The State of Technology in SMEs:
How to Compete in Post Pandemic Recovery

About the report

Gridfox surveyed 500 SME decision makers across multiple industries about the tools that they use to manage core business processes, as well as the challenges they face and their plans for the future.

The research shows that SMEs, many of whom have already had to rapidly adapt to change due to the recent impact of COVID-19 and Brexit, are feeling trapped managing data in tools like spreadsheets – with 98% of SMEs still using spreadsheets for mission critical operations.

However, with the pandemic only emphasising how dependent we are on digital services for business continuity, it is now that SMEs are looking to invest in technology to be able to increase efficiency and collaboration, build resilience and keep up with competition.

Key findings

• 84% of small businesses say they are unable to keep up with the bigger budgets of larger organisations for technology innovation and digital transformation, with 49% saying it was restricting growth and 48% saying it has impacted their ability to recruit
  
  

• 98% of SMEs are still using spreadsheets for mission critical operations
  
  

• 39% worry that their mission critical data may become corrupt with incorrect references over time, with 32% of businesses saying they felt they were exposed to cyber security risks by storing critical information on spreadsheets
  
  

• Software spend is set to increase over the next 12 months as organisations know they must invest in innovative software to compete effectively – and to attract the brightest talent
  
  

• Awareness of the value of custom solutions is growing with less than 10% of businesses expressing no interest in customisable software
  
  

• 40% of survey respondents reported they want to empower teams to customise software to meet their needs indicating that no-code tools are an appropriate solution for tech-focused SMEs