Small and mid-size businesses are eager for cloud-adoption to increase productivity and return on investment, according to a State-of-the-Market-Survey conducted by Webtorials. The survey, which was released by Fonality, a business communications company in North America, focused on the communications needs of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

The “2011 Small and Medium-Sized Business Communications Plans and Priorities” State-of-the-Market Report polled technically proficient professionals.

Respondents said that cloud-based business applications or Anything as a Service (AaaS) will be increasingly used to control costs, and return on investment (ROI) is a key factor in their decision-making.

“Based on the results of this survey, it’s clear that SMBs see the value of cloud-based solutions and are eager to benefit from a productivity and ROI perspective,” said Dean Mansfield, president and CEO of Fonality (News - Alert), in a statement. “Cloud-based communications tools can be leveraged by companies to drive competitive differentiation while maximizing working capital.”

According to the State-of-the-Market Survey, ROI of increased productivity from office communications is the main factor in technology adoption. About 88 percent of respondents cite “maximizing working capital and/or cash flow” as a major factor in SMB technology decisions. Minimizing total cost of ownership is the “ultimate goal” of adopting service-based offerings. Majority of respondents felt that mobility and unified communications are recognized as key technologies to increase efficiency and profitability.

“The needs of small and mid-size businesses differ significantly from large enterprises,” said Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher for Webtorials. “This study shows that SMBs have a notable disposition to leveraging cloud-based technology to enhance their operations and their communications capabilities in particular.”

According to the survey, most respondents see their current communications solutions as being “good,” but 78 percent also seek to improve their capabilities. There is a very high amount of interest in cloud-based solutions and an excellent prognosis for cloud-based AaaS, with market opportunities still emerging.

Recently, Fonality unveiled its new platform for Unified Communications (News - Alert) as part of its Connect cloud communications solution. Read the full report here.  

Want to learn more about cloud communications? Then be sure to attend the Cloud Communications Summit, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO East, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. The Cloud Communications Summit will address a growing need of businesses to integrate and leverage cloud based communications applications, process enhancement techniques, and network based communications interfaces and architectures. To register, click here.