Small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) believe that technology can help them expand by helping enhance productivity and staff efficiency, new research has revealed.

InfoTech Research Group said that its study into the attitudes of business and IT executives found that they believed that having the right technology in place was crucial to their business, with improving access to data cited as a key concern.

Jill Schoolenberg, director of small and medium business for Microsoft Canada, which funded the research, told ITBusiness.ca that the respondents to the study had made it clear that the "number one growth enabler" is technology.

However, she added that "changing people and changing behaviour and changing process" is also important.

With many businesses looking to expand despite the recent global credit crunch, Ms Schoolenberg that SME IT services will need to be ready to change to ensure that they offer ways to collaborate with external companies.

"As companies grow their technology needs change, and they become more dependant on partners to help them grow," she explained.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).