Level the playing field

Hewlett-Packard's recent announcement that it is to shed 27,000 jobs (8% of the workforce) by the end of 2014 is due to "a seismic shift" in the way IT is delivered to modern businesses. So says Gary Smith, co-founder of Prism Total IT Solutions, and he adds: "The business IT sector is rapidly moving towards tablets and hosted [cloud-based] applications." Smith, whose company supplies IT support to 1,000 SMEs nationwide, believes that the existing business model of selling hardware to companies in the expectation that they will run their systems 'on premise' is rapidly disappearing. "The sector is now seeing a shift towards other value-added services," he asserts. Hence the declining demand and shrinking margins for conventional IT products, seen by organisations such as Hewlett-Packard, reckons Smith. Hence also Prism's increasing focus on support for mobile devices, along with security and delivery of cloud-based applications. But for some it's not that simple. According to research among 1,500 SMEs by online outsourcing marketplace Freelancer.co.uk, more than half (57%) of firms in the UK complain that poor quality internet access is adversely affecting their businesses. How are mobile and cloud solutions supposed to work for them? And how does that square with former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's assertion – as recently reiterated at the Google Campus building – that broadband speeds are more important than coverage? Freelancer.co.uk's survey finds that nearly two thirds (65%) of SMEs believe there is a marked rural-urban internet divide, with many unable to take advantage of new, efficient business opportunities, such as cloud computing and e-business. Indeed, the same proportion worries that, if the government continues to rate speed over coverage, many in the shires will suffer even more. Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.co.uk, points out that his survey lands just as e-commerce should be playing an even more important part in regenerating the British economy – contributing more than £34.9 billion in the first six months of the year, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales index. No one wishes ill of IT giants such as HP, but we need this revolution to be inclusive, not exclusive.