70% of UK SMEs would fail within a day without critical IT infrastructure

Following on from its 2014 IT Infrastructure report, Node4’s latest research reveals that a growing number of UK SMEs have fully outsourced their IT infrastructure, six times the amount last year. Additionally, 60% stated that outsourced data centre provision provides them with peace of mind. With over 31,000 SMEs in the UK, this means that there are now more than 17,900 businesses that have moved some part of their IT provision off premises. The findings, detailed in a brand new report from Data Centre and Cloud specialist Node4, also highlight that 79% of UK SMEs are experiencing frustrations with their existing IT infrastructure, with 46% of respondents highlighting that their IT infrastructure suffers from technical limitations.

The new report Responding to the IT Infrastructure Challenge shows how UK SMEs are looking to generate the maximum ROI and reliability from their IT investment. Reliability was revealed to be one of the top three IT infrastructure concerns in the report, closely followed by concerns that their infrastructure is too reliant on hardware that could fail. As a result, 66% of UK SMEs cited disaster recovery and business continuity as critical for their business.

As UK SMEs respond to the challenges involved with keeping in-house IT infrastructure in working order, there is an increasing awareness of the extent to which they rely on mission-critical IT infrastructure. With profitability closely linked to IT performance, outsourcing is becoming more preferable. Shockingly, 70% of UK SMEs would grind to a halt within a day without critical IT infrastructure.

The latest report concentrates on the attitudes and views of IT decision makers at UK SMEs and provides expert advice from Node4’s experienced team on how SMEs can continue to take full advantage of the latest IT technology.

Paul Bryce, Business Development Director, Node4, commented: "The UK SME is an incredibly savvy and responsive entity. In just a single year, much has been accomplished, namely the successful deployment of IT infrastructure that leads to profitability and efficiency, across the board. In 2015 just 18% of SMEs demonstrated concerns that their IT infrastructure fails to match the needs of the business, compared to 64% in our last report. IT continues to be a major business enabler for the SME, but with heavy reliance, comes inherent risk.”

Drawing on a detailed survey of 250 IT strategy business decision makers in businesses of between 50-500 employees, Node4's new report combines analysis and recommendations for SMEs to deploy IT solutions that help them to win more business, beat the competition and prosper in the growing economy. ‘Responding to the IT infrastructure challenge’ is available to download here.

Bryce added: "With so many SMEs frustrated with technical limitations and the day-to-day administration of their infrastructure it’s hardly surprising that local outsourcing has become a preference. Businesses require a tangible face to be put to their IT provision, especially when outsourcing. The data they are asking someone else to take care of is vital, which is why locality becomes important. Therefore, it’s understandable that outsourcing locally provides peace of mind. The fact is SMEs just want their IT infrastructure to work. They can’t afford for their IT staff to be distracted by fire fighting and IT niggles. They want them focused on the applications and services enabled by the infrastructure – that is what really delivers value to the business.”