Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to consider cloud computing in order to make their data more secure, xlntelecom.co.uk reports.

Independent IT consultant Kevin Wharram explained how many small firms are currently naive about their information security, with many thinking they wouldn't be unfortunate enough to suffer a security breach.

Businesses could, however, better guarantee their information is secure by investing in two things, cloud hosting and staff training.

Speaking of the staff training issue, Wharram said that many breaches come as a direct result of human error. In simply training people on industry regulations, company guidelines and standard security practices, they can better protect themselves from such issues.

"A lot of issuers come from plugging USB devices, but also people receiving email saying 'here's a file from X,Y,Z' - click it and, if they do, they're compromised," he explained.

Addressing the issue of cloud hosting, Wharram urged businesses to consider this if they do not have the resources or know-how to effectively secure data themselves.

"Make sure your systems are secure and not weak, but if you're an SME that's where cloud and virtualisation can actually increase security going forward," he told ihotdesk.com.

"You can outsource everything to a cloud provider, if they're a reputable one,"