Smaller firms 'resist' switching internet provider

The UK's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are overwhelmingly reluctant to switch their internet service provider, new research has found.

Business and IT analysts Quocirca questioned 345 managers with responsibility for IT in SMEs across the UK.

Its latest report concludes that many smaller firms are using the internet in a much more sophisticated way than a decade ago. It found that a third of polled firms were now selling online, that over a quarter used internet-based telephony, and that almost 40% used the internet to back-up their data.

However, despite the increasing reliance of businesses on the internet, only around 11% said that they were planning to change the internet service provider in the next year, or when their current contract expired.

Quocirca's chief analyst Rob Bamforth suggested that businesses' use of the internet was often outpacing their resources to manage it effectively.

"Some SMEs haven't realised how much they're using the internet for business-critical applications, and don't realise what the options are," he told More Than Business News.

"And it's not just about price," he added, urging small firms to research how their business is using the internet, and how that use is likely to develop. He stressed the need to shop around, using the increasing amount of advice published online by web analysts and the media.