Dependant SMBs locked into broadband

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A new study released today has found that one in three small-to-medium-sized (SMB) UK businesses experience issues with their internet service, yet only one in 10 would switch providers.

Out of the 345 UK based IT managers surveyed, more than three quarters (77 per cent) said they had experienced internet connection failure at some point. And almost one in three (29 per cent) stated that their internet connection occasionally drops below performance levels they expect.

But the Soaring not Surfing research sponsored by UK SMB internet service provider (ISP), Easynet Connect found over three quarters (71 per cent) of respondents acknowledged that their business could not cope any longer than a day without the internet.

And over one third (36 per cent) of SMBs are selling online, more then a quarter (26 per cent) are using internet protocol (IP) telephony and 39 per cent use the network for remote backup and disaster recovery.

Despite this, the vast majority of SMBs remain reluctant to switch to another provider, with nine out of ten (88 per cent) stating that they would not be changing providers in the near future. This was due to a lack of technical understanding and in stark contrast to the high rate of churn among consumer broadband users, according to analyst firm Quocirca, which carried out the survey.

Quocirca principal analyst and author of the report, Rob Bamforth, said: "SMBs have greater expectations of their suppliers, as they inevitably lack the specialist knowledge and time to deal with the complexities of the numerous options available."

"As more and more businesses regard the internet as the backbone of their day-to-day processes, it is important that they understand that internet connectivity can and should be tailored to fit," he added.

The survey also found that technology confusion and jargon are partially responsible for the lack of desire to shop around, despite the fact that technical abilities (48 per cent) were cited as the most important ISP attribute after business reliability (72 per cent).

Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of respondents claimed that jargon was generally not an issue, but more than two thirds did not know what the technical terms SDSL (67 per cent) and contention ratio (68 per cent) meant.

"While speed and cost have become the buzzwords in the consumer space, businesses owners need to look beyond to added value and support, working closely with a provider that understands their specific needs, as opposed to one that takes a one-size-fits-all approach," Bamforth said.

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