A new survey from technology research firm Ovum has found 73% of small and medium businesses will continue to invest in new telecommunications systems, although they will restrict spending to those items that affect their business and provide a clear return on investment.
Given the economic environment, the pay-as-you-go model of hosted telco services is preferred by 79% of SME customers, who like to have a regular and predictable monthly charge rather than facing big upfront investments. Ovum senior analyst Claudio Castelli, says this preference should help software-as-a-service products grow during the downturn.
The survey, which included 100 Australian companies, also found SMEs like simplicity when dealing with their providers, with 83% of the SMEs preferring to purchase all their fixed and mobile telecommunication services from a single source.
“Bundling multiple services including fixed and mobile represents additional opportunities for providers,” Castelli says.
“However, these bundles have to offer commercial benefits when compared to the stand-alone offerings. Most of the SMEs (66%) still believe that price is the most important factor when selecting providers.”
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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