Only 14 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Australia are using cloud computing, a study commissioned by MYOB, a business software provider, found.

The remaining 79 per cent of SMEs not into cloud computing could take a hint from the cloud computing users, 53 per cent of which experienced an increase in revenue the past 12 months. The study had more than 1,000 SME respondents.

Besides the plus of higher revenue, 42 per cent of the SMEs into cloud computing said it provided them the ability to access data from the location of their choice, while 28 per cent pointed to the advantage of allowing team members to work remotely. Another 25 per cent appreciated the reduction of IT issues and 25 per cent more enjoyed better data protection and online safety.

"The advantages of using cloud computing for business came through loud and clear," The Herald Sun quoted MYOB Chief Executive Tim Reed.

He said the study found that the reasons why the majority of SMEs shun cloud computing, which provides access to a shared pool of programmes and sites usually through the Internet, are lack of knowledge (27 per cent), doubt over storage safety (26 per cent), other business priorities (22 per cent), offer of data from other servers (21 per cent) and lack of technological confidence (17 per cent).

"Despite the technology industry's best efforts to teach others about the concept of cloud computing, our research shows a disconnect between SME cloud usage and their understanding of it," Mr Reed said.

He expressed surprise with the finding since many SMEs actually use cloud computing services such as online banking, email services, document storage and Apple's iTunes. He explained the lack of knowledge among SMEs to the focus on cloud computing talks to technical audience instead of ordinary Australians.

The survey also found that those most likely to go into cloud computing are members of Generation Y (28 per cent), businesses with a Web site (23 per cent), start-up businesses (23 per cent), professional and property services (22 per cent) and metropolitan enterprises (21 per cent).

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