Majority Of Independent Business Owners Have Never Heard Of Cloud Computing

Small business owners apparently are clueless about cloud computing, according to a survey.

Findings:

-- 71 percent have never heard of cloud computing

-- 74 percent of those who have heard of cloud computing said they could not describe it

-- 22 percent said they had data or critical information, software or hardware in their office that may not be secure

-- Only 29 percent said that their critical computer hardware, software and data was backed up and stored offsite       

Comment from Barry Sloane, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority: Cloud computing will be the next important trend in the U.S. economy for businesses large and small. There is no doubt that business owners will embrace the cloud concept and over time gravitate towards its massive benefits. We surveyed over 1,800 independent business owners and discovered that the concept of cloud computing has begun to disseminate into the marketplace, due primarily to large advertising programs by entities like Microsoft, Cisco and others. Business owners will need to understand what the cloud is and what it can do for their businesses in the areas of cost control, data security, data protection, accessibility, efficiency and productivity to facilitate a smooth running technological platform for their business. About 25 percent of our business owners said they understood what cloud computing was. However, when we drilled down deeper most, 78 percent, thought that their data was secure. Yet 71 percent stated their data was not backed up offsite. Server huggers beware. The cloud is approaching; the security blanket of the server in the closet onsite and having an assistant backup important business data and confidential client information needs to be behind us all. Our survey this month is quite telling about what independent business owners really need to know about the cloud and how misinformed they are about data safety and security.

About the survey: Conducted by Newtek Business Services, the monthly SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey polled approximately 1,800 small business respondents.

Contact: http://www.newtekbusinessservices.com