Broadband News

Support is most important for small businesses

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

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More than 70 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would switch to a new provider if their connection became unreliable, according to new research.

The survey on behalf of Zen Broadband (www.Zen.co.uk) also revealed that the level of support provided by their ISP was the most valued factor in choosing a provider, with 85 per cent of SMEs citing it as their most important criteria.

"If a business has internet reliability issues, it costs them business, revenue and reputation"

However, Zen noted that small businesses do not switch broadband regularly, instead staying with their provider until any problems arise - with only 13 per cent of businesses considering switching broadband provider at present. More than half of businesses questioned said that they were happy with their current ISP and were unlikely to switch and 68 per cent had not switched in the past year.

Since 98 per cent of SMEs consider a reliable internet connection to be vital to their business, it’s not surprising that only 40 per cent would switch to save money.

Steve Proctor, Zen broadband product manager, said: “SMEs have very different needs from consumers. If a business has internet reliability issues, it costs them business, revenue and reputation.”

Zen Internet has won a host of awards including the PC Pro Best ISP 2008, Custom PC Best ISP 2008 and the coveted Which? Best Broadband Provider 2008 award.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “Even if you just run a small business from your home you could still benefit from a dedicated business broadband package. Business broadband offers static IP addresses, dedicated customer support and even priority network access - privileges that don’t have to cost the earth.”

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, estimates that there were 4.7 million private sector companies in the UK at the start of 2007, employing an estimated 22.7 million people.

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