Over complex IT management tools are causing a number of small businesses in IT to haemorrhage money in the long-term, it has been stated.

Motti Tal, the founder and business development manager at OpTier, found that 57 per cent of respondents admitted that this is resulting in costs of £4.64 million per firm each year in downtime and employees' time, on average.

He said of the issue: "Business must remember that complexity costs money and taking a simple, holistic view at the transaction management level can be the key to not only quick problem resolution but, vitally, to problem avoidance and IT cost reduction."

He concluded that by making management easier, IT is able to demonstrate its value to business rather than being seen as a centre of cost.

This week, research director at IDC Laura DuBois revealed that recessionary attitudes have led many companies to withdraw their financial support of storage software.

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).