Are SMEs winning the battle against business disruption or are too many still being caught out? asks Citrix Online survey
Compared to a year ago, small businesses feel more confident in dealing with such major disruptions to their business such as the heavy snowfalls across the UK in January and December 2010.
Yet with 56% reporting that staff were late into work or did not make it at all during the December snow, and 24% having to cancel or postpone meetings, too many are still getting caught out when hit by external events that cause disruption such as bad winter weather or natural hazards such as the recent Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.
These were among the main findings of recent YouGov surveys of 2,000 adults and 500 small businesses undertaken on behalf of Citrix Online, which examined the impact of the heavy snows before Christmas on business and domestic travel.
Getting better, much further to go
In comparing the results with a similar survey of adults at the start of 2010, the situation is improving. The latest analysis shows that 8% couldn’t get to work and couldn’t work from home, compared to 12% at the start of the year; similarly, 8% had to postpone or cancel business meetings (compared to 11%).
However, 26% said that more staff worked from home during the period of disruption and 12% held more meetings online.
Although nearly three in five (58%) still lack any continuity plan to respond to natural and man-made disruptions affecting their business, more positively, 29% claimed to be very prepared to cope with such problems. In addition, 25% felt that they were much better or a little better prepared to deal with snow and wintry weather than in January 2010.
Collaboration support
The success of Citrix Online in helping small businesses implement effective home working and other remote working has been reflected in the major growth of its online collaboration tools. In the first week of the pre-Christmas snowfall, the company saw trials of its highly popular GoToMyPC remote access service immediately leap by 70%. Similarly, usage of the flagship GoToMeeting also increased by nearly 50% following the volcanic ash cloud in April 2010.
“The good news is that the trend towards more flexible working is heading in the right direction,” says Andrew Millard, director of marketing and eCommerce, Citrix Online. “However, many small businesses have a long way to go before they have the right tools and processes in place to ensure effective business continuity in the face of such disruptions.
