Cloud computing is a buzz word for a number of small and mid sized businesses, with a mounting gratitude of the value it can offer. But feedback from the sector indicate that many companies still struggle with what exactly cloud computing can do for them.

The major character played by cloud service providers was not only to offer various applications to SMBs, but also to increase their awareness towards the benefits of cloud computing. The web - based service now offers great infrastructure for SMB business needs. SMBs have to operate on restricted budgets, and it can be hard-hitting to keep up with the major players in any given marketplace. Still, cloud computing providers are changing the direction things were done for  SMBs. 

Cloud service providers offer competitive advantages to SMBs by exposing them to applications like Data Storage, Accounting, File storage, Scheduling, Recruiting and many others. Out of which many are free, and others come at a low-cost price. Because of the extensive use of Smartphone and Tablets most of the cloud service providers have come up with applications on platforms like Android, iOS and Windows. 

As per recent report by ResearchFox Consulting on “Indian SMB Web Preference Outlook”, On an average, Indian web – based SMBs received 55 percent more leads, 40 percent more profit, 5 percent broader customer base, and 5 percent higher growth rate than their offline counterpart. In the same study, it has been observed that 76 percent of Indian SMBs are not at all aware about cloud computing and its services, but surprisingly most of them are using Gmail for emails, SKYPE for chat and live conferencing, and Dropbox for file storage. With low cost cloud solutions readily available in the market it becomes easier for SMBs to adopt various IT applications. 

The IT world is transforming and SMBs are now able to compete like never before. However, the major role of IT companies should be to make SMBs grow bigger and yield better ROI on their cloud computing investment and target specific SMB sectors to increase awareness.