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New Study Reveals the State of Small Business Computing
May 5th
How does your small business’s use of technology compare to other SMBs? A new study of small and midsized businesses’ use of IT has sought to find out. Here are some results from Cloud Computing and the Role of IT Professionals in Small- to Mid-Sized Businesses, a just-released survey of more than 500 SMB decision-makers by Zoomerang Online Surveys and Polls.
IT Workers Take on New Roles
Twenty-two percent of businesses outsource IT support to vendors, citing cost-effectiveness (52 percent) and access to better resources (26 percent) as the primary reasons for doing so.
The vast majority (78 percent) of SMBs report having in-house IT support. But, of those companies, 79 percent say their IT workers also hold other roles in the company. Sixty-seven percent are involved in daily operations; 6 percent in sales and business development; and 6 percent in customer support. Only 21 percent focus solely on IT.
The percentage of SMB IT workers who are involved in other aspects of the company is growing. Thirty percent of SMBs say their in-house IT staff’s role has evolved in the past year to include operations functions; 15 percent report their in-house IT staff has become more involved in business development; and 11 percent say the in-house IT staff has become more involved in customer support.
“More often than not, the IT role within a small or midsized business may be fulfilled by the most technology savvy employee, requiring them to juggle multiple responsibilities on top of keeping the company’s technology up and running,” says Alex Terry, General Manager of Zoomerang. “With limited resources, businesses are looking to every employee to contribute and as a result, the IT role is gradually shifting from one of support to one of support and revenue generation.”
SMB Technology Functions Well, But Not Cutting-Edge
The majority (58 percent) of respondents say their IT systems are “good” (“not the latest, but everything runs smoothly and with minimal maintenance”). Thirty-two percent describe their IT as “intermediate” (“it has its good and bad moments”). Just 4 percent call their systems “poor” to the point where it is hurting operations.
This is all good news, but on the downside, a mere 7 percent say their technology is “advanced” or ahead of the curve. With technology one area where small firms can gain competitive advantages, it’s a shame more entrepreneurs aren’t taking advantage of IT opportunities.
Are Upgrades in the Cards?
Perhaps because they’re mostly satisfied with their current technology, nearly half (44 percent) of survey respondents say they have no plans to upgrade their IT in the next 12 months.
Still, 14 percent do intend to upgrade in the next three months and 16 percent will upgrade in the next four to 12 months. Eleven percent would like to upgrade but will wait more than a year to do so, while 14 percent are uncertain when they will upgrade. Clearly, many entrepreneurs are still waiting out the uncertain economy before investing in new technology.
The key areas where those planning upgrades will invest are computers and hardware, cited by 57 percent of respondents. Next are peripherals such as phones and mobile devices (16 percent), and software (15 percent).
SMB Owners Heads Not in the Cloud
Terry notes that SMBs have traditionally been conservative when it comes to investment in technology, and today’s hot buzzword, “the cloud,” is no different. Zoomerang found that just 10 percent of SMBs have deployed cloud technologies and a whopping 72 percent of respondents don’t understand or are not familiar with the technology.
“These numbers are quite staggering given that cloud vendors are investing huge amounts of money in marketing to showcase the benefits of cloud computing,” Terry said. “This research points to the need for cloud vendors to instead educate business owners on what cloud computing means and how it is relevant to SMBs.”
Of the businesses currently not using cloud computing technologies, only 2 percent plan to deploy cloud-based solutions this year; another 20 percent are still assessing the cost and benefits of various solutions.
It’s Still a Windows World
When it comes to SMB operating systems, Windows continues to dominate. Only 5 percent of respondents use Mac OS X; just 1 percent use Linux. Overall, 91 percent use some form of Windows: 45 percent still use Windows XP, 30 percent use Windows 7 and 16 percent use Windows Vista.
New Study Reveals the State of Small Business Computing
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
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Study: China Loaned More Than World Bank
Jan 18th
The World Bank issued a little over $100 billion in loans between the middle of 2008-2010, according to research done by the Financial Times. The China Export Import Bank and China Development Bank, on the other hand, loaned at least $110 billion to developing countries during the same period. From the BBC:
The Chinese lenders are so-called policy banks – they have a mandate to further whatever Beijing sees as its national interest. One of China Development Bank’s specific tasks is to try to alleviate and, where possible, eliminate bottlenecks in supplies of raw materials or land for China’s economy. It also tries to open up foreign markets for Chinese companies.
Chinese banks were offering loans to producers of raw materials at a time when it was hard for them to attract financing from elsewhere. That helped secure long-term energy deals, including oil supplies from Russia, Venezuela and Brazil.
The BBC report doesn’t include International Monetary Fund lending, which is at least $50 billion. The point is not that China is lending more than the West–it’s not–but that China is a major lender, and it is using lending to gain strategic advantages and global power. It is, for lack of better words, one of China’s primary global ascension strategies.
Lending also keeps the economy stable. From Forbes’ Shaun Rein:
One reason China’s economy remained robust during the Great Recession is because Bank of China and ICBC loaned money under central government direction to get liquidity into the system. That was undoubtedly good for the economy, but it wasn’t great for investors who will have to deal with years of rising non-performing loans.
Speaking of investment, Rein also mentioned that many big Chinese companies have serious transparency issues, and investing in them directly is a very risky proposition. And the BBC article noted that Chinese companies are still reluctant, or flat-out not allowed, to take part in much foreign direct investment.
This tells me that China, while pursuing a global economic strategy similar to the one that helped the West gain political power, is still hamstrung when it comes to being fully open for international business. It’s premature to call China the global power for this reason. Rather, it is on a tempered, politically-moderated ascent.
View full post on Business Pundit
Study: 40% of iPad Users Own a Kindle
Jan 4th
We like to think of Kindles and iPads as butting heads, but a recent survey shows that 40% of iPad owners also own a Kindle. TechCrunch reports:
…in a recent survey of about 1,000 consumers by JP Morgan’s Internet team, 40 percent of iPad owners also own a Kindle…According to the same survey, another 23 percent of iPad owners plan on buying a Kindle in the next 12 months.
About half of the people surveyed read between zero and ten books a year. But 16 percent read more than 25 books a year.
The big takeaway here is that the iPad and the Kindle are perceived as different types of products, and rightly so. Amazon has done a good job marketing the Kindle as an ebook designed specifically for book lovers, and at $139 for the lowest-priced Kindle it is seen as a different class of device than the $499 iPad. (It also doesn’t hurt than you can use the iPad as a Kindle reading device, removing the need for consumers to make an either-or decision).
There are a few interesting implications to this study. One, the iPad isn’t a Kindle killer because its current technology isn’t as eye-friendly as that of the Kindle. Two, the kinds of people buying iPads (early adopters and tech-savvy users) aren’t shy about owning multiple devices. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the media and analysts are jumping to premature conclusions about products’ implications. Before calling something a Kindle-killer, in other words, it’s worth thoroughly analyzing what a product offers, to whom it offers those benefits, and where its potential weaknesses lie. The iPad-Kindle combo underlines the fact that for many consumers, tech gadgets work in concert with one another, and people don’t necessarily choose one over the other.
The media probably won’t take this into account, though–expect the next tablet to also be a Kindle (or, even more glamorously, and iPad) killer.
View full post on Business Pundit
Study Shows Small Business Expansion Plans Hurt by Capital Crunch
Oct 15th
A study has confirmed something many small business owners know from painful experience: The much-ballyhooed capital crunch is hampering small businesses’ ability to expand.
The Pepperdine University Private Markets Capital Project surveyed 559 privately held businesses and 1,430 lenders and investors nationwide and found that, although the majority (78 percent) of businesses had solid growth strategies, only 40 percent had access to the resources they needed to grow.
“The study shows private business owners feel they are being constrained by access to financial capital,” said survey author John Paglia. “Owners currently expect a 10 percent revenue growth over the next 12 months. If they were to receive additional capital, they estimate their revenue growth rate to jump to 25 percent.”
The survey by Paglia, a finance professor at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, is unique because he interviewed alternative lenders, such as venture capitalists and private equity firms. Most surveys like this focus on one type of capital (such as banks or angel investors).
Here are some of Paglia’s findings:
- Lenders and investors reject 90 percent of loan applications or investment proposals that would be secured by a business’s real estate holdings.
- They reject 73 percent of loan applications or investment proposals that are based on a business’s cash flow.
Where are businesses getting money?
- Slightly more than 50 percent of business owners surveyed had obtained capital from friends and family for money.
- One-third had obtained bank loans.
- Approximately 10 percent had obtained financing from alternative lenders.
One worrisome finding: Despite their frustrations, most business owners are significantly more optimistic than actual conditions warrant, Paglia told the Los Angeles Times. This could prompt them to take unnecessary risks, and might mean that small businesses are in worse shape than previously thought.
Read more about the survey and get the full report at the Pepperdine University website.
My take is this: When you feel constrained by lack of capital from traditional sources, it’s time to look at non-traditional sources more closely. Look at how you can use a charge card in place of a line of credit; factor in your invoices; study grant and loan programs from your local economic development organizations; check out credit unions instead of banks for loans; and finally, look for trade terms that will give you extra time to pay. Leave no stone unturned.
Editor’s Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “Capital Crunch Hurting Expansion Plans: Study Shows” It is republished here with permission.
Study Shows Small Business Expansion Plans Hurt by Capital Crunch
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
