Member Article

Wireless ?critical? to small businesses

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) think that new IT products such as wireless technologies are essential to their success, a new survey suggests.

The research, conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Dell and the Institute of Directors (IoD), has found that 85% of small firms seeking to grow, view IT as crucial to that development. The survey also revealed that the use of wireless systems has become much more widespread. In 2004, 57% of respondents said they were using wireless technology in their business. This figure has now risen to 77% in 2006.

Martin Boyce, Director of Medium Business, Dell UK, said: “Small and medium sized enterprises in the UK are today better informed about technology as a business tool than ever before, and are therefore more willing to invest creatively in Information and Communications Technology.”

However, small firms are increasingly concerned about security and business continuity issues as a result of this change, with 71% mentioning the former as a worry and 68% the latter.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the range of applications cited by wireless equipped businesses. 94% use wireless access to e-mail compared to only 6% in 2004. The use of WiFi hotspots is cited by 68%, compared to 5% in 2004, and Bluetooth is used by 62% compared to only 3% two years ago.

Professor Jim Norton, senior policy advisor at the IoD said: “This increase in the use of wireless and mobile technology demonstrates how businesses have recognised the benefits of deploying flexible solutions to enhance productivity. “The flexibility offered through mobile solutions is appealing to employees and can help attract and retain staff,” he added.

Compared to 2004, UK SME owners are today more inclined to admit to IT concerns such as security or continuity. Though the ranking of concerns has changed little, the overall level of concern has risen sharply. Despite this, many businesses admitted to having no preparation in place for disaster recovery, with 11% confessing to backing up their critical data less than once a week.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .