Does new study show cloud computing is viable for SMEs?

Advantage of cloud for smaller businesses “loud and clear”, according to Australia-based research

A survey by Australian cloud software provider MYOB has shown that many SMEs are not taking advantage of the cloud – but those that do experience tangible benefits.

The research, conducted by market researchers Colmar Brunton and commissioned by MYOB, polled over 1000 SMEs and found some intriguing trends:

  • Accessing data from any location proved the biggest draw for SMEs migrating (42%)
  • Working remotely (28%); reducing IT usage issues (26%) and data protection (23%) also popular
  • But 27% of respondents said they didn’t know enough about the cloud to make a decision

Nearly four-fifths of the companies surveyed (79%) said they didn’t use the cloud for business. 14% said they did, while 8% weren’t sure.

The highlights from the research included various quick wins for enterprises. For example, 44% of SMEs in the cloud expected …