Virtualisation a hit as SMBs expect IT spending rise

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Virtualisation and cloud computing have emerged as two of the most popular technologies among small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according to research.

The Microsoft SMB/Partner Insight Report, based on a poll of Microsoft Small Business specialist partners, revealed that overall SMB IT spending is expected to rise by an average of 16 per cent compared with 2009 levels.

More than a fifth of respondents ranked virtualisation as the top money saving technology, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) was placed in the top three technology solutions for both cost reduction and business growth.

The study also predicted a 19 per cent rise in small and midsize customers using cloud solutions in some form.

Robert Epstein, head of SMB at Microsoft UK, told T PRO that there are still concerns about the fragile nature of the economy to overcome.

“Whilst small businesses are continuing to find revenue growth challenging, many have reacted well to the downturn and have lowered their costs, strengthened relationships with current customers and reduced their levels of debt," he said.

“With plenty of exciting new technologies such as Windows 7 and cloud services, smaller businesses believe the time is right for targeted IT investment to help them return to growth.”

This positive forecast for the industry backs up predictions by analyst Gartner, which has claimed IT spending is expected to reach $3.4 trillion in 2010, representing a 5.3 per cent increase from the $3.2 trillion 2009 figure.

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