UK Small Businesses are Well Placed To Make A Significant
Contribution to the Economy - But do they Know That?
Small to Medium Businesses in the UK have come up well short of large enterprises in their move
to introduce technology that will facilitate staff working off site.
Results of a recent study that polled over 200 SMB Human Resources heads, show only 43 per
cent of them with technology that allow them to offer staff flexible conditions. In larger enterprises,
the figure is close to 80 per cent.
Reacting to the finding of the study commissioned by Citrix Online, David Lennan, chairman of the
flexible working group, Work Wise UK, said that the SMB sector is well positioned to make a
positive impact on work-life balance in the UK. But he suggested that by ‘having smaller work
forces, SMBs tend to think that any changes they make in working practices will not have a
significant impact on the economy as a whole.’ Noting that of the 1.1 million enterprises in the
UK, 99 per cent are SMBs, Lennan said “there is most certainly potential for the sector to make a
major contribution.”
Seventy per cent of the respondents in the survey with IT support for working
off site said they supply laptops. Another 35 per cent supply mobile phones,
but only one in four said they allow remote access to internal systems and networks.
SMB's Overlook Internet Opportunity
Meantime, Small businesses in the UK are reportedly missing out on the huge benefits that can
be derived from Internet marketing. That is according to a UK online study.
The results of the study show that two thirds of small firms in Britain with fewer than ten
employees do not have an Internet connection. And it concludes that they are missing out on the
growing audiences they could be targeting.
According to Shane Redding of the Institute of Direct Marketing, ‘small businesses have been
relatively slow to reap the rewards that an effective online presence can bring,’ The Institute of
Direct Marketing official also believes that there is a clear need for small business owners to
better understand the opportunities available so that they can continue to thrive and compete
against larger businesses."
The UK Online research also found that half of those small firms that have an Internet connection
do not have a corporate website, and 17 per cent of them do not have a broadband connection.
In a separate study from the Internet Advertising Bureau found that the UK's Internet users are the
most attractive in Europe to advertisers.
Internet Users Warned to Beware of E-cards
Internet users and IT managers are being urged to be on their guard against what
Security Researches describe as a variant of the virulent Storm worm that ravaged
computers around the world in January and February.
McAfee researcher Vinoo Thomas cautions that the spike lands on desktops in
Spam e-mails then entice unsuspecting users into going to malicious Web sites
where their machines can be infected. He says once the Storm worm infects a
computer, new, updated infections can be fed into it.
After reeking havoc on computers around the globe in January The Storm
reappeared in February as a Spam attack that lured blog, bulletin board, and Web
mail users to connect to a malicious Web site. Then in April, it hit again, with the
Internet Storm Centre reportedly detecting at least 20,000 infections in one day.
In an ongoing attack which started in June, hackers are Spamming out e-mail
messages in an electronic greeting card. The card often comes with a subject which
suggests that ‘you have received a card from a family member. However, the
attached link which invites a click to view the card, takes users to malicious Web
pages.
In recent a blog post, Lorna Hutcheson, from Internet Storm Centre, reported that
malicious Web sites have an interesting Java Script that appears to have multiple
ways to exploit a browser in order to compromise a system. And in a comment
emphasising the spread and danger of the virus, she said "If you haven't gotten one
yet, just give it time."
All Internet Users will do well to be constantly reminded not to open e-mails about e-
cards unless they check to make sure that someone actually sent them one.
New BT- OGC Deal Guarantees Cheaper Call Charges
for Hundreds of Public Sector Organisations
OGC Buying Solutions, a government buying agency, has a secured a special deal
under which BT will provide public sector organisations with reduced national rates.
The deal is contained in a new £10 million contract between OGC and BT. Under the
contract the government agency, a department in the Office of Commerce, is
committed
to spend £10 million annually on calls and participating public sector organisations
are guaranteed lower national charges.
More than 570 public sector bodies, including schools and local authorities that
signed on for the last OGC Buying Solutions calling contract, reportedly saved
between 10 and 30 per cent on call charges that amounted to around £40 million
four years.
June 2007
European Retailers on the Internet Stay Close to Home
The number of European retailers doing business online continues to grow, but a vast majority
maybe loath to venture outside their home country
Results of a recent ‘Eurobarometer’ survey show that although 57 per cent of retailers sell
products on the Internet only 71 per cent of those polled sell inside their home country.
European Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva revealed that retail transactions account
for 58 per cent of EU GDP, but he said ‘although the business-to-consumer market is still very
much divided along national lines.
“The results of this Eurobarometer reinforce my view that SMEs are interested in entering the retail
internal market,” he said. Adding, the lack of a clear and coherent set of rules is one of the main
factors holding them back."
According to the study, security of transactions and differences in regulations are the main
barriers to cross-border sales. Of the 6,600 retailers asked, 43 per cent believed that their cross-
border sales would increase if laws regulating consumer transactions were the same throughout
the EU.
Imadspace.com - A Great new Tool
Developers of a new site for Internet marketers claim it will offer Internet marketers more
opportunities and space to promote their products.
They say The IMADSPACE.COM site, launched by online entrepreneur Ray Herold was developed
for Internet Marketers by Internet Marketers.
It’s described as a ‘great new promotion tool for Internet marketers.’ Categorised according to
product type, it also includes sections for Affiliate Marketing, Ad/words/Adsense, Business
opportunities, Traffic generation, Viral marketing, Web promotion, Scripts, Email marketing and
Home business.
imadspace.com also allows Internet Marketer's to post an unlimited number of ads FREE, with up
to 90-day duration for each ad.
The owner's of imadspace.com have also announced that they are offering new members a one-
time $10 credit BONUS just for registering and the bonus can be used to add any of the premium
features to their ads.
Microsoft Releases 'PlayReady' for Streaming Media
Microsoft has announced the introduction of its "PlayReady" multimedia content
access technology.
The announcement said PlayReady technology is optimized to meet the needs of
mobile operators and handset manufacturers for digital entertainment and
commerce. The technology, which supports multiple content types and flexible DRM,
is positioned for content services including subscription, rental, pay-per-view,
preview and super-distribution.
It supports a wide variety of content types including music, video, games, ring tones
and images.
The software giant says its PlayReady enhancements make it easier for consumers
to move their content between their devices and gives them a new level of freedom
with their digital content.
PlayReady technology is expected to be implementation in handsets and mobile
devices during the first half of this year.
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