The Cloud Computing ability to empower Small Business Owner's to compete with companies with large IT budgets

Abstract

Like energy, computing has become an essential component of any economy. Historically, the size of an economy was directly related to the energy it consumed. Likewise, a person's professional growth, the growth of an organization, or the growth of a country as a whole can directly be related to the computing power they use. Rising energy costs, combined with a growing global awareness of the potential impact of climate change due to carbon emissions puts a renewed focus on energy usage and its associated carbon footprint. The paper discusses

The Cloud computing''s abilty to empower Small Business Owner''s to compete with companies with large IT budgets. Cloud computing creates enough disruptions for small businesses that it seems almost folly when we hear some of the stories we do. We heard one story about an IT department that said that the company could not afford to have more people accessing the Internet. Yes, the Internet is too expensive for small business. Maybe it's time to scrap the dial up?

The Cloud Computing ability to empower Small Business Owner's to compete with companies with large IT budgets

Introduction

A new survey of more than 1,200 cost-conscious businesses shows a growing confidence among IT departments to expand budgets and embrace technologies like cloud computing and virtualization. A report from IT management specialist Spiceworks found small to medium-size business IT professionals expect this year to be better than last, with business IT budgets up in 2010 as the economy seems to be stabilizing. However, the last six months of 2009 proved to be much harder on midmarket IT departments than IT professionals had anticipated, causing businesses to react quickly and curb IT spending.

The average IT budget climbed 9% in 2010 to $117,200, the report found, with 43% of SMBs reporting budget increases. 67% of SMBs said they plan to keep their IT staff the same for the first half of the year, while 20% said they plan to add new full-time staff. IT budget trends for 2010 indicated that the midmarket IT budget freeze is beginning to thaw. 43% of their IT departments reported a budget increase this year, while SMB IT professionals reported a cut to their IT budget declined 24% from the last survey (31% to 24%). For 2010, the annual IT budget increased 9%, versus a 1% decrease in 2009.

Explanation

A Spiceworks survey of more than 1,200 cost-conscious businesses shows a growing confidence among IT departments to expand budgets and embrace technologies like cloud computing and virtualization. A report from IT management specialist Spiceworks found small to medium-size business IT professionals expect this year to be better than last, with business IT budgets up in 2010 as the economy seems to be stabilizing. However, the last six months of 2009 proved to be much harder on midmarket IT departments than IT professionals had anticipated, causing businesses to react quickly and curb IT ...