Research conducted by global Analyst Group IDC noted that Cloud technology allows business to obtain 97% greater IT reliability and instantly reduce their IT spend by approximately 55%. Making it easier to understand why the total global market of over US$55 billion for “on demand” cloud services is 4 to 5 times greater than traditional IT services.

Once only an attainable option for large corporations with significant in-house IT expertise, high end equipment and substantial budgets, cloud technology is now accessible to all size business.

Operating within an internet-based Cloud solution offers a range of remote management and data storage benefits to help business capitalise on a range of performance enhancing capabilities.

While Zdnet.com found 48% of UK business had adapted to a cloud platform in the first half of 2012 with research indicating this figure would climb to 73% by July 2013.

Australia’s SME’s have been slower to embrace this technology but a new independent survey indicates that more local businesses plan to convert to a cloud solution over the next 12 months.

The survey conducted by leading Australian business software company, Maus Business Systems indicates that more than 32% of its small to medium sized customers will make the transition to a Cloud platform over the 6 to 12 months.

Commenting on these figures, Maus Business Systems chief executive Peter Hickey says, “Being able to access feature rich technology with superior functionality via subscription is a very appealing option,and a natural progression for many of our 60,000 customers.”

Established in 1990, The Maus brand is synonymous with software that helps manage and evolve a business with limited budget and resources into a high performance organisation.Its range of simple-to use business planning, human resources, business intelligence, policies and procedures and OH&Sis designed to promote growth, compliance and transparency.

He adds, “Converting business to the Cloud based platform, is simply an educational process. This will be a primary objective in 2013. We realise that most Australian business is heavily focused on day-to- day growth and profitability, and the last consideration for many, is changing any current management processes and storage solutions.

“Once understood that converting to the Maus Cloud is a simple and secure process with instant and long term cost saving and operational benefits, the decision is normally immediate.”

Explaining the added benefits, Mr Peter Hickey advises, ”Business no longer has to purchase, maintain and manage expensive equipment or regularly up-grade to new software solutions. All functionality is now automated with upgrade features managed in-house at MAUSand “rolled” directly onto our customers”.

Maus Business Systems offers subscribers their own private, dedicated “cloud” to secure and protect all sensitive data and ensure confidentiality. The subscription based model is affordable to all micro to medium sized business with customers operational within 24 hours.

“At less than $10 a week, many SME’s and tech savvy, digital start-ups have taken advantage of the remote managed data and storage to make access and retrieval faster. This in turn, speeds up and streamlines work processes to allow greater collaboration, communication and productivity”.

The range of benefits offered in a secure and flexible environment with a ‘pay as you go’ process, makes it easy to understand the continual evolution of business to a Cloud-based operation.