But the reality is that cyber criminals are unconcerned where the data is hosted – many companies that have stored their data on-site rather than ‘in the cloud’ have suffered a similar fate. Hackers can only break through if the firewall software fails to prevent unauthorised users gaining access.

And seen as very few small businesses can afford the high-end security systems that protect specialist data sites, for SMEs, the cloud is certainly a safer place to store data.

The benefits of cloud computing far outweigh any outside chance of a security scare (and let’s face it, unless you’re in the same league as Sony you probably don’t feature too highly on the average hacker’s hit list).

Indeed, the fact that 70% of CIOs in public and private sector companies in the US, Europe and Asia, said that they were either using or planning to use cloud computing services for hosting their data and applications is testament enough to widespread business belief in the cloud and, closer to home, around 90% of our North West client base at Flexsys is considering moving their email – and at least 70% all their networking, data and applications – over to hosted services.

So, if you can’t beat them, should you join them? Perhaps when you’re downloading your holiday playlist consider what a move to the cloud could mean for you and your business. Because, to paraphrase our friends at Apple, if you’re not on the cloud, well, you’re not on the cloud…


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Vast Majority of Small Businesses Unaware of Cloud Computing

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Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of small businesses surveyed by Newtek Business Services said they have never heard of cloud computing, underlining a fundamental lack of knowledge about the technology. Based on a poll of approximately 1,800 respondents, the survey found only 26 percent of those who had heard of cloud computing could describe what it was.

Seventy-one percent of respondents acknowledged they do not keep their critical business files and data backed up offsite—only 29 percent of respondents said they did. Barry Sloane, president and CEO of Newtek said cloud computing would be the next important trend in the U.S. economy for businesses large and small, and there is no doubt that business owners will embrace the cloud concept and over time gravitate towards its massive benefits. “We surveyed over 1,800 independent business owners and discovered that the concept of cloud computing has begun to disseminate into the marketplace, due primarily to large advertising programs by entities like Microsoft, Cisco and others,” he said. “Business owners will need to understand what the cloud is and what it can do for their businesses in the areas of cost control, data security, data protection, accessibility, efficiency and productivity to facilitate a smooth running technological platform for their business.”

Sloane said about 25 percent of their business owners said they understood what cloud computing was, but when they drilled down deeper most, 78 percent, thought that their data was secure. Meanwhile, 71 percent stated their data was not backed up offsite. “Server huggers beware,” he warned. “The cloud is approaching; the security blanket of the server in the closet onsite and having an assistant backup important business data and confidential client information needs to be behind us all. Our survey this month is quite telling about what independent business owners really need to know about the cloud and how misinformed they are about data safety and security.”

A report earlier this month from by Verio, a provider of online business solutions to SMBs, came to a similar conclusion, finding more than two-thirds of respondents are uncertain if they would purchase a cloud solution in the near future. However, despite this lack of knowledge, respondents sought the benefits of a cloud offering, with 21 percent citing the ability to share resources and 20 percent citing on-demand resources as important, showcasing a need for education on cloud benefits specific to small businesses.

With the proper knowledge and education on cloud technology, 20 percent of decision makers stated they were “likely” or “very likely” to implement a cloud computing solution in the next 12 months while almost 10 percent were “likely” or “very likely” to implement in the next three months, according to survey results.

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