Microsoft Study Reveals SMB's Using Hosted Services Have Better Financial Performance

“It’s no coincidence that as more and more small businesses focus on their core offering and less on IT, they’re more successful. We’re now very excited to share the evidence supporting this claim from a hosted services standpoint.” – Matthew Haynes | Industry Director, Communications Sector, Hosting, Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft recently published its global SMB IT and Hosted IT Index 2010. The study reveals that businesses that value IT as an enabler for business productivity and use hosted services, perform better fiscally than those that do not.

Use the SMB IT and Hosted IT Index 2010 to Help SMBs

The results of the 2010 Index indicate that IT is critical to revenue growth. In fact, 60 percent of SMBs that view IT as critical saw revenues grow over the past 12 months. Whereas, of the SMBs that stated IT is not important, less than 29 percent saw revenue increase. That’s a staggering 31 percent difference. The point: Have your SPLA Accounts reference these findings to solidify the importance of viewing IT as critical to their success.

What areas of IT are SMBs moving towards?

The 2010 index indicates SMBs are moving towards cloud computing. In fact, more than 40 percent of the respondents that use hosted or cloud technology reported an increase of 30 percent or more in revenue, compared to 90 percent of respondents not using hosted technology that saw a decrease in revenue. The point: Have your SPLA Accounts reference these findings to solidify the importance of utilizing hosted services cloud technologies, to increase revenue.

The advantages of hosted services or cloud technologies are summarized as reduced cost in IT management and maintenance, as well as increased business value, productivity and competitiveness. Microsoft reports they have seen nearly 40 percent growth in hosted services usage in the last five years. By using pay-as-you-go cloud technologies, SMBs can now afford to have access to secure enterprise-class services across any platform. The point: Cloud computing and hosted services are affordable, secure, and scalable across multiple platforms.

Can technology increase business performance?

According to the 2010 Index, hosted services can provide tangible business advantages, even for smaller companies. The Index states that investment in IT and hosting correlate to financial performance.

Key Points to Consider

1. Technology is an enabler for business growth.
2. Technology helps businesses to be more productive and compete more effectively.
3. SMBs can capitalize on opportunities for an upturn by investigating the advantages of using hosted solutions.

As a SPLA Reseller, the opportunity to engage (and challenge) your SPLA Accounts is ever-present. And beyond knowledge-share, the proof is in the hard data. If your SPLA constituencies were looking for a compelling and convincing case for hosted services, now you’ve got it. More on the study can be found at http://www.thestreet.com/story/10672971/microsoft-study-reveals-small-and-midsize-businesses-using-hosted-services-have-better-financial-performance.html.