SMBs investing more in the cloud | DISYS

Small and medium-sized business (SMB) decision-makers are raising their IT budgets, and cloud computing has a lot to do with that, according to a recent study.

"The world's SMBs continue to increase their investment in new technologies, including tablet devices, smartphones, cloud services and virtualization," said Jay Hallberg, co-founder and vice president of marketing at Spiceworks. "The results of our research bode well for the industry as new technologies become more pervasive and prompt IT departments to make additional investments."

The Spiceworks survey revealed that worldwide SMB IT budgets have increased 7 percent since the first half of 2012, growing from an average of $152,000 to $162,000 over that time span. Hardware and software investments make up nearly three-quarters of technology investment, while IT services account for the other 26 percent.

The report also found that cloud computing is becoming popular among SMBs, particularly with regard to cloud-based web hosting, email and data backup. Currently, 62 percent of IT departments use cloud-based services, up from 27 percent in 2011, and that number is expected to jump to 73 percent by the first half of 2013.

Moving to the cloud
A recent Computerworld blog discussed several strategies company and IT leaders should keep in mind when deciding whether or not to implement cloud-based services:

- Before investing in any new technology, decision-makers should determine which programs would benefit from being in the cloud. If only certain applications need to be accessible from anywhere, an IT department may want to employ a hybrid cloud computing strategy instead.

- Company leaders should thoroughly understand everything a package has to offer beforehand, from the included services to the policy for upgrades.

- Do not disregard the importance of IT departments. While cloud vendors take on certain responsibilities, tech professionals are essential for enhancing security and determining when to upgrade company software.

Source: http://www.disys.com/latest-news/smbs-investing-more-in-the-cloud/

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