Small business owners are still missing out on the full
potential of IT, according to aYouGovsurvey
commissioned by the BritishChambers of CommerceandMicrosoft.
The survey, involving 785 managers or directors at firms
employing between two and 50 staff, found that time-constrained
owners and senior managers are having to spend too much time on
tasks that are not considered a priority.
Instead of devoting time to client management and customer
service, they are getting bogged down by looking for files and
records, dealing with government red tape and fixing IT problems
associated with IT security and data storage.
Loss of data is considered to be one of the key reasons for
business inefficiency, yet half of small businesses surveyed are
not backing up their data on a daily basis.
And IT security failures are costing two-thirds of the
businesses an estimated £1,259 per annum.
Yet two-fifths of respondents have not even installed a basic
firewall onto PCs and over half don’t automatically patch or update
all the PCs in the business.
The estimated cost of outsourcing the production of marketing
materials is significant, at just over £6,000 a year. Yet small
businesses are not fully harnessing their PCs to develop marketing
materials themselves, which can easily be done through programmes
installed on their PCs.
While 82% of businesses surveyed have a web presence, less than
a third of them are using it to trade.
The survey also found a fifth of businesses are not using their
PCs to maintain client and supplier databases.
David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of
Commerce, said, “Too much time is still being taken up fixing
problems that could have been avoided. This is time they can ill
afford to waste because it takes them away from those activities
that really impact their success, like dealing with customers.
“Regularly performing some simple tasks like data back-up or
scanning for viruses can make all the difference and now this
couldn’t be easier to do,” said Frost.
The survey was published at today’s UK launch of Windows Vista
at the British Library. Microsoft says the new OS will help small
firms to get more out of their IT systems.
Related story:
Vista migration made easier with desktop tool
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