Study: 4 in 10 SMBs will use the cloud by 2014

According to a report by Gartner, the No. 1 spot on the its list of "Top Strategic Technologies" for 2011 is cloud computing. Furthermore, the firm expects the cloud marketplace to be valued at $13 billion in two years.

Experts say small businesses looking to save on IT spending will likely adopt the platform.

A news study by Microsoft reports that much of the expected growth will likely be due to small businesses adopting Software-as-a-Service, as the survey found that 4 in 10 are considering outsourcing their IT information to a third-party.

The cloud will be an integral part of small business expansion efforts. According to All Business, virtualized software can "outfit" independent and local enterprises with the computing capabilities of larger corporations, thereby pushing their business onto an international stage. The ability to sell goods in foreign marketplaces represents a huge growth opportunity for these enterprises.

The adoption will not be instant.

"Cloud adoption will be gradual, and SMEs will continue to operate using a hybrid model with an increasing blend between off-premises and traditional on-premises infrastructure, for the foreseeable future," said Marco Limena, vice president of business channels at Microsoft.

According to the New Age, small business aren't just turning to the cloud to aid growth. Many companies responding to the Microsoft survey said they hope to use the cloud to increase profitability.