Despite perceptions to the contrary, small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) are benefiting from increased IT data security as a result of a move to cloud computing, according to new research from comscore and Microsoft.

The results of the research, carried out among SMBs in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and the US, oppose the perception of security as the Achilles heel of the cloud argument.

The study shows that 35% of U.S. companies surveyed had experienced noticeably higher levels of security since moving to the cloud. In addition, 32% said they spent less time worrying about the threat of cyber attacks.

U.S. SMBs using the cloud spent 32% less time each week managing security than companies not using the cloud. They were also five times more likely to have reduced what they spend on managing security as a percentage of overall IT budget.

More US survey results …