Cloud was an unknown term to almost all small and medium businesses (SMB) 4 years back but now nearly half of the SMBs have adopted cloud. There are many factors behind it. The first is ability to access to data stored on cloud with mobile devices and mobility is very important in today’s world. Second factor is backup and recovery adequacy of cloud which is a cheaper option than buying and maintaining a backup system. Another reason why cloud is an attractive option is that standardization leads to improved data security. With cloud gaining immense popularity in the future any SMB not using it would be a rare site similar to a person not using smart phone in current era! Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/rise-cloud-small-medium-business-market-01418782#ORT38DDsW5VFwVHp.97

Smart phones are used by everyone these days, but they are not used in the same way across the board. Millennials engage with mobile devices differently than older employees, so if this is an important segment of your workforce. The mobile customer survey found that some data points which will help SMBs to use mobile more effectively to help employees collaborate. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/three-ways-mobility-impacts-collaboration-70704

CRM solutions handle sales operations and also provide valuable data for marketing & support departments. Nowadays, some CRM solutions are integrating social data, but companies should ponder over this question - does your SMB really need social features incorporated into your existing solution? We should know the difference between Social CRM and a regular CRM solution. A standard CRM solution gathers data from email, lead from input and phone calls, whereas, a social CRM examine individual prospect social media profiles, your overall audience impressions on social media, social conversations, and other insights into what your customers and prospects are concerned about. Sales, support and marketing departments benefit from adding social CRM data and features into their workflows. To know more about whether Social CRM is relevant to your industry or not, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/does-your-smb-need-a-social-crm-70036

Nowadays we are witnessing an enormous data explosion which is set to continue and even accelerate. The volume of data is growing at a very high velocity and is rapidly becoming more varied, complex and less structured. As a result, the word Big Data has grown strong on the mind of every business leader who wants to extract critical insights and business benefits from data. Many organizations are planning to implement Big Data related initiatives or have got them already. However most organizations lack an articulated strategy for Big Data execution. Thus there is a strategy gap between high potential and risk about investing in Big Data initiatives. Although, the essential mix of technologies may deliver on the promise of Big Data, what leaders must choose and incorporate for interlocking the set of available data sources and technology is a specific business goal which makes the initiative unique. In response, Big Data providers have prepared a strong ground through the use of cloud computing at the core which address these issues. Organizations can analyze the feasibility and cost of investing. Termed as "Big-data-as-a-service" (BDaaS), it basically refer to services that provide analysis of enormous or complex data sets, typically over the cloud platform as a managed service. The adaptation of Big Data on above grounds precedes with Hadoop which was a major stepping stone, but it still has its own limitations, specifically for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) that do not have the resources to create a Hadoop infrastructure in house. Thus, on a conclusive note, It's difficult to predict which Big Data solution businesses will freeze on, but having a majority of Big Data service providers now providing a version of their platform in the cloud, it will emerge a safe bet for SMBs to venture, in wherein cloud will play a major role in building Big Data an integrated part of their business strategy. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/297257/cloud-leveling-playing-field-smbs

Small and midsize businesses(SMB) are going to play a major role in India in the coming days. Adoption of social, media, analytics and cloud(SMAC) in SMBs will not only increase the number of new customers but also raise efficiency. According to a report by EY and Assocham, the number of SMBs adopting cloud computing will increase highly. To know more on this topic, please go through the article link by Eileen Yu, a freelance blogger and content specialist.

http://www.zdnet.com/in/cloud-adoption-among-indian-smbs-to-soar-7000029009/