Google's Gmail service has undergone several major updates which have been launched today, perhaps helping small businesses in IT which utilise the free service.

The organisational structure of the user's inbox has changed to allow for the labelling and indexing of emails with one click, while many other functions have been grouped to the left-hand control bar to allow for easier access to them.

One of the more interesting changes is in the Java-based click and drag system, which means that users can now move mail to different folders in much the same way as with the owner's operating system, in turn helping prioritisation of tasks.

To make the presentation neater, Google has also hidden the label controls in order to save space and make the inbox as functional as possible.

Commenting on the changes, Google's Damian Gajda said: "We hope these new changes make labelling even easier and help you stay organised."

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.