![SMB Owners' Technology Challenges, May 2014 [CHART]](http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/173001-174000/173575.gif "Chart - SMB Owners' Technology Challenges")
Data security is one of the biggest concerns for small businesses. A May 2014 study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for Microsoft found that it ranked second out of the technology challenges US small-business owners (SBOs) experienced, cited by 22% and only trailing cost issues.
April 2014 polling by Redshift Research for Time Warner Cable Business Solutions found that worries about security had a bigger effect on technology adoption than cost concerns did, though.
Nearly 40% of US SBOs said they had updated the technology used in their businesses over the past five years to increase the security of their companies’ data—the No. 1 reason for doing so, beating out upgrades to save money (36%). Fully 29% of respondents also planned to purchase or upgrade their security technology over the next year, the second most popular response after websites (36%). Read the rest at eMarketer.
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