Know your networking, boost your business

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Businesses that embrace new technologies and new ways of working grow faster as a result is the conclusion of research among UK businesses.

The survey, which polled more than 600 UK firms and IT directors from companies with 20 to 1,000 employees, highlights a relationship between strategic IT adoption and business success.

The vast majority (78 per cent) of business leaders surveyed by researcher Dynamic Markets believe their IT network is very important or vital to their business, with just one in 10 viewing the IT network as a static 'pipe' for data.

And business leaders of companies where turnover has increased by more than 15 per cent in the past year - classifying them as 'high-growth' businesses - are more likely to view their IT network as a vital, strategic asset.

Only 40 per cent of those with static growth have the same view of their networks, compared to over half (59 per cent) of high-growth business leaders.

The attitude of these top-performing businesses towards their IT networks is a good indicator of what the survey sponsor, Cisco terms as their "network IQ". Organisations surveyed were polled on a range of IT subjects, from collaboration and communication to information management and environmental impact. Their responses were weighted on a scale devised by Cisco, and the scores added to yield overall 'Network IQ' scores.

For example, high-scoring companies were twice as likely to have flexible working capabilities their lowest scoring counterparts and nearly seven times as likely to offer Wi-Fi networking across their offices. They also had more robust information security capabilities and more confidence in their ability to retrieve data on demand for compliance or audit purposes, for example.

Nick Watson, vice president for enterprise business at Cisco UK said: "The IT network can provide the platform for new and productive working experiences, but the bottom-line growth is only really guaranteed when executives show leadership and support for IT in their organisation." This is because, while the study suggests IT management believes improving operational efficiency, enabling business growth and containing costs are the three most important factors affecting IT investment over the next 12 to 18 months, almost a fifth (18 per cent) believed their organisation was being held back because it did not know where to invest in IT to get the best return.

Despite this and the correlation between a strategic view of the IT network and business growth, 47 per cent of business managers said their company did not allow remote or teleworking and 38 per cent said they allow staff to work remotely or from home only under certain circumstances.

Cisco said the apparent unease with remote and home working among business managers was reflected in IT investment plans, with home working ranking as the lowest influencing factor on IT managers' technology investment priorities over the next 12 to 18 months. Finding and retaining the right people was the area of most concern among those surveyed.

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