However, as profit margins have gotten tighter, SaaS solutions may actually be a valuable resource for small business owners.

This was the discovery of Roy Thompson, owner of S&S Collision Repair in Sacramento, who found that SaaS-based photo archiving and processing firm ClaimTools Solutions helped boost his revenue by $3,000 each month through improving his insurance documentation, Thompson told USA Today.

The SMB market for SaaS solutions has been growing rapidly, thanks to entrepreneurs like Thompson who use the solutions to improve productivity and cut costs.

"If the small business can cut through the confusion, there is a tremendous amount of gains to reap," Jimmy Tam, general manager of SaaS-based content management firm FolderMaestro, told USA Today.

Although many small businesses were forced to reduce their IT budgets as a result of the recession, an increasing number are starting to free up some of their budgets to pursue SaaS and other technology initiatives - the latest CDW IT Monitor found that 53 percent of small business IT professionals expect better performance in the next six months, up from 52 percent in June.