Catherine Amran, Director of Small and Medium Business, Virgin Media O2 Business, recently outlined how technology can fuel the growth of the UK’s medium businesses in an article on the Business Leader news site.
It talked about the impact of medium businesses (11-249 employees) like MPS Networks and many of our customers and how these businesses are a crucial engine of the economy, employing 7.5 million people and turning over almost £1.4 trillion a year.
Maintaining momentum
It went on to talk about how with economic pressures only worsening, and a tough year ahead, medium businesses are looking for solutions to help them maintain momentum.
Technology as a driver
In a survey carried out by Virgin Media O2, they found that all the factors affecting business success, the majority (65%) of medium businesses were saying that tech is their top driver of growth and that 33% of medium businesses believed IT and connectivity is their number one internal obstacle.
Increased mobile connections
When it came to prioritising technologies, 70% of respondents reported having more mobile connections compared to 12 months ago to support their employees’ remote working habits and it appears that medium businesses are embracing hybrid working in a big way, with just 25% of the time being spent in the office.
Working from anywhere
When it comes to employees becoming used to working where and how they like, businesses need to continue to ensure they offer the right tools to enable their people and their businesses to thrive but the article goes on to talk about failing to provide suitable technology solutions risked being seen as second-rate. It seems 40% of respondents believed that the proper integration of devices such as laptops and smartphones would improve the quality of the work they deliver for clients.
Increased security risks
The article also talks about how this digital transformation didn’t come without risks and remote working meant risks to business data would become more prevalent and that research from the British Chambers of Commerce and Cisco discovered, that over half of firms agreed that hybrid work has increased their exposure to cyber security threats, yet four in five do not have measures in place to combat them.
Empowering employees
Catherine goes on to say that taking the time now to build a resilient defence will save headaches further down the line and reduce the risk of costly and dangerous cyberattacks but technology wasn’t all about mitigating risk and it was as much about helping your business reap the rewards of hybrid working, empowering your employees to work in the ways that suit them and boosting your productivity across offices, homes, and the virtual world.
Support from the right partner is key
The article closes talking about how it’s now time for partners to step up to the plate, ensuring they can provide that support for the present as well as the future ahead, to help medium businesses face the connectivity and tech challenges ahead and help them continue to deliver their powerful contributions to the UK economy.
This its very much what MPS is about. Providing industry leading connectivity, security, voice and IT services to medium sized businesses, nationwide.
Click here to read the the full Business Leader article.
Get in touch to find out how MPS can support your medium sized business.