Survey reveals technology trends, concerns and profitability for London businesses in 2020

A new research report reveals how technology decision makers at Greater London SMEs are prioritising cyber security and proactive IT strategy to ensure business continuity and growth

The State of Technology at UK SMEs report commissioned by Kidderminster headquartered OGL Computer, an IT services provider, has revealed the top technology concerns and priorities for London SMEs.

The report also highlights newer technologies such as robotics and AI that SMEs plan to adopt, how SMEs are using technology to power remote workforces and what technologies they are adopting for growth.

Technology decision makers in SMEs with 50 – 500 employees were surveyed across several industries.

Paul Colwell, Technical Director, OGL Computer and its cyber division CyberGuard Technologies, comments: “The inaugural State of Technology at UK SMEs 2020 report reveals that IT decision-makers at SMEs have clear strategies for the future and a understand the opportunities and challenges that face their verticals in 2020.

“These range from the perennial, such as the ever-present threat of serious cyber-attack or data breach to effectively managing the increasing amount of data flowing through the organisation. In addition, moving to the cloud securely and an ongoing lack of technology-savvy workers emerged as key themes.

“Handling these challenges, all with a fraction of the resources of their larger, corporate counterparts requires flexibility and demonstrates the resilience that gives SMEs the power to succeed. As we head into a new decade where the only constant is likely to be change, it is heartening to learn through our survey that SMEs continue to adopt innovative products and services.”

Key findings for London SMEs:

Technology priorities and concerns

The survey established the technology priorities and concerns SMEs are expecting in 2020:

• The top four key technology priorities emerged as: increased cyber security provision; more proactive IT strategy 43%; increased use of AI and an increase in cloud computing adoption 42%.
• The main technology concerns for 2020 were cyber security attacks 69%, a lack of technology-savvy workers 57%; and data management 56%.
• 59% of respondents said that increasing the use of applications such as Microsoft Office 365, Teams, SharePoint etc is planned to drive business efficiencies and profitability
• 100% of SMEs are planning to spend more on cyber security and IT in 2020

Cyber security trends

Cyber security features heavily in the report with respondents revealing attack frequency, cyber strategy status and employee training to combat hackers.

• The majority of London SMEs confirmed that they were increasingly worried, with 62% more fearful of a cyber-attack or data breach, compared to 81% nationally
• 85% of London SMEs confirmed that they had suffered a data breach or cyber-attack, compared to 81% of UK SMEs
• 30% of IT decision-makers surveyed have no cyber security strategy in place, compared to 17% nationally
• 75% agree that they are nervous about moving from an on-premise IT infrastructure to a cloud infrastructure due to fears of data security
• 97% of IT decision-makers in SMEs across London educate employees about how to identify a cyber threat compared to 98% nationally with the most popular approach a combination of external and internal training, with 32% of respondents adopting this approach

Colin Dennis, Head of Technical Operations, OGL Computer says: “Cyber security has been front of mind for SME customers for some time now, as awareness of cyber-risks continues to rise. Proactive management of IT requirements is in many ways connected to this trend, as businesses of all sizes look to compliance requirements as well as asset protection and disaster recovery.”

Emerging technologies adoption

SMEs have long recognised the opportunities technology provides to foster growth and improve profit margins, so appetites for new and emerging technologies are strong, with the top five technologies that London SMEs plan to adopt cited as:

• 5G 56%
• Robotics 55%
• Automation 47%
• AI 41%
• Blockchain 39%

Keeping up with competitors was the main reason for the adoption of new technology 46% – ahead of attracting new talent and enabling flexible working, both 43%

Paul Colwell, Technical Director, OGL Computer and its cyber division CyberGuard Technologies, comments: “Whether deploying innovative technologies to protect a business, communicate better with customers or improve productivity, our research reveals that SMEs are thinking ahead. They are ready to test new products and services and are increasing their IT and security budgets to benefit from emerging technologies that will change the way we work.”