The emergence of cloud computing has offered enterprises a saving grace, giving them the ability to leverage next-generation applications anytime, anywhere for a lower long-term investment than traditional on-site systems. For small businesses, the cloud is not always as glamorous, according to a PC Advisor report.

The public cloud often gives companies the ability to deploy the technology for a reasonably low initial investment but can create hassle down the line for decision-makers who don't plan the implementation properly, the news source said. IT departments and executives need to tackle the complexities of data security and privacy if they want their cloud projects to be successful in the end.

While cloud servers may not be beneficial to every business, each organization should at least consider the technology and evaluate whether the hosted services will help employees and processes become more efficient.

A separate report by Parallels revealed that U.S. small businesses are experiencing benefits from deploying the cloud and, as a result, are boosting investments. The report said the cloud services market for small businesses is forecast to grow from $15 billion in 2011 to $68 billion in 2014.