Broadband boosts business productivity, says survey

Institute of Directors members can point to tangible benefits of high-speed access

More than four out of five businesses using broadband report tangible increases in productivity, according to a survey from the Institute of Directors.

And sixty-one per cent say high-speed always-on internet access has delivered cost savings.

The findings are encouraging for Broadband Britain, says IoD senior policy advisor Jim Norton.

'This is a very positive picture - members are reporting a tangible improvement in productivity that can be seen in the bottom line numbers.

'What has happened is the market is now maturing and companies are extracting benefits from it in a way they probably weren't a year or so ago.

'People are starting to change the way they do business,' he said.

Respondents listed a number of examples of the benefits of broadband, including business transformation, improved communication with field workers and the ability to do jobs they simply couldn't do four years ago, says Norton.

But security is still an issue.

While 89 per cent of respondents have a firewall installed and 96 per cent use a virus checker, only 76 per cent keep them up to date.

'This is still a significant issues so we will go round our members saying this is not difficult but you must keep it up to date,' said Norton.

'Broadband is now a mainstream technology therefore businesses have to treat it seriously.and sort the security out,' he said.

The IoD polled 409 of its members, of which 325 have broadband. The majority of respondents were small businesses with under 50 employees. The survey was conducted by the IoD in conjunction with ISP Nildram.

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