Over the past year, there have been many high-profile incidents of government departments, banks and multinational businesses losing sensitive data containing the personal details of millions of people. It could well be that the issue of data protection, or a lack of it, has become an epidemic among large organisations which are expected to be more responsible with the data they hold, and which certainly have the available funds to put security measures in place.

If resource-rich organisations fail to protect their data, what hope is there for small business owners? Many feel they do not have the time or extra capital to invest in expensive security measures. However, handling information remains an essential part of their day to day activities. Chess Telecom, which is a partner company of the Forum of Private Business (FPB), offers guidance to owner-managers who are waking up to the importance of data protection, but who do not want to break the bank.

The first step is not to ignore the issue. Managers and emplyees should be familiar with, and trained in, data protection legislation and policies. The internet is a great source of information, for example the Information Commission’s small buisness advice available at www.ico.gov.uk.

Next, business owners should find out if they need data protection  notification, which is an official record of the types of infoirmation a firm uses.  It is not a requirement for all businesses, but for those that fail to notify when they should, the fines can be substantially greater that the £35 notification fee.

It is important to be open and honest with people about how the information will be used, in order to create trust. The best time for this conversation is at the beginning, when information is first being requested. Although it is rare for people to do so, everyone has the right to request copies of information that is held on them. Most often, when they are made, these requests relate to a dispute or complaint, and it is essential to be helpful, compliant, and to keep things professional. It is also important to maintain an efficient and accessible filing system.

The amount of data small buisinesses hold has increased dramatically in recent years, and businesses should have in place policies and guidelines for employees relating to systems usage and security, such as protecting passwords, sensible aging policies and documenting data backups.

In addition, company databases should always be safeguarded with comprehensive security solutions, including a well maintained firewall, security and anti-virus updates on all PCs.

For more information about IT security solutions for small businesses, call Chess on 0800 019 8900, or email solutionsteam@chess.plc.uk. For all other business support services, contact the FPB on 01565 634467, or visit www.fpb.org.

Many small firms believe that they are far from the thoughts of politicians when it comes to decisions on business policy, but one thing is for certain - at least two corporate giants are more than keen to court them. IBM and Microsoft, the two biggest and most powerful IT companies in the world,  are clashing over the small business market. IBM has launched a range of new software servers with the aim of stealing the march on its more established rival.

The company has called its IBM Foundations offering a ‘one stop shop solution’ for small businesses IT needs, referring to the ease of instillation and use that the software affords.  It is believed that the product will include a range of utilities, such as email, file management and directory services, firewall, data back-up and recovery, and office productivity tools.

IBM is expected to price its latest offering below that of Microsoft’s Small Business Server. In addition, the company has unveiled Bluehouse, a service that allows small firms to collaborate by sharing files, contacts and project information safely, and providing facilities for online meetings and conferences.

According to the UK’s Financial Times, IBM is reacting to slowing growth in the western ‘enterprise’ market, consisting of big businesses and governments, and instead setting its sights on the small businesses, woth an estimated £200 billion a year. It is also likely to want to compete with Microsoft in potentially lucrative developing markets such as South America, China and India.

IBM will also launch a range of server software products targetted, for the first time, at the smallest of businesses, those with between five and 100 employees. In advance of the move, it has acquired a number of IT companies, including Toronto-based Net Integrations Technologies, whose software will play a key role in its new server.

Such competition, particularly if it is a sign of more to come, can only be good for the small busniness communuity, and is likely to bring savings with it. Small businesses are spending more than ever on IT and telecommunications. The FPB’s advice has always been to shop around for the best deal. It is early days, but there could never have been a better time to do so. Visit www.fpb.org for more information about choosing the right telecommunications package for your business, using the FPB’s partner, Chess Telecoms.

With the global credit crunch looming large over them, and less than favourable tax conditions on the domestic front, the UK’s  small firms face an uphill struggle every day in order to compete with bigger businesses. Many see investing in IT and communicatons technologies as a way of beginning to level the playing field. New research from the New York-based market intelligence firm, Access Markets International (AMI), shows that that they spent more last year on IT services than in 2006.

The problem is, they are having to pay a lot of money for the kind of IT support that keeps them in touch with their larger competitors. At first glance, the 8% increase appears to be relatively small. However, it translates as around $500 million extra that small firms need to find in order to invest in computing, software and networking support, and other related professional services. In total, more than £20 billion is being spent on IT services by small firms. On AMI’s website, company analyst Jacqueline Atkinson, said the increase was to be expected, because businesses now rely on IT more than ever before.

“In a way, this is not surprising, as companies need to support business operations and manage their IT infrastructures with an ever-increasing range of IT products and services,” she said, ”but it confirms that IT capabilities are expanding, particularly in the realms of security, storage and networking. SMBs need to outsource expertise in order to champion added solutions.”

In addition, the study found that smaller firms employ outside IT consultants than bigger businesses. They simply to not have the resources to maintain a dedicated IT department. Only one in three firms of less than 20 employees has one member of staff devoted to managing IT service and support.

While some firms have had to cut corners in other areas of their busnesses in order to find the money to invest in what is often seen as an area vital to growth, others will have been put off altogether by the costs involved in purchasing business software, for example. The Forum of Private Business (FPB) provides software for hire, which can help to reduce these costs, but most members are still to take up the offer.

Last year, a study carried out jointly by the Institute of Directors (IoD) and broadband provider UK online found that the UK’s small businesses are risking losing business and falling behind their European counterparts becasue of their failure to grasp the benefits of the internet, such as promoting their businesses to a potentially global audience. Many do not even have a basic website. In a bid to remain stable in the present, many small firms are being forced to place their futures on the line. 

Recent campaigns waged by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) have been rather wide-ranging. From plans to roll out congestion charging from London to other areas of the UK – which the FPB believes will effectively become another tax on firms such as courier services whose business relies on their vehicles – to supporting the stand an alliance of small retailers in Chorlton, Manchester, took against Tesco’s plans to build a fourth store in the area, the run up to Christmas has certainly not been slow. Smaller businesses are gearing up for their busiest period of the year, and the FPB continues to represent them on both a national and local level. Read more

The FPB has long campaigned against the decline of the UK’s small, independent high street shops, which are increasingly being replaced by both national and global chain stores. Many urban centres are becoming disturbingly familiar – the much-criticised ‘clone town’ effect. Smaller retailers struggle under the weight of tax and red tape, poor planning decisions made by local authorities wooed by the financial clout of big business, and, most of all, the unfair practices of out-of-town supermarkets.

Last year, the FPB welcomed the Competition Commission’s inquiry into abuses within the groceries market. We looked forward to the lid being lifted on the supermarkets’ aggressive buying policies – which allows them to squeeze suppliers – and their predatory pricing strategies. Now, even clothes, household goods and products such as CDs and computer games are sold cheaply by the big supermarkets, undercutting local high street firms – including FPB members who run small computer shops and IT companies. Last year Britain’s biggest retailer, Tesco, dubbed ‘the King Kong of the retail jungle’ by the FPB, reported a 13% rise in full year underlying profits to £2.55 billion.

However, the Commission’s provisional findings, published at the end of October, appear to have severely let down supermarket suppliers and smaller retailers, in particular those who want to give evidence that the abuse is taking place.

The investigation has not resulted in them being given a cast-iron guarantee of anonymity in exchange for their evidence. Unfortunately, because many still have to do business with the big retailers, they feel that lifting their heads above the parapet to publicly speak out against their paymasters would be tantamount to commercial suicide.

The report noted a lack of competition in some areas of the UK, but its measures to tackle this have missed the point. Forcing Tesco to sell its former Co-op site in Slough so another big supermarket chain can move in will not mean free and fair competition across the local grocery sector – smaller retailers on the high street will still lose out. Many high street retailers selling computer games, music CDs and similar goods are already reeling from the effects of a VAT loophole that the big retailers are exploiting. They have the resources to set up distribution outlets in the Channel Islands, avoiding paying VAT altogether by taking advantage of an obscure EU directive from 1983 called Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR). This was created so that governments could avoid spending time collecting taxes with values less than the cost of collection.

The Commission did make recommendations which could improve the situation, such as changing the planning rules, and ending the practice of big retailers buying up vast swathes of land to fend off competition, said that customers were getting a good deal.

You can’t blame people for seeking out low prices, but the FPB believes that the hidden cost to high streets is not only the damage caused to local economies, it is also the harm that is being done to the social fabric of communities.

The issue of tax vied with red tape as the number one concern of attendees at the FPB’s Small Firms’ Summit, in Westminster, on 17 October.

Specifically, participants’ cages were rattled by the changes to Capital Gains Tax, announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, in his recent Pre-Budget Report. Even the famously forthright Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, who was the keynote speaker at the event, was forced to concede that the Government could be forced to think again about scrapping the 10% taper relief rate on Capital Gains Tax.

If it goes ahead, as is likely, it means that, from April, retiring businessmen and serial entrepreneurs who want to sell up and move on will have to pay almost double the amount in tax than they previously did. It is widely believed that the move was designed to catch out private equity firms, which often break up their assets to make them appear smaller than they really are. However, in reality, the Chancellor has also caught up smaller businesses in his net.

The FPB launched a petition calling for the measure to be reversed. The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, visited the FPB’s offices in Knutsford, which is in his Tatton constituency, to pledge his support by signing the petition. So far, about 800 owners of smaller businesses have done the same.

Following the backlash, the Government has suggested introducing £100,000 in tax relief to business owners who decide it is time to retire and want to sell up. This offer was supposed to pacify our many members who now have to rethink their retirement plans.

At best, the FPB believes that this is a very small step along the road to easing the heavy tax burden that is limiting smaller businesses from being able to compete against bigger businesses. At worst, it is a token gesture designed simply to quell the criticism. In the IT industry, tax burdens are preventing smaller businesses from updating their equipment. This also applies to costly software programmes, which members can now rent from the FPB in order to make savings.

Along with other moves, such as raising the lower rate of corporation tax in recent years, and at the same time cutting the higher rate paid by larger firms, the FPB is concerned that the hike in Capital Gains Tax is part of a broader policy of forcing smaller firms to fork out and cover the tax breaks handed to big businesses.

If the make-up of Gordon Brown’s new Business Council, which includes celebrities such as Sir Alan Sugar but no one to represent the views of smaller businesses, is anything to go by, it is the bigger boys that have the Prime Minister’s ear.