Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011
Gartner, Inc. today highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations in 2011.
The top 10 strategic technologies for 2011 include:
- Cloud Computing
- Mobile Applications and Media Tablets
- Social Communications and Collaboration
- Video
- Next Generation Analytics
- Social Analytics
- Context-Aware Computing
- Storage Class Memory
- Ubiquitous Computing
- Fabric-Based Infrastructure and Computers
For the full article: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1454221
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Entrepreneurs’ Forum launched
Business secretary Vince Cable announced the inaugural forum at the beginning of Global Entrepreneurs Week, which aims to boost enterprise and start-ups across the globe. The forum is part of the government’s agenda to engage with business people and hear their views on expanding enterprise and encouraging entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
According to the business secretary this will help break down the barriers that deter people from taking the leap into starting a business and encourage them to make a job, not take a job.
Up to 26 entrepreneurs will sit on the forum, including Jan Fletcher, Dawn Gibbins and Sarah Tremellen as a significant proportion of the forum are women, and increasing the rate of female entrepreneurs is one area the forum is encouraged to look at.
The entrepreneur group will meet around four times a year, with a flexible schedule according to the material to be discussed. The first meeting is expected to take place at the start of 2011.
The forum is just one of several ways in which the business secretary will hold dialogue with business. The forum will complement other groups, such as the prime minister’s Business Advisory Group; the secretary of state’s Business Advisory Group; and the Small Business Economic Forum.
Read full article: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/entrepreneurs-forum-launched.html
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Businesses forced to dip into savings to pay interest on debts
One in three companies with an annual turnover of £1m or more have collectively withdrawn £2.43bn from savings to help pay higher interest rates on their debts, a new report has discovered.
Research found that between March and August this year, 36% of firms have withdrawn from their deposit accounts, with the average withdrawal worth £35,270. However, 4% of businesses have withdrawn £100,000 or more to help pay the increased interest rates.
According to Investec Bank’s findings, a quarter of businesses turning over £1m or more have withdrawn under £10,000, while 6% have withdrawn between £10,000 and £50,000.
Read full article: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/businesses-forced-to-dip-into-savings-to-pay-interest-on-debts.html
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eBay report names and shames banks
Despite assurances to the contrary, many of Britain’s high street banks still aren’t lending to SMEs – at least that’s one of the findings of eBay’s latest report.
The Online Business Index, eBay’s regular barometer of online firms, has investigated the relationship between banks and businesses, finding that one in three SMEs are still unable to access new finance from their banks.
The results are dire: all of the big four banks score poorly, with Santander the only bank to emerge with its reputation relatively intact on the issue of lending. In fact, the number of Santander customers claiming they are unable to access new finance stands at half the level of RBS.
Read full report and rankings here: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance_and_banking/ebay_report_names_and_shames_banks
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Confront A Business Disaster
When an Icelandic volcano erupted in April to release a plume of ash and debris, few UK bosses could have thought the event would affect them. But it did.
In fact, the resulting ash cloud grounded flights across Europe for six days and chaos ensued.
For service-led businesses with decent IT it wasn’t so bad, as staff stranded abroad could cope through remote working and shared online systems. But for those firms working with physical goods, it was an altogether different story.
Read full article: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/channels/growth-strategies/leadership-and-management/1297713/confront-a-business-disaster.thtml
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Exits: Have A ‘Plan B’
Mike Robson, director at business consultants Azure Partners, details why businesses up for sale need to have exit options.
On the horizon for the majority of businesses is the prospect of an exit. And while almost all businesses are saleable, not all businesses can be sold for a price that is acceptable to the owners.
It is therefore essential to have a ‘Plan B’ exit strategy in place before even beginning to attempt the execution of a preferred ‘Plan A’ route.
We say this for four principal reasons. Firstly, despite what many businesses brokers will tell you, some business sectors are simply not attractive to acquirers.
Potential acquirers will naturally be interested in buying your business to increase their future profitability by combining your capabilities with theirs.
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European CEO confidence on the rise
The results of the latest Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) Global Pulse Confidence Index were released earlier this week. The results give a fascinating “pulse check” of business trends.
Just to put this into context, the YPO is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurial chief executives focused on a shared mission of becoming better leaders through education and idea exchange. They have 17,000 CEO members in more than 100 countries.
Although the survey covers Europe and unfortunately doesn’t split out the UK separately, the findings still paint an interesting picture of confidence levels and business trends:
- Third guarter sales are up but employee numbers are unchanged on a year ago.
- Optimism is rising gradually: 43 per cent of respondents expect general business and economic conditions to be better in the next six months compared with 22 per cent, who expect conditions to be worse. Optimists in the EU outnumber pessimists by 2:1.
- Higher sales expectations and capital investment plans: In the EU, the sales confidence index rose from 58.8 to 63.6, with 55 per cent of CEOs expecting sales to increase by ten per cent or more. Meanwhile, 38 per cent of CEOs said they are planning capital investment (eg: technology and infrastructure).
- Still cautious about hiring: Despite sales growth, CEOs are more cautious about hiring with just 24 per cent planning to add employees compared to 28 per cent in July. However, headcount reduction plans are lower, supporting improved confidence.
- Small companies are more positive than larger ones: 68 per cent of those with less than 100 employees are expecting the most widespread increase in sales, headcount and capital investment.
So the overall message is one of both gradual improvement but also caution about hiring until there is more evidence of sustainable growth. This is why government measures to increase employment flexibility, particularly for SMEs, are so vital to our economic growth prospects.
Source: http://realbusiness.co.uk/martin_leuw/european_ceo_confidence_on_the_rise
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Cameron’s Cuts Aren’t Tough Enough
Director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Mark Littlewood, says the spending cuts should have been deeper and managed differently to reduce debt.
If you closed down all the British armed forces, the entire police force and every single school in the country, we would still be running a deficit.
The government’s austerity measures are intended to get the deficit under control, not obliterate it, let alone start to pay back the national debt.
Year on year for the next five years, the government will be adding to its debt, albeit at a slower rate.
Read full article: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/channels/raising-finance/financial-management/1297728/camerons-cuts-arent-tough-enough.thtml
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£1.68bn up for grabs by switching suppliers
Potential savings of £1.68bn could be made by SMEs in the next 12 months by doing nothing more than switching suppliers to obtain the best deal.
Although the consumer market has, for several years already, taken advantage of the money-saving supplier-switching trick, businesses have not.
A survey of 502 British SMEs shows that although 83 per cent of companies are aware of the fact they could switch, for example, electricity suppliers, over half hadn’t done so in the last three years.
Yet following the government’s spending cuts and the expected impact it will have on their businesses, 45 per cent now describe themselves as “very” or “quite likely” to switch in the next 12 months.
Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance_and_banking/168bn_up_for_grabs_by_switching_suppliers
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Inflation Fears Dampen Stimulus Prospects
Higher expectations for inflation make it less likely quantitative easing will be resumed, according to the chief economist of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Says David Kern, ‘The new inflation report [from the Bank of England] suggests that the Monetary Policy Committee is expecting inflation over the next two years to be higher than they predicted in August, and growth to be slightly higher than the historical average.
‘On the basis of this assessment, the prospect of an early increase in quantitative easing has diminished.’
Bank of England governor Mervyn King said yesterday that changes to VAT, ‘sharp gyrations in global commodity prices’ and a lower value for sterling against other major currencies are all factors that have contributed to higher inflation.
Read full article: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news/business-news/1297968/inflation-fears-reduce-stimulus-prospects.thtml
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