Small Business Week Survey Reveals Opportunities for Small Businesses

By the DynaSis Team

In conjunction with the kickoff of National Small Business Week, Time Warner announced the results of its most recent survey about small business technology trends. The survey results were illuminating, to say the least, and we thought you might find them interesting. Despite interest in cloud technologies, mobile productivity and other hot technologies, small business owners put three more “basic” needs at the top of the list: fast, reliable Internet access, clear, reliable phone service, and a reliable Wi-Fi network at their businesses.

Among survey respondents, 80% indicated that their customers expect them to offer free Wi-Fi at their locations, yet only 43% of businesses offer it. These business owners may recognize that allowing customers and guests to roam onto the company network isn’t a safe practice. What they may not know is that setting up a parallel “guest” network isn’t difficult. Businesses that take this small step could increase their customer satisfaction.

Another interesting issue, especially with Microsoft’s recent end of support for its popular Windows XP operating system, was that 33% of small businesses have been negatively impacted by outdated technology. Furthermore, business owners recognize the advantages of up-to-date technology, with 73% stating it would give them easier/faster access to information and 57% projecting it would increase customer satisfaction.

Of those surveyed, 93% had performed at least some technology upgrades in the past five years. However, as we reported last week, the pace of technology itself makes such upgrade timeframes impractical.

This survey was conducted with primarily very small business owners (24 employees or fewer), and among larger businesses, the priorities shift somewhat. For 2014, research firm SMB Group found that the number one technology challenge for medium businesses would be data integration.

Firms in the 25-100 sector continue to adopt cloud technologies, but they often do not proceed in an integrated or cohesive fashion. As a result, they end up with disparate silos of information that are not accessible to all workers. SMB Group predicted that cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-premise integration would both take center stage for the remainder of 2014.

DynaSis technical experts can help companies achieve all these goals, whether they seek a guest network for their clients or want to deploy a unified data store to hold all of their digital business assets. We can also help companies adopt a fully cloud-based solution that gives all workers―on premise or mobile―access to data and applications, 24/7/365. To learn more, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.