In the face of economic uncertainty, the majority of business leaders from medium-sized UK companies view technology as the biggest driver of growth, though many also see it as their biggest internal challenge, according to research from Virgin Media O2 Business.
The survey of 1,000 UK decision makers – in businesses with between 11-249 staff – found that 65% of them believe technology is the biggest driver of growth.
The importance of technology in the workplace is highlighted by the fact that 87% of business leaders have noticed an improvement in productivity when they’ve provided employees with new technology, and 77% believe that technology helps to boost morale.
“With around 250,000 medium businesses operating across the country, employing more than 7.5 million people, and turning over around £1.4 trillion a year, they are a huge contributor to the UK’s growth – which is even more important during these uncertain economic times,” said Catherine Amran, Director of Small and Medium Business (SMB) at Virgin Media O2 Business.
“That’s why it’s important medium businesses aren’t left behind and can make the most of tech to enhance their productivity, performance, and prosperity.”
This comes at a time when, on average, employees are spending just a quarter of their working hours in offices. With this in mind, 28% of business leaders see improved efficiency as the biggest benefit of technology, and 23% point to it boosting collaboration amongst teams.
While the benefits of technology are clear, 33% say it is their biggest internal challenge, with current IT set ups impacting their bottom lines more than other activities, such as marketing capabilities. 48% say they need better IT support to realise their company’s ambitions, and 24% feel that IT security is a major challenge.
