Small Business Technology News
Small Businesses Turning To Third Parties For Tech Help
Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 6/17/2011
Small businesses need outside tech help, survey finds.
Virus/malware issues cause about 43 percent of computer issues requiring small businesses to have their machines serviced, while hardware issues are to blame 40 percent of the time, according to the June Office Depot Small Business Index.
This might be ominous news for small business owners who have been following the recent outbreak of hacks at big businesses such as Sony and Citigroup, especially since the Office Depot survey also suggests small businesses do not have the IT resources to implement sophisticated computer security measures. Just 7 percent of small businesses surveyed employ an on-site computer technician, while over half turn to outside parties to resolve issues.
Given the reliance on external service providers, the lag time for computer repairs cuts significantly into small businesses' productivity. Almost half the respondents (48 percent) said it takes two to three days for malfunctioning computers to be fixed, while over half (67 percent) said that computer issues compromise their ability to do their job.
The Office Depot index came out on the heels of a Zoomerang survey showing small businesses in many parts of the country have been slow to adopt social media technologies. Only 23 percent of small businesses polled are utilizing sites like Twitter and Facebook, while according to a recent Regus report, that number jumps to 50 percent when businesses nationwide are considered.
Share this article
About Our News for Small Business Owners
Our reporters publish news articles for entrepreneurs whenever there's news. Our entrepreneur news articles review trends in business management, analyze the impact of new government policies, present relevant entrepreneurial research findings, and cover many other topics of interest to entrepreneurs.
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs