For the majority of small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) in the UK, having a speedy, reliable broadband service is essential to their success.
A new report from Sky Business claims that for many, solid broadband is more important for business success than family, supplier relations, or quality staff.
After polling 500 SMB owners in the UK, Sky Business found that for 59% - reliable internet connection is “critical” to the smooth running of their business, so much so that almost two-thirds (62%) have considered switching broadband providers.
Economic crisis
These past months have put enormous pressure on SMBs, the company says, as the cost-of-living crisis takes hold. Businesses are looking at all options to cut costs without compromising on quality, but as energy prices rise, interest rates rise, and the government failing to do enough, SMBs are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place. Many SMB owners end up taking work home with them, and getting their spouses to help out. In many cases, both partners end up being overworked, resulting in 43% having arguments at home.
As a third (35%) of SMB owners agreed slow broadband speed was their biggest broadband issue, more than half (59%) said a reliable internet connection would ensure the smooth operation of their business, ahead of a good support network of family and friends (34%), good supplier relations (33%) and good staff (31%).
“No one prepares you for the emotional burden that comes with making even the smallest of decisions during a period of economic downturn,” commented Charlie Gallienne-Schmidt, Founder of Sandbox Workspace.
“It can be stressful. And solo founders can feel this more. Working in the workspace industry, we’ve been hit hard by those moving to fully remote working. It’s therefore critical that to continue to grow and maintain a loyal customer base, we’re able to remain affordable to our customers, whilst supplying them with the service they need. For this, I rely heavily on a stable and reliable internet connection. We’ve found that with hybrid working, there’s even more pressure on us to ensure that we’re providing a reliable internet service that supports the rise in video calls. Ultimately, bad internet massively undermines what we do as a business”.
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