Despite connectivity problems and performance issues
with their ISPs affecting one in three
small or medium sized businesses (SMBs) across the UK, only a
tenth of such firms would consider switching
providers.
This situation, revealed in a new study carried out by analyst
firm Quocirca on behalf of Easynet Connect, contrasts dramatically
with the consumer market, where customers switch between providers
far more frequently.
The survey said that even though most SMBs have embraced the
internet as an integral part of business strategy in the last five
years, they
often lack
the internal knowledge, time and resources to understand the
complexities of products they increasingly depend upon and the
real business value they can bring.
More than three quarters (77%) of SMBs experienced internet
connection failure at some point and almost one in three (29%)
stated that their internet connection occasionally dropped below
performance levels they expect. Yet despite this, the vast majority
of SMBs remain reluctant to switch to another provider, with nine
out of ten (88%) stating that they would not be changing providers
in the near future.
In evaluating a service provider business reliability (72%) and
technical abilities (48%) were cited as the most important
attributes. In general, just over half (53%) of SMBs expecting a
small increase in expenditure; 39% expected spending to stay at the
present level.
Despite the worries about service interruptions, almost three
quarters (71%) of the interviewees acknowledged that their business
could not cope any longer than a day without the Internet. Two
thirds (66%) of businesses have been online for over five years,
with only 3% connecting in the last year. In turn, over one third
(36%) of SMBs are selling online, more then a quarter (26%) are
using IP telephony and 39% use the network for remote backup and
disaster recovery.
Commenting on the key finding in the research, Chris Stening,
managing director of Easynet Connect said, “The internet is now at
the heart of making a business a success but poor service levels
and lack of support are currently being tolerated - this should not
be the case. SMBs should be as demanding as consumers in ensuring
that they are getting the right kind of service coupled with
flexibility and reliability so that they are able to focus their
attention on their individual business challenges."