Small businesses in IT need to seriously consider a move towards the benefits provided by cloud computing, according to an authority in the industry.

David Pratt, the chief operating officer of ThinkGrid, said many organisations are beginning to see extended benefits from the use of virtualised servers, particularly in how they want to cut costs in the recession.

"SMEs just haven't got the budget or resources to pour into their IT," he explained.

However, with cloud computing, Mr Pratt added: "Small business can get the best of both worlds.

"[Cloud servers] give an organisation additional agility and they give you enterprise-level IT without having the expense."

He added that the accessibility of these programs also easily facilitates other policies which may ease costs on employees and the office, such as flexible working and those doing their jobs from the comfort of their own homes.

In March, Gooroo found that 12 per cent of business respondents were using cloud-based software applications for core business functions.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).