The State Of Emerging SMB Hardware: 2009 To 2010

This report provides sample highlights of an extensive data set collected across North American and European enterprises and small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) via our Enterprise And SMB Hardware Survey, North America And Europe, Q3 2009. Key topics include x86 server virtualization, cloud computing, business continuity, disaster recovery, and sources of information that influence purchasing decisions. Some highlights include SMBs' concerns regarding security and privacy with cloud environments, topping the list, at 51%, as a reason for not being interested in pay-per-use hosting of virtual servers, also known as cloud computing. SMBs also indicate strong interest in and investment plans for backup and business continuity computing, particularly in the form of managed services. Further, in a recovering economy, cost consciousness remains at the forefront of investment decisions, resulting in 55% of firms needing increased ROI justification and 46% of firms reducing use of contractors and consultants.