Larger businesses outstripped by SMEs in home working

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19 May 2016

Well over half of smaller businesses (58%) have introduced a cloud system for either their staff, their clients or for both, representing a significant increase over 2015, when the proportion was less than a quarter (23%).

A survey by Amárach Research for Magnet business of 540 Irish IT professionals found that in very small businesses, 1-9 employees, there was strong support for home working, with two-thirds of staff, on average, working from home on a regular basis. For large companies, more than 250 employees, the figure is just 15%. Small companies also provide a greater number of staff with smart phones (48%), tablets (28%) and laptops (42%).

With regard to cloud adoption, security concerns have risen significantly since last year, with 1 in 5 citing it as a deterrent to cloud adoption, compared to just 4% previously.

The study, conducted in January of this year, also showed the perceived primary benefits of cloud services are reduced costs (58%), mobility (55%), allowing staff to work from home (46%) and greater productivity (37%).

“Work culture is changing, with today’s workforce more dispersed than ever before,” said Mark Kellett, CEO, Magnet. “This is borne out by our survey with the number of remote and mobile workers increasing significantly since last year, and similar increases for cloud adoption. Ubiquitous connectivity and mobility is the new norm, and this is where cloud really comes into play. Many services that were once only accessible from the company office can now be accessed from anywhere in the world, allowing for greater productivity, collaboration and communication.”

Among the larger companies, cloud service uptake was high, with nearly three quarters (72%) indicating usage, compared with just 4 out of 10 for smaller businesses.

Of the companies that have implemented a cloud solution, more than two thirds (69%) say this is email related, with more than half (52%) utilising collaboration tools, while 34% access existing business applications and another 34% CRM.

Nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) confirmed saving more than €1,000 per month by moving to a cloud phone service.

On the device front, an average of 35% of respondents provided staff with a smart phone, up from a quarter in 2015. This drops to 21% for tablets, but is up to 35% for laptops.

 

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