More people have their heads stuck firmly in a cloud than ever before – as far as SMEs are concerned anyway.
Research from BT Business and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that 60% of small and medium-sized UK businesses are benefitting from cloud-based applications. The figure forms part of a wider survey that explores how SMEs use and benefit from technology.Among the other data collected was a telling stat: 86% of businesses have one or more members of staff working from home on a regular basis. Moreover, almost 50% of businesses surveyed said their staff work away from the office at least once a week, with 28% indicating they have someone working remotely every day.
Bringing both parts of the survey together, 43% of respondents felt that cloud-based apps were imperative for successful flexible working, with over half of those surveyed stating remote access to company data as an essential requirement in order to work effectively. Surprisingly, however, only 68% of respondents felt their companies wouldn’t be able to survive more than a day or two without an internet connection. We’re certainly scratching our heads over that one.
“Flexible and remote working are crucial for companies across Britain and cloud-based files and applications make this possible,” said Dr. Adam Marshall, executive director of policy at BCC. “Businesses are working in new and different ways, but easy access to information and communication tools are absolutely essential. Everything suggests that businesses dependence on the cloud is growing, and will continue to increase in future.”
We definitely agree that cloud-based applications and remote working are an integral part of modern enterprises. On that note, it’s probably time to hang the washing up. 
