SMEs lose faith in economic recovery

Posted by Louise Tate

Small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) could take up IT outsourcing as they bid to overcome concerns about the economic climate.

Microsope.co.uk reported on the findings of an Insurantz.com survey which revealed only 44 per cent of SMEs are hopeful that economic conditions will improve.

This marks a decline from before the election, when 62 per cent of respondents were confident of a financial upturn.

"SMEs have been hit hard by the recession and the reality of Britain's debt, laid bare in the weeks since the election, has clearly had an impact," said James Pickering, managing director for Insurantz.com.

One of the major problems faced by SMEs is gaining access to credit, an issue that is stifling their ability to return to growth, Mr Pickering added.

The return on investment that IT outsourcing can bring may encourage more SMEs to adopt that approach.

According to a survey commissioned by Orange, just over a quarter of SMEs (26 per cent) view protection from security risks as their least important business priority, which could be leaving them at risk.