Only 20 percent of UK smaller businesses are 'tech-savvy'

Just one in five small businesses in the UK is open to digital transformation, despite it making them two and a half times more likely to experience a 20 percent or more increase in revenue.

The finding comes from NatWest bank's latest Springboard to Recovery report which is based on research from a survey of 1,000 small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and analysis of more than 100 reports, as well as the results of 50 support programs.

Lynne Darcey Quigley, CEO and founder of cloud-based credit management platform Know-it, says:

Being open to modern technologies has always been a cornerstone to entrepreneurial success, and we have seen countless businesses fail to reach their growth potential if they are resistant to this change. Likewise, those who embrace new digital tools such accountancy apps, CRM systems and marketing automation with open arms, flourish. New technological solutions can catalyse a dramatic improvement of productivity, staff and customer satisfaction, and any other factor that can impact a business's growth -- and the data shows this clearly.

The pandemic has only made this more evident as digital tools like cloud computing replaced traditional touchpoints such as the shop floor or the office. Now, digital adoption is less of a buzzword -- and more of an absolute necessity.

The other incredible thing about digital transformation is its ability to snowball -- it picks up momentum. It becomes not only easier to introduce, adopt and embed new tech innovations in the future, but also becomes more exponentially beneficial.

Among other findings of the report, only 20 percent of all UK SMEs describe themselves as being 'tech-savvy' businesses.

However, if SMEs use two or more technology solutions or tools, they benefit from an average 25 percent increase in productivity. 42 percent of 'tech-open' SMEs report high productivity improvement compared to 12 percent of 'tech-closed' SMEs. In addition 43 percent of tech-open SMEs report high confidence in their ability to set the right business strategy, as against only 11 percent of those firms that were more resistant to technological change.

Photo Credit: pathdoc/Shutterstock