Global mid-sized enterprises, or companies with about 2,000 to 9,999 employees, are more likely to adopt cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing, deduplication, replication, storage virtualization, and continuous data protection than small or large enterprises to reduce IT costs and manage increasing complexity, according to a new study.

In a study released Friday, anti-virus firm Symantec also said mid-sized enterprise data centers show more activity, with more IT managers predicting major changes to the data center and new applications in 2010.

Mid-sized enterprises also place a higher importance on staffing and training than their small or large enterprise counterparts, Symantec said.

The study is based on surveys of 1,780 data center managers in 26 countries in November 2009.

“Although mid-sized enterprises tend to evaluate and adopt new technologies at a faster rate than larger organizations, they still face similar data center complexities that are compounded by adopting new initiatives,” Luichi Robles, country manager, Symantec Philippines, in a statement said.

The executive further said “standardizing on cross-platform solutions that can manage new technologies and automate processes will drive immediate cost reduction and make their jobs easier in the long run.”

Symantec further said the study indicated that mid-sized enterprises are more aggressive and pioneering than either small or large enterprises. These firms are adopting new technology initiatives such as cloud computing, replication, and deduplication at 11-17 percent higher rates than small or large enterprises.

Symantec further said mid-sized firms consider increased complexity and too many applications as key issues for their data centers.

Adding to the complexity is the continued increase in data causing 71 percent of organizations to consider data reduction technologies such as deduplication.

Deduplication basically means reducing the amount of redundant data that resides in the data center.

Security, backup and recovery, and continuous data protection are the most important initiatives in 2010, ahead of virtualization, the study further said.

The study added that staffing and budgets remain tight with half of all enterprises reporting they are somewhat/extremely understaffed.

About 76 percent of enterprises have the same or more job requisitions open this year, it added.

Symantec said there continues to be room for improvement in disaster recovery, however.

Virtual machine protection continues to be a focus for enterprises, with 82 percent of enterprises considering virtual-machine technologies in 2010.