IT Key To Cutting Costs For Small Businesses

Businesses focus on reducing costs with IT

Nearly three-quarters of small businesses consider IT to be a key driver in helping reduce the costs of operations, according to research firm Techaisle.

The top three IT initiatives for small businesses are:

*Migrating from older technologies

*Maintaining and improving current IT infrastructure

*Developing and implementing new IT applications

In terms of implementing new IT applications, these small businesses are increasingly  moving towards virtualization, business intelligence and collaboration. Over 30% of small businesses are either actively investigating or investing in these technologies.

Improving workforce productivity and improving effectiveness of sales and marketing are also on the agenda of small businesses to address increased competitiveness, slow economy, and uncertainty. To improve effectiveness of sales and marketing, nearly 36% of small businesses are investing in improved email marketing campaigns, 28% are looking at Google Adwords and 21% are looking at Facebook advertising.

"Vendors who focus on IT as driver for operational savings will succeed as operating costs reduction is what SBs want from IT,”said Anurag Agrawal, Techaisle.

“Small businesses are the prime candidates for the Consumerization of IT where they are pushing increased automation through pervasive computing, improved productivity through collaboration, and efficient sales and marketing using latest social media capabilities.”