Smartphones are the new laptops with 60 per cent of UK firms now mobile only – BT
Almost 60 per cent of business owners now rely solely on using mobile phones to run their operations, telecoms giant BT has revealed.
The investigation by BT business showed more than half of entrepreneurs have embraced flexible working, and use mobiles rather than laptops or desktops.
According to BT 59 per cent of British business owners regard their mobile phone as the most essential item to running their company.
The BT report found that 73 per cent of those running a company or side hustle feel they couldn’t do so without reliable broadband and mobile connectivity, while just over two-fifths were online-only firms.
Mobile phones are outperforming laptops and desktop computer according to the figures, this is despite laptop usage in the UK sector having grown substantially from 2009 from 47 per cent to 76 per cent, according to figures from the UK Office for National Statistics.
The Federation of Small Businesses reported that UK firms have experienced a 424 per cent rise in gas costs and a 349 per cent increase in electricity since February 2021. The same study said that as many as 53 per cent of businesses expect to stagnate, shrink, or fold in 2023 because of rising costs.
BT’s data showed how the cost of living crisis is also forcing entrepreneurs to look for extra cash, with almost 30 per cent agreeing that making extra cash is a top motivation for starting a new firm.
Flexibility is another motivator for current entrepreneurs, with breaking free from the “traditional 9 to 5” (26%) and being able to work from anywhere in the world (22 per cent) cited as other top reasons for having launched a business in the digital age.
The use of mobile data use by business customers has also increased 16 per cent year on year in the last three years.
Merlin Piscitelli, CRO (chief revenue officer) of leading provider for the M&A industry Datasite, explained why telecoms and network providers are now focusing on small and medium businesses.
“With global technology company valuations and investments down in the last 12 months, and the industry’s new focus on profit generation, especially among start-ups and mid-sized companies, the sector is likely to experience some consolidation,” he told City PM.
Commenting on BT’s study, Chris Sims, Managing Director of Small and Medium Enterprise at BT, said that connectivity was crucial across British start-ups and scale-ups.
“We recognise that reliable and fast connectivity is the backbone of small and medium businesses up and down the UK,” he stated.