Huge market growth opportunity for financial management apps and platforms

Small businesses are set to propel the adoption of financial management cloud solutions, according to new research from cloud services provider, BCSG.

The study predicted that financial management apps on the cloud will see an increased adoption rate of 33 per cent over the next three years, representing a market growth opportunity of 75 per cent, as SMEs increasingly turn to cloud solutions to cover tasks such as bookkeeping, expense management and automatic invoicing.

Across the wider spectrum, the research also found that almost two thirds of SMEs (64%) in the UK currently have an average of three cloud solutions in place to manage and streamline tasks such as processing payments, legal documents and IT support. But as awareness of cloud technology grows, forecasts suggest that this figure will increase to an average of seven solutions over the next three years.

Recent estimates from Gartner analysts predict that the overall cloud market will be worth £235bn by 2017.

This echoes findings from McKinsey, which predicted that, by 2015, SMEs would have an approximate 50 per cent share in the global cloud market, equating to $28bn (£17.9bn).

Commenting on the research, John Davis, Managing Director at BCSG, said: “SMEs are incredibly important to maintaining a healthy business environment – in fact, they make up 95 per cent of businesses in the UK, as well as accounting for half of the global economy. So it’s absolutely vital that they have the tools they need – such as cloud apps – to help them keep their finances in order, remain flexible and effectively compete with bigger companies.”

“Support and enthusiasm for cloud is already strong, as our research shows, but over the next three years it’s likely we’ll see SMEs using a wider variety of apps and solutions as cloud progresses from an early adopter phase to a mainstream solution.”