1 in 3 UK businesses to invest in connectivity in 2018
More than one in three of all UK firms intend to invest in new digital connectivity products in 2018, a new survey of British businesses has found, with the majority aiming for superfast broadband services.
A survey of 514 firms undertaken by Opinium and commissioned by ISP Beaming found that 39 per cent of respondents expect to invest in new connectivity solutions during the next 12 months. A further 17 per cent say fibre optic leased lines are their target, too.
The survey found that superfast fibre broadband, i.e. a service that would connect businesses to Openreach via FTTC or another means, was preferred by smaller businesses: 18 per cent of organisations with 10 to 49 employees and 11 per cent of those with fewer than 9 staff plan to pay for such services this year.
Fibre Ethernet technology is more popular among respondents at medium (27 per cent) and large companies (31 per cent), thanks to its multi-Gigabit speeds that can allow hundreds of users to share one connection.
In addition, 6 per cent of those who responded said they planned to connect all or part of their business via the 4G mobile phone network.
At the other end of the spectrum, 7 per cent of businesses said they still intended to buy slower, cheaper ADSL services in 2018. These are likely to be businesses with lesser connectivity requirements, like small shops, the report’s authors point out.
Cybersecurity products will be a priority for 49 per cent of all businesses, though 23 per cent are concentrating only on anti-virus and anti-malware software, while 46 per cent of respondents said they would be investing into cloud technology this year.
Sonia Blizzard, MD of Beaming, said that increased cyber attacks and data breaches had encouraged companies to be more careful of doing business online, but had not deterred them from the necessity of being connected.
She added: “Businesses today rely on the internet, they want to maximise the cost, convenience and productivity gains it enables, and have recognised that they need rock solid systems and connectivity to do so with confidence.”
