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Small firms will lead IT revolution
Well, they know how to use email, anyway...

By Sonya Rabbitte

Published: Wednesday 19 September 2001

Small businesses will spearhead the IT revolution in the UK, even though 60 per cent do not have a completely internet-enabled workforce, and a quarter of them barely use technology at all.

Despite these shortfalls, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) claim to be more technologically innovative than their larger counterparts, with 70 per cent opting to take their own IT risks rather than waiting for larger companies to trial new technology.

These are the findings of a nationwide survey by Alcatel, which questioned 300 SMEs on their use of technology.

Forty per cent of SMEs saw IT as a key factor in competing against larger companies, and the same figure said they recognised the tangible benefits of technology.

But while one third of respondents complained that poor IT performance affect their business success, the same figure said they want to reduce IT expenditure.

Fifty-eight per cent of SMEs said the main benefit of technology is communication, which suggests that they use the internet for little more than email.

Peter Scargill, IT director at the Federation of Small Businesses, said that despite some innovative ideas, SMEs would continue to lag behind larger companies because they lacked resources and training.

In a recent survey of 450 SMEs in the North West, conducted by the FSB, 84 per cent of respondents said they use email, but only half of them consider it an important feature.

According to Scargill, the majority of firms responding to the FSB survey embrace technology because they fear being left behind, not because of innovative tendencies, and that many SMEs will continue to miss out on technology.

He said: "Big businesses have to understand that is a key difference between SMEs. A typical SME is a two- or three-man business, not a 20- or 30-strong team. They just don't have an IT manager to go off all day on training workshops, and they don't have the time to do it themselves."