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.