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UK small businesses underestimating benefits of using Internet
Manoj Solanki, Saturday November 3, 2007 - 5:28 PMUK Online and the Institute of Directors (IoD) have launched a pocketbook guide to help small businesses realise the benefits of being online.
The guide is intended to provide straightforward advice to small businesses about using the Internet. It focuses on what can realistically be achieved with the resources available.
Information is provided in a step by step guide, using real life examples and an explanation of any jargon used. Subjects covered in the guide include broadband, email, setting up a website, mobile working, making calls over the Internet using Voice over IP (VoIP) and web conferencing.
According to Chris Stening, Managing Director of UK Online, businesses without a website risk being left behind.
“Not having a website, even a basic site which describes your business and provides contact details, is a serious omission as the first thing most people do now is ‘Google’ for what they want – searching for websites to compare services and products before buying. Despite this, our own research shows that as many as two thirds of small businesses with less than ten employees still operate with no Internet connection” he commented.
Miles Templeman, Director General at the Institute of Directors, said, “Smaller companies need straightforward advice about what they can sensibly achieve with the resources to hand, which is why we’ve published a guide that aligns information about the Internet with their business needs.”
UK Online and SmallBusiness.co.uk also recently held a roundtable event that bought together small businesses from various backgrounds to discuss the issues around being online. It was found that some were already making good use of the Internet and have a website, whilst others did not know where to start. All agreed that better resources were required to answer common IT questions.
The pocketbook guide is available free for download from UK Online’s website.