Date: 2006-10-16 Category: News

IT ’vital to SME growth’

Addressing the IT needs of SMEs makes a big difference to their growth, according to a new report.

Durham University Business School has found that by carefully finding solutions to a small business’s IT needs it "may enhance growth and the future development of these businesses in a way that shows IT does matter".

The attitudes of senior managers towards IT, and their readiness to implement new technologies, also play a deciding factor in how much business success is generated.

Results indicate that SMEs should concentrate on IT that is easy to implement, support, use and manage.

Paul Whyte, director of Microsoft Dynamics UK, who commissioned the research, said: "As the technology becomes increasingly affordable, the cost benefit equation for the use of new IT solutions is expanding and giving access to what were prohibitively expensive tools for the SME to use."

This report comes after Microsoft commissioned Keystone Strategies to carry out a similar research project. The firm studied manufacturers from around the world and found strong relationships between revenue accrued by an SME and its IT capabilities.

McKinsey, a management consultancy, recommends that all businesses rethink their IT strategy and spend up to 40 per cent of their IT budget on high-risk investments that may open up new markets or enable the company to offer new products.

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