More than 65 percent of small businesses in the next two years will adopt software-as-a-service, according to a report by Saugatuck Technology. One strong reason for that migration is the depressed economy, says IT Business Edge contributor Paul Mah.

"There is a growing trend of companies migrating their e-mail servers from server closets or even data centers to external providers. This neatly eliminates the various associated maintenance and replacement costs of owning one's own server hardware -- and is also typically categorized as a move toward SaaS."

Mah illustrates two compelling reasons for SMBs to move to SaaS.

1. Lower risks for SMBs. It is much easier for a smaller company to adapt to a new system than a business with several thousand employees. Any potential hiccups would be limited in scope and could be fixed easily.
2. Opportunity for business process alignment. Mah says SaaS affords fledgling SMBs the perfect opportunity to align their business processes, often a shortcoming with SMBs.

Don't forget about several SaaS tools available in the Knowledge Network, which can help you decide if SaaS adoption is right for your business.

SaaS Primer

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Checklist

SaaS vs. On Premise TCO Calculator