Beating the downturn with virtualisation |
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Technology
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Written by Gary Howes
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Monday, 21 July 2008 |
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Nearly half of SME’s are turning to virtualisation technologies to help navigate the economic downturn. The figures were presented by Star, an independent Internet Services Provider (ISP). Star conducted the survey on more than 100 SME’s to establish what their key technological challenges are at present.
One of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today is access to finance, so as the economic slowdown continues, the number one priority is to do more with less, making the most of existing technology investments and using technology to respond quickly to changing business conditions.
Ben White, chief executive of Star says, “virtualisation helps achieve those business needs so it is not surprising that 43% of the survey respondents see it as a key technology to help crunch proof their businesses.
21% of respondents also cited a converged approach to new technology as a recession-beater, while 17% felt that availability of broadband services would have the biggest impact on their ability to safeguard against a potential recession. Emerging Web 2.0 technologies were also seen as having a role to play in helping beat current economic conditions by 10% of respondents.
With IT budgets being stretched, 43% of respondents stated that solving real business challenges and enabling them to work smarter were the current key drivers when making technology purchasing decisions, while 25% said proven business benefits and working with a trusted partner that understood the SMB marketplace topped their list of requirements.
The ongoing IT skill shortage is proving a challenge at the smaller end of the market, with almost a third (26%) of those surveyed stating that the biggest barrier to online growth was a shortage of people with the knowledge and experience to implement new technologies.
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