The biggest IT issue for small companies is being able to cope with the day-to-day task of running an effective IT system, according to research released by Connect.
The organisation found that 37% of directors and IT managers said regular IT hassles were their biggest problem, followed by IT security at 32%.
Security was found to be more of a problem for larger companies, with 35% of firms with fewer than 50 employees listing this in their top two IT headaches, compared to just 27% of larger companies.
A lack of understanding of basic IT issues by staff was also cited by 30% of respondents, although this was less of a problem in smaller firms.
Three in 10 (30%) small companies cited cost in their top two biggest issues, compared to just 22% in larger firms.
“Much of the IT debate currently revolves around what we’d call ‘big ticket’ items,” said Mark MacGregor, Connect’s chief executive. “Concepts like mobile working, Web 2.0 or open source software dominate the news agenda for IT.
“While we’re certainly not dismissing those concepts, the reality is that for the entrepreneurs and owner-managers that drive much of the innovation and growth in our economy, the issues are really much simpler,” he added.
“They just want robust, cost-effective IT systems that actually work. One of the challenges we need to address as an industry is how we can deliver more of that type of IT to this vital part of UK plc.”
Smaller companies were also more likely to complain about the amount of email/internet downtime they suffered, he added. This was cited by 24% of small companies compared to just 12% of larger ones.
“The IT supply industry needs to assess this kind of discrepancy carefully and to find better ways to ensure that small companies have the internet and email tools they need to run and expand their businesses,” added MacGregor.
