Almost half of SMEs without CRM

A survey of 300 UK businesses has revealed that 46% of SMEs are not using CRM systems today, according to Channel Pro.

The survey, conducted on behalf of on-demand computing and communication services provider Star, found the most common barrier to CRM adoption is user resistance and the failure of management to enlist user support, followed by the difficulty of integrating legacy IT systems.

Meanwhile, 20% of respondents admitted to having worked for companies that had previously tried, but failed, to deploy CRM successfully.

Sri Lanka, which is trying to attract more IT outsourcing business, said a recent survey shows an increasing number of British SMEs are considering outsourcing work, reports Lanka Business Online.

One in five British SMEs is considering offshoring in 2010 as they seek to reduce labour costs to enable faster growth, according to the survey among 200 SME businesses in November.

The survey, commissioned by the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies, also found that 20% of businesses had increased their interest in offshoring as a direct result of the recession.

Information is a key driver for small organisations and while moving through the trough of the business, even small companies realised the meaning of securing the data, writes ITVAR news.

Ajay Verma, channels director at Symantec India, explains that SMEs have emerged as a growth-fuelling vertical for the company, so much so that it has devised a complete business plan to meet the specific demands of this category.

According to Verma, the biggest challenge lies in educating the masses. Security is the next step in IT adoption. We will focus on making small enterprises understand the criticality of a secure infrastructure is the key, yet a challenge, he said.