Agility key to buoyant SMB outlook
In its second annual survey of industry performance (to be posted today), ITCE trade association Intellect reported that 53 percent of respondents expect double digit growth in 2008, despite the credit crunch, compared to 49 percent last year. The smaller the business, the greater the optimism.
The survey covered 135 companies, 83 percent of them SMBs. Businesses expecting 15 percent or more growth were mainly in the £5m or less range of annual revenue, and no company with a turnover of £20m or more expected such high growth rates.
‘The results from this survey show that in today’s current economic climate, some SMB software companies are finding their size an advantage, not a hindrance,’ said Nigel Hartnell, Chairman of Intellect’s Software Group. ‘Agile SMBs have the ability to respond to market changes and customer needs more quickly than large companies.’
In last year’s survey, 59 percent of respondents identified globalisation as having a neutral or negative impact on their business. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the new survey see it as having a positive or very positive impact on their business.
The emphasis in outsourcing and offshoring is shifting from Asia to eastern Europe. ‘We are saving about 40 percent in costs by developing overseas,’ said Chris Barling, CEO of Actinic, a company profiled in the report. ‘We decided on Hungary because of the cost and quality benefit.’
