a must have survey highlighting the telecoms needs of small businesses

1. Metro Research Summary Report
Small business mobile telecoms survey
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2. Contents
Research Introduction 3
The things you need to know... 4
Research Sample 5
Summary Findings 6-19
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2

3. Research Introduction
Metro Research is a market research company
consultancy with a specialist interest in B2B telecoms
and technology research
We ran this ‘living business’ survey to see what
small companies (under 10 employees) think about
some of the key aspects of mobile technology
We focused on businesses of this size as they
represent over 1 million UK enterprises, and are often
under-served by technology suppliers
The survey report is based on the views of 95
decision makers for small businesses around the UK. We
believe it gives some helpful insights into how these
businesses think.
We hope this report sheds some light and gives
you some valuable insight into technology, and how the
needs of the small businesses of today are changing.
If you would like to discuss the findings further,
please get in touch
Steve Morantz
Managing Director
Metro Research Ltd
+44 788 756 6462
+44 870 241 2401
www.metroresearch.com
smorantz@metroresearch.com
Note that this is a small survey so findings are indicative;
some bases sizes are small
3

4. 13 things you need to know...
... If you are a technology provider to small businesses
1. 9 out of 10 small businesses have with 3 out of 5 users downloading most
employees who work outside the office apps from there.
at least once a month.
9. Half of app users have paid for
2. Half of small businesses have apps, with 3 out of 5 paying between £1
employees who need remote access to and £3 for them.
company files.
10. The top three areas in which small
3. Three quarters use mobile phones- businesses thought apps could make life
60% of which were smartphones. easier for them were: remote access to
company files, time management and
4. However, only 25% of small navigation.
businesses said they were considering
purchasing, or using more smartphones 11. 3 out of 5 small businesses state
in the next 12 months. recommendations from friends or
family were the most trusted sources of
5. 1 in 7 small businesses are information about apps, with
considering buying tablet PCs within the technology blogs second, whilst
next 6 months. outdoor, newspaper and magazine
adverts were least trusted.
6. 4 out of 5 small businesses say
12. The iPhone made up half of
they are highly focused on finding new
ways to maximise efficiency and use smartphones being used, the iPad was
technology to do so. the main tablet PC being looking at.
7. 13. Apple appears to be seen as the
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Nearly half of small businesses use
mobile apps- the most commonly used technology company that most
types were navigation, business apps, understands the needs of small
news and travel updates. businesses. Note this question was
asked ‘in general’, not just related to
mobile technology, However, no clear
8. Over 50% of app users download leader emerges.
apps from their smartphone’s app shop,
4

5. Research Sample
Number of Employees Respondent Roles
37%
35% 5% 4%
2%
Owner / managing
director
20%
IT Specialist
8%
Other manager,
not IT specialist
88%
Other
1 2-4 5 5+
Everyone who responded was a
Just over one third of companies
decision maker in their company and an
who responded to our survey invitation
overall majority of survey respondents were
were considered sole traders.
the owner of the company, or the M.D.
Business Sector
ACCOMMODATION
ACTIVITIES OF
AND FOOD SERVICE
REAL ESTATE EXTRATERRITORIAL
ACTIVITIES, 1%
ACTIVITIES, 2% ORGANISATIONS AND
BODIES, 1%
TRANSPORTATION
AND STORAGE, 2%
Here are the sectors
MANUFACTURING, 2%
the respondents work in. As
HUMAN HEALTH AND
SOCIAL WORK
you can see they are very
ACTIVITIES, 5% EDUCATION, diverse.
5%
OTHER SERVICE, 32% Responses in the other
CONSTRUCTION, 5%
category included examples
like importing,
ARTS,
ENTERTAINMENT AND
photography, hair and
RECREATION, 7% beauty, PR, recruitment,
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INFORMATION AND religion, publishing,
FINANCIAL AND
COMMUNICATION,
12%
printing and driving
INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL,
SCIENTIFIC AND
instructor.
ACTIVITIES, 7%
TECHNICAL
WHOLESALE AND ACTIVITIES, 11%
RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR
OF MOTOR VEHICLES
AND MOTORCYCLES,
7%
Base: Q3 How many employees work for your company? 95, Q4 Which of the following best describes your role? 95, Q5 What sector do you work in? 95 5

6. Summary Findings
46% 45%
A very slim majority of
respondents work in an office
Type of Business Premises outside of their home,
followed by home office
workers in a close second.
Most of these small
businesses have the freedom
to choose their
communications and
5% infrastructure suppliers.
3%
Office in business Office at home Office in business Other
premises, WITH premises, WITHOUT
freedom to choose freedom to choose
telecoms and telecoms and
internet connection internet connection
suppliers suppliers
Do you or any of your employees have to
Nearly 9 out of 10 work from outside of the office base at any
respondents have employees time?
who work outside the office at
some point. But nearly half of Every Day 23%
all respondents have employees
who work out of the office more
than once a week on average. 2 or 3 times a week on
average
26%
2 or 3 times a month
on average
23%
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Less than once a
month on average
17%
No, never 11%
Base: Q6 What kind of business premises do you work from? 95, Q7 Do you or any of your employees have to work from outside of the office base at any time? 95 6

7. Summary Findings
77%
Remote Working Systems
67%
22%
17%
14%
9% 10%
6%
Laptops or Smartphones Mobile dongles VOIP telephony VPN access iPads or other Cloud Other
notebooks with internet (for mobile tablets computing
(given by the and email access broadband software
company) connectivity)
The most common single piece of kit that employers are giving to their employees in order
to work outside of the office are laptops, with smartphones not far behind.
Furthering this connectivity are mobile internet dongles in third place, with one in five
small businesses using them.
Do employees require access to How do employees access
company servers / databases? company servers / databases?
Nearly half of small
businesses have employees
who need access to servers
etc. when they are outside VPN connection 47%
of the office. If you look at
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the chart on the right, 47%
No Yes of those use a VPN network Application on
connection to get access. 15%
51% 49% Some of the ‘Other’
mobile phones
responses include using
remote access software via
the internet, like remote Other 38%
desktop systems etc.
Base: Q8 What systems do you have in place for remote working when outside the office? 69, Q9 When working from outside the office, do any of your
employees need to access documents or folders stored on the company's server or databases? 69, Q10 How do your employees access documents or
folders stored on the company's server or database, when working outside the office? 34
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8. Summary Findings
92% Office Equipment Used
74%
44%
31%
17%
11%
7% 6%
4%
Landlines Mobile Mobile Smartphones VOIP Cloud Mobile Tablets Other
phones Hotspot via WIFI telephony Computing Dongles /
Device Software Data Cards
9 out of 10 small businesses have landlines, and three quarters use mobile
phones. Not all companies have landlines as standard office equipment.
Type of Mobile Phones Used
60% of the small businesses we
spoke to already use smartphones.
Although there is still a big untapped
Basic
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market (40%)
Phones
40% Smart-
phones
60%
Base: Q11 Which of the following equipment do you use when working in the office? 95, Q12 You use Tablets and/or Cloud Computing Software in the office, could you
tell us what you use? 13, Q13 Which best describes the majority of mobile phones you are using in the company? 95 8

9. Summary Findings
Samsung 9% Smartphones Used
Other 4%
LG 2%
HTC 12% Nokia 18% BlackBerry 28% iPhone 49%
Nearly half of small business smartphone users are using the iPhone.
BlackBerry came in second and accounts for just over a quarter of
smartphones used, with Nokia making up nearly one fifth of smartphones
used by small businesses.
Considering purchasing smartphones /
increasing number of smartphones
Yes, in 6 – 12 months time 7%
Yes, in 3 – 6 months time 5%
Yes, in 3 months time 3%
Yes, in less than 3 months 9%
No 75%
A quarter of small businesses are
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looking at purchasing or increasing
current numbers within the next year.
Base: Q14 Which smartphone make are you using? 57, Q15 Are you considering purchasing smartphones OR increasing the number of smartphones at any point in the
near future? 95, Q16 What best describes your main reason for this purchase or increase in the number of smartphones? 24 9

10. Summary Findings
Buying a tablet in the next 6 16% of small businesses were considering
months? buying a tablet PC in the next 6 months. Those who
were looking stated the Apple iPad and the
Yes Samsung Galaxy tab as the ones they were
16% considering.
No
84%
Some of the reasons for buying a tablet were as follows:
• Presenting to clients and demonstrating proposals
to customers in a neat and compact way
• Easy access to the internet and other information
sources
• Great for exhibitions
• Light, portable and easy to use
• Fun and cutting edge
Drivers for choosing a particular device were as follows:
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• Price
• Efficacy
• Familiarity with Operating System
• The look and feel of them
• Most likely to be deployed by customers
• Reliable and smoothness of OS
• Versatility and mobility
Base: Q17 Are you actively considering purchasing a TABLET computer in the next 6 months? 95, Q18 What is your main reason for buying tablets? 15, Q19 Which
devices are you considering (if known)? 15, Q20 What is the main reason for considering the specific device(s) that you mentioned? 15 10

11. Summary Findings
Of those who don’t use a solution, but
Do employees need ‘collaborative
need one, are they actively looking for a
working’ solutions? solution in the next 6 months?
No 71% Yes
20%
No
Yes 29% 80%
30% of small businesses believe their employees need a collaborative
working solution. Of those who don’t use, 20% are actively looking within the
next 6 months for a solution! 70% of those who need a solution, are not using
one currently.
Of those who need a solution, do you
currently USE any ‘collaborative
working’ solutions?
Yes 29%
No 71%
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Base: Q21 Do your employees need to share documents or work together on a document when they are not working on the same local network i.e. in the same or
permanently connected offices(collaborative working)? 95, Q22 Do you use any particular collaborative working software to allow your employees to share documents
or work together on a document when not in the same location? 28, Q23 Are you actively looking for a collaborative working software solution in the next 6 months? 20
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12. Summary Findings
“We are a company highly focused on finding new ways to maximise our work
efficiency and we generally use technology to do so”
Strongly
23%
Agree
Agree
57%
Slightly
Disagree
14%
Slightly
Strongly
6%
Disagree
80% of small businesses believe they are focused on discovering ways of maximising
work efficiency by using technology- nearly a quarter of them strongly agreed!
One of the most recent- and important- additions to this list would be the mobile
application....
Do you use mobile applications?
Yes, on mobile
phone ....and nearly half of small
businesses use mobile applications,
41% Yes, on tablet or ‘apps’, either on phones, tablets or
device both.
53%
Yes, on both mobile
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phone and tablet
4% Not at all
2%
Base: Q24 Thinking about how your business works, how strongly do you agree with the following statement: “We are a company highly focused on finding new
ways to maximise our work efficiency and we generally use technology to do so” 95, Q25 Do you or any of your colleagues use any mobile applications on your
mobile phone or tablet device, in the course of their work? 95,
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13. Summary Findings
Apps used most frequently for personal and work
purposes
Navigation 62%
60%
Apps for business/professional life 53%
49%
News & current affairs 47%
38%
3 out of 5 app business users use Travel alerts & updates 33%
42%
navigation or mapping apps
Practical apps & tools 33%
20%
Business apps were being used 29%
Social Networking 24%
by half of app users
Places of interest 27%
20%
News and current affairs are
Music & radio 22%
important to small businesses 11%
Fun, quirky apps to entertain 18%
4%
Travel updates, practical apps
and social networking are closely Books, newspapers & publications 18%
20%
ranked together 16%
Online shopping 9%
Apps for personal use are also Games 16%
2%
frequently used by these business
Ringtones & wallpapers 7% Apps used most frequently
people 4% for personal purposes
TV and film 4%
4%
Apps used for work
4% purposes
Sports 2%
Other 9%
4%
None 0%
4%
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Base: Q26 Overall which types of applications would you say you use most frequently? 45, Q31 Which of the following categories of mobile apps do you use, if any, for work purposes? 45 13

14. Summary Findings
Apps are most likely to have been downloaded from the app store that comes on
the device, however, websites are still an important source
62% Where have you downloaded apps from? &
58% Where have you downloaded THE MOST apps from?
Where have you downloaded apps from?
Where have you downloaded THE MOST apps from?
31%
18%
16%
11% 11% 11% 11%
7% 7%
4%
Handset application Website provided by Free app sharing sites Network operator’s Network operator's Other
store or “app shop” handset or operating on the internet app shop on the website
system maker handset
The left-hand chart shows
Have you ever paid On average, how much have you paid
that just over half of small for most of the apps you have bought?
for an app?
business app consumers have
63%
53% paid for apps. Whilst the right-
hand chart indicates the
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average price paid has been
between £1 to £3, nearly two
47% thirds have paid between those 29%
amounts.
8%
Yes No Less than £1 £1 - £3 More than £3
Base: Q27 Which of the following have you downloaded apps from, to your mobile phone? 45, Q28 Which of the following have you downloaded THE
MOST apps from? 45, Q29 Have you ever paid for an app? 45, Q30 On average, how much have you paid for most of the apps you have bought? 24 14

15. Summary Findings
Are there areas of your business where
an app could make your job easier /
more efficient?
When we asked if there were
Yes any areas in your business that an
42% app could make one’s life easier, 2
out of 5 of small businesses said
No
58%
yes.
Which areas could be made easier?
Of those who said yes, when we asked Accessing files from
them what areas might be made easier by 48%
company network
using an app, nearly half of them stated that
Time management 38%
accessing company files from the network
would be the biggest help.
Navigation 35%
Time management came second, where
scheduling tasks and appointments can be Document
35%
easily done these days, especially with mailbox management
integration etc. Business & finance 33%
Navigation and document management
were joint third- again it’s trying to get to that Project
30%
meeting on time, whilst looking at a document management
along the way. Travel alerts &
28%
Business and finance was fourth, updates
reviewing a small company’s finances is always Document storage 28%
important and it’s nice to be able to do this on
the move as time is money, and you might not Places of interest 15%
have the time to spend in front of your
News & current
computer checking this. 10%
affairs
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The ‘Real Business’ apps, such as
Books, newspapers
accessing files from a network, time 10%
& publications
management and document management
were the biggest area that small businesses Social Networking 8%
thought would help make business life easier.
Online shopping 3%
Other 15%
Base: Q32 Are there any areas of your business where an application could make your job easier / more efficient? 95, Q33 Which areas could
an application make your job easier / more efficient? 40 15

16. Summary Findings
Would you consider paying for a Likelihood of actively searching for
BUSINESS APP in future? business apps in future
1- Very Likely 7%
No
2 12% 26%
37%
3 7%
4 12%
Yes
63%
5 19%
6 23%
7- Not Likely At All 20%
63% of small businesses Over a quarter will be actively
would consider paying for a seeking out new business apps
business app in the future
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Base: Q34 Would you consider paying for a BUSINESS app in the future, if you thought this could be potentially helpful for your business? 95,
Q35 How likely are you to actively search for business-related mobile apps in the future? 95 16

17. Summary Findings
Sources of information about apps and their trustworthiness
59%
55%
These sources are most trusted for information about apps
Seen or heard about apps from these sources
39%
29%
26% 25%
19% 20%
18%
16%
15%
9% 8%
0%
Recommendations Computers / Online discussion Recommendations Recommendations Newspapers / Outdoor
from friends / technology blogs forums from a handset from a mobile magazines advertising (in
people you know / manufacturer telephony provider advertising train stations,
other businesses tube, on the road)
Another interesting finding is that small businesses see or hear
about apps from people they know, and they trust this source the most-
more than half of respondents put recommendations from friends and
family as the most trusted source of information about apps.
Computer and technology blogs and online forums were rated as
more trustworthy than handset manufacturers or network providers
recommendations!
Even though traditional print media for advertising campaigns- e.g.
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magazines and newspapers- came second with 49% as a source for
hearing about apps, it was second to last for being a trustworthy source
with only 8%.
Base: Q36 Can you tell us: a) If you have seen or heard about mobile applications from any of the following sources; and b) Which is
the source that you would trust the most for information about mobile applications? 95 17

18. Summary Findings
What is the most interesting recent development in the IT / mobile technology field, for your business?
Wireless technology advances: e.g. 3G and WIFI
Mobile technology advances: e.g. Smartphones like Android phones, BlackBerrys and iPhones, mobile
applications, internet dongles
Mobile computing advances: e.g. Touchscreen technology, netbooks, tablet PCs like the iPad, cloud
computing systems
Increasing use of social networking and blogging at home, in the office, or on the go- like Facebook,
LinkedIn, Twitter and other chat services
Ability to check emails, access calendars, browse the internet on the go / on your phone
Mobile video streaming, allowing mobile video conference calling
Multi-user remote access retrieval for data and documents from HQ or client servers
Most people were positive about the changes and
developments, mainly around the improvements in mobile phone
and mobile computing technology, as well as on-the-go access to
social networking sites and remote access to company servers.
Why are these the most interesting recent developments in the IT / mobile technology field, for your
business?
Increased speed, efficiency and flexibility
Mobile staff are better connected to head office
Enables small businesses to maintain workflow (e.g. emails) out of office hours/when away from office
They provide great marketing routes, and give access to varying customer bases
I am always connected to what’s going on when out and about, and this hasn’t just changed business, but my
life
Reduces the need to travel with lots of paper
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Maintain better business relationships, e.g. via video conferencing, when it would be costly in time and
monetary terms to be there in person
Base: Q37 Which would you say is the most interesting recent development in the IT / mobile technology field, for your business? 95
Q38 Why are these the most interesting recent developments in the IT / mobile technology field, for your business? 95 18

19. Summary Findings
Which is the technology company
that best understands the needs of
small businesses?
# of
Company
Mentions
Apple 11
Our last question asked which BlackBerry 5
technology company best understands Microsoft 4
the needs of small businesses, and
BT 2
again we had a range of responses
from hardware manufacturers, Google 2
software providers, telephony- mobile O2 2
and landline- providers, as well as Orange 2
some other service companies.
Vodafone 2
Apple came out on top- small
businesses felt that they understand Dell 1
their needs best. BlackBerry was
second with Microsoft coming third HP 1
However, given there are nearly
Mansys 1
100 respondents, there are no real
winners in this ‘poll’ Nitro 1
Sage 1
Talk Talk 1
Yahoo 1
None, they are all obsessed
1
with big business.
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Base: Q39 Which is the technology company that best understands the needs of small businesses? 95 19

20. Metro Research Ltd
Unit 118, The Chandlery
50 Westminster Bridge Road
London
SE1 7QY
0870 241 2401
www.metroresearch.com
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