SMEs turn to virtualisation

Nearly half of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are turning to virtualisation technologies to help navigate the economic downturn, reports SME Web.

The figures were presented by Star, an independent Internet services provider. Star conducted the survey on more than 100 SMEs to establish what their key technological challenges are at present.

One of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today is access to finance, so as the economic slowdown continues, the number one priority is to do more with less, making the most of existing technology investments and using technology to respond quickly to changing business conditions.

SMEs can now interrogate their customer data to the same levels of sophistication as large companies, says Precision Marketing.

The new Horizon Lite from Market Location has been tailored to allow small companies to analyse and interrogate their data with ease.

Businesses will be able to access the tool online to view customised graphs and charts of key data.

Agreements on two technical assistance grants to help Vietnam prepare a second SME development programme and skills enhancement project were signed, says Vietnam News.

The grants totalling $1.1 million will be financed by the Japan Special Fund, funded by the Government of Japan.

A new technical assistant grant of $500 000 will help prepare the second SME development programme which aims to accelerate further improvements in Vietnam's business environment, including access to technology.