Poll: SMEs see web as crucial to operations

New research has found that the majority of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) view the internet as vital to their business operations.

About 255 SMEs were polled by Easynet Connect, with less than one-tenth of respondents stating that they would reduce the quality of their web connections if forced to cut costs during the recession.

This is compared with 35 per cent that would spend less on IT support and 28 per cent that would reduce expenditure on software licences.

Furthermore, less than ten per cent of SMEs would cut spending on back-up and redundancy services, while almost one-fifth would consider using software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud computing technologies to reduce costs.

Richard Thurston, analyst at Analysys Mason, commented: "The internet and the way its benefits are leveraged is a critical enabling factor for businesses during the recession."

About 74 per cent of UK businesses use SaaS for web hosting purposes, according to Econsultancy.

Written by Dipika Patel