In the past, the small business landscape has been credited as the driving force behind some of the UK's greatest inventions, such as the Dyson vacuum and the wind-up radio. More recently small and medium businesses have been cited as one of the factors helping to pull the UK out of recession. In the future, with the aid of enhanced connectivity, SMEs may also be responsible for changing the face of the way we work too.
When we talk about enhanced connectivity, we mean access to technologies such as mobile broadband and fixed internet using a broadband network. In the past these technologies were mainly monopolised by larger companies, but for some time now small firms have also been adopting and benefiting from these services.
Better access and use of mobile communications has allowed people to work whenever and wherever suits them best. As more and more small companies reject the traditional business and office set-up and its associated overheads, SMEs and in particular those businesses just starting up, are realising the benefits of mobile working.
As well as increased flexible working, enhanced connectivity has given rise to a new way of doing business. In particular, it has allowed SMEs to increase the number of people they interact with, irrespective of location. If small firms are seeking out those that share similar business ideas, enhanced connectivity is allowing them to do this more easily. It provides the tools and infrastructure that support this interaction, giving businesses the chance to take advantage of external resources. By breaking down these communications barriers, SME's are able to share more information than ever before and collaborate successfully in order to develop these ideas.
Orange's ongoing research into the impact of universal connectivity on UK working practices, as illustrated by the Orange Connected Brtiain report has shown that it can enhance businesses by enabling human interaction and allowing groups or ‘clusters' of like-minded people to develop, helping to mutually support individual business goals.
In recognising false boundaries, SMEs can reach out to anyone that has the skills needed to get the job done, regardless of location. It's also likely that in the future, small companies will find themselves working alongside business competitors, sharing ideas and values to enhance productivity.
In order to facilitate these clusters, connectivity hubs which are commonplace in our larger cities, such as local coffee shops and Wi-Fi hot spots, are likely to extend across the country. This continued development of connectivity hubs regionally could have a positive impact on local businesses and could even see the regeneration of some of the UK's towns and villages.
It is still undetermined whether these clusters will manifest themselves virtually or whether a physical representation will be required to meet our human need for contact. Either way it is likely that we'll see a rise in both virtual and physical clusters, which enable SMEs to obtain the information and advice they need to continue with the ongoing success of their enterprise.
Irrespective of how or where we work, one thing is clear; management techniques need to keep pace with new working patterns if the benefits of a digitally connected Britain are to be realised. As individuals begin to increasinglyconnect with others outside of their traditional sphere of influence including competitors, management teams need to find a way to measure success that isn't based on workers being rooted to their seats in the office from 9am-5pm.
For more information please visit www.orange.co.uk
