A new Microsoft (MSFT) survey of over 500 U.S. small businesses revealed the majority of small business owners currently do not use cloud solutions. However, 86 percent of survey respondents said they believed technology was important to the overall success of their companies.

Dan Kobialka, Contributing writer

May 16, 2014

2 Min Read
A new Microsoft MSFT survey revealed the majority of US small business owners are familiar with cloud solutions but do not use them at their companies
A new Microsoft (MSFT) survey revealed the majority of U.S. small business owners are familiar with cloud solutions but do not use them at their companies.

A new Microsoft (MSFT) survey showed the majority of U.S. small business owners are familiar with cloud solutions but do not use them at their companies.

The survey of over 500 U.S. small business owners, commissioned by Microsoft for National Small Business Week, revealed 70 percent of small businesses currently don’t use cloud solutions. However, 86 percent of respondents said they believed technology was important to the overall success of their companies.

Other survey findings included the following:

  • 90 percent of respondents said they were familiar with the cloud.

  • 66 percent of small business owners said they managed IT for their businesses.

  • 60 percent of small businesses attributed increased revenue to technology

  • 60 percent said technology allows them to compete with similar size and/or larger companies.

  • The major technology concerns for small business owners included costs, security and the ability to access content from multiple devices in any location.

Kirk Gregersen, general manager of Microsoft Office, commented on the survey results in a blog post:

“These findings tell us a number of things: despite understanding technology can have a significant impact on their companies, small businesses need cost effective, secure and reliable solutions that enable them to be productive from anywhere – and they have very little time to implement and manage those solutions.”

Microsoft has explored ways to expand its cloud services for small businesses recently. In January, GoDaddy began offering small businesses three Office 365 services – two email productivity suites and Email Essentials, a domain-based email and storage service.

John Case, Microsoft Office’s corporate vice president, told Talkin’ Cloud he believed his company’s partnership with GoDaddy would help small business owners in several ways.

“Office 365 is Microsoft’s fastest growing commercial product ever,” Case said. “Only Microsoft offers familiar Office tools in the cloud, respect for file integrity and design when documents are edited by multiple people.”

About the Author(s)

Dan Kobialka

Contributing writer, Penton Technology

Dan Kobialka is a contributing writer for MSPmentor and Talkin' Cloud. In the past, he has produced content for numerous print and online publications, including the Boston Business Journal, Boston Herald and Patch.com. Dan holds a M.A. in Print and Multimedia Journalism from Emerson College and a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State College (now Bridgewater State University). In his free time, Kobialka enjoys jogging, traveling, playing sports, touring breweries and watching football (Go Patriots!).  

Free Newsletters for the Channel
Register for Your Free Newsletter Now

You May Also Like