EXPENSIVE and unnecessary IT systems that are not fit for purpose could be hampering the growth of the East of England s SMEs, according to Power List 2010 entrepreneur Piers Linney. Mr Linney, CEO of IT specialists Outsourcery, claims that scores of SMEs

EXPENSIVE and unnecessary IT systems that are not fit for purpose could be hampering the growth of the East of England's SMEs, according to Power List 2010 entrepreneur Piers Linney.

Mr Linney, CEO of IT specialists Outsourcery, claims that scores of SMEs keen to revamp their IT options are being sold systems unsuitable for their needs.

He said he regularly comes across small enterprises lumbered with expensive infrastructure and maintenance that they do not need.

He explained: "There is more money in selling servers, networks, software, maintenance and support than there is in a cloud solution that reduces or removes the need for almost all of these costs. This has to end.

"Cloud computing and hosted IT and communications solutions mean that the writing is on the wall for suppliers of expensive infrastructure that is not fit for purpose.

"More and more common applications will be available on hosted platforms and the computing rental model will displace the "old way. It is not a matter of if, just when."

Mr Linney added: "More and more IT suppliers are going to be asked about their hosted offering, and the scare stories of data security and control of data are no longer working, as business owners and mangers increasingly accept the concept and benefits of cloud computing and realise that their data are far safer in a robust datacentre than in their office.

"Those IT suppliers that value customer relationships and deploy what is best for their customer, whether on-premise, hosted, or a mix, will be the ones that last.