Information technology breakdown is the biggest day-to-day issue for SMEs, according to a survey by IT support company Connect. Some 37 per cent of SMEs say recurring IT problems are their biggest hindrance and almost a third claim that IT security is their number one problem at work.

Information technology breakdown is the biggest day-to-day issue for SMEs, according to a survey by IT support company Connect. Some 37 per cent of SMEs say recurring IT problems are their biggest hindrance and almost a third claim that IT security is their number one problem at work.

The survey suggests security is more of a problem for small businesses (those with fewer than 50 employees). Of these companies, 35 per cent say security is one of their top two headaches, as opposed to just 27 per cent of the larger firms (those with 50 to 250 employees).

Commenting on the figures, Connect’s CEO Mark MacGregor says: ‘Much of the IT debate currently revolves around what we’d call “big ticket” items – concepts like mobile working, Web 2.0 or open-source software.

‘While we’re certainly not dismissing those concepts, the reality is that for the entrepreneurs and owner-managers that drive much of the innovation and growth in our economy, the issues are really much simpler. They just want robust, cost-effective IT systems that actually work.’

Further down the list of bugbears are a lack of understanding by staff in their use of IT (with 30 per cent of companies finding this a problem) and the cost of technology (27 per cent).

The survey was conducted on behalf of Connect by research company Vanson Bourne, who questioned 200 IT directors and managers from organisations ranging from five to 250 employees across the UK.