A new study has looked at how small firms shop around for the service providers, which may interest IT outsourcing for small business users.

The report, published by IT industry analyst IDC, found that 36 per cent of small firms adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach where they have a solid IT deployment but tend to only use technology once it matures.

In addition, 21 per cent are classed as being ‘IT oriented’ and are eager to invest in the latest developments, while 16 per cent are ‘fast followers’ which are keen to use the innovations implemented by early adopters.

A further 16 per cent of small companies are regarded as ‘laggards’, meaning they only have a basic IT infrastructure and have a limited desire to invest more in it.

Nina Bonagura, senior research analyst of European vertical markets at IDC, commented: “The value of a cluster analysis of the [small business] market is enormous as it provides an alternative to simplifying a complex scenario beyond the traditional approach based on size and vertical market.”

Last month, Rob Lovell, chief executive of cloud computing provider ThinkGrid, claimed that many small firms are not creating effective enough disaster recovery processes.