Comments : Small Businesses Preparing to Meet Economic Challenges Through Communications

Graeme Leach, Chief Economist of The IoD, said: "The UK has enjoyed 15 years of successive growth but this is now coming to an end. Many SMEs will have never experienced recession before and so the risk of under or over reacting to the downturn will be high. Life is going to get a lot harder before it gets better. Thus far the winds of recession have been confined to the housing and construction sectors together with certain big ticket markets such as cars. This is about to change as the ripples of recession spread out across all SME sectors."

Gordon Ballantyne, Director of Service and Sales at T-Mobile UK, said: "Things are going to become increasingly difficult for many smaller businesses and it's imperative that suppliers work with them to ensure that they can continue to grow.  Mobile communications providers need to work with SMEs to tailor a tariff which not only matches their business needs, but also takes into account the potential impact of the credit crunch.  Businesses should be looking for a simple, understandable price plan from mobile communications providers and ensuring they get the specific advice that they require."

The research, undertaken by Vanson Bourne on behalf of T-Mobile, surveyed over 500 owners of enterprises with fewer than 250 employees across the UK, uncovering the challenges they face in the slowing economy and the difficulties in finding technology suppliers that understand their needs.  

James Caan continued: "In my experience, mobile working has an extremely positive impact, not just in terms of the performance and productivity of my team, but also in attracting and retaining excellent people. Mobile technology allows me to keep in touch with their progress and also means that I am always available should they need support or advice."