In a survey of over 250 business owners/managers throughout Ireland, 56 per cent have said that broadband is the biggest IT-related challenge facing Irish SMEs. In the survey, which was carried out by Big Red Cloud, respondents were asked their views pertaining to broadband provision and the visibility of their business online.
The Big Red Cloud Business Sentiment survey also found, staff issues come second in IT-related challenges to SMEs, at 16 per cent, with more than 10 per cent of SME owners/managers believing cyber-crime to be the biggest problem for Irish SMEs.
The survey suggests that most businesses appreciate the importance of having a strong online presence, with 29 per cent satisfied that their business requirements are met when it comes to their online presence. However, a further 60 per cent recognise that more needs to be done. According Marc O Dwyer, CEO of Big Red Cloud, these figures would have been a lot lower ten years ago.
Speaking of the findings in general, O Dwyer said: “I’m not surprised that broadband-related issues topped the poll. As a country, we lag far behind in terms of the quality of broadband we can offer to all areas of this island. A staggering 96 per cent of the business we surveyed are in agreement that businesses in rural Ireland are at a huge competitive disadvantage due to poor quality broadband. What’s more, our survey looked at businesses in all areas of the country – not just rural – and of these 56 per cent think that broadband is the single biggest challenge facing Irish SMEs.”
