UK small business lacks Internet access

A new piece of research undertaken in the UK indicates that two thirds of small businesses are still working without any internet connection, email or website.

The study was undertaken by Dynamic Markets on behalf of Internet Service Provider UKOnline and surveyed over 580 businesses with fewer than 10 staff. It found that just 200 had internet access and of those, 37% were using a consumer internet package rather than a business-grade service. The research also reported that 17% of small businesses that were online were still using dial-up connections, while 18% had no anti-virus software.

These results are surprising and even UKOnline managing director Chris Stenning is quoted as saying: “I was surprised by the low level of Internet use. I was expecting the figure to be nearer 70-80 per cent. It does show that the smallest businesses have not grasped the benefits of the Internet.”

However, as with much commissioned research where there is some direct connection to the business publicising the survey, one might have to question the potential bias of the data. For example, how representative was the sample of companies questioned, since small tradesmen and some local businesses are unlikely to see the need for Internet access, even these days.

Certainly when you are closely involved with an online business it’s easy to forget that many people are still reluctant to go online and add a further complication to their daily business or leisure activities by tackling technology that they have no knowledge of using. This research could therefore be identifying a much bigger market opportunity for many small companies or it just confirms that Internet business is still a relatively small part of the overall economy.

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