UK SMBs Can Boost Business By Getting IT Savvy - According to HP Research

BRACKNELL, England, November 2, 2010 -

    - 37% of SMBs Grew Their Business in 2009
    - Average Rate of Growth was 19.6%
    - A Quarter of UK SMBs are not Confident About How to Make IT Work for
      Their Business

UK Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can grow and boost
their business if they become more Information Technology (IT) savvy,
according to new research from HP.

The survey of 1000 IT decision-makers in SMBs with 1 - 50
employees, shows that while 96% of UK SMBs consider IT to be crucial to
business growth, over a quarter admit that they do not know enough about IT
and how to make it work for their business.

"Over ninety-nine percent of UK businesses have under 50
employees(i) so helping them to make the right purchasing decisions is
important," explains Gavin Parrish, UK & Ireland Commercial Category manager
at HP. "As the research clearly shows, many in this sector are still getting
their heads around how to make IT work hard for their business. By providing
information and support for this sector, companies like HP, through our
Business Answers blog, can help SMBs understand how IT can help grow their
business."

Over the past 12 months, the research shows that 37% of UK
SMBs grew (with an average rate of 19.6%) with only 15% seeing their business
shrink.

The research also shows a broadly optimistic picture when it
comes to economic positivity among UK SMBs. Over 90% say they are optimistic
about the future of their business over the next three to five years, while
43% said they were optimistic about the state of the UK economy over the same
time period. 37% said they were pessimistic about the economy.

Another interesting finding was that only 36% of respondents
are deploying ecommerce strategies. This suggests that the majority of UK
SMBs are not using the Internet to trade, which again offers potential for IT
education to aid further business growth.

"HP's research backs up what we are seeing in the small
business sector, companies leveraging technology to enter new markets," says
Emma Jones, founder of SMB support organisation Enterprise Nation. "The web
allows you to launch a business on a Monday and be trading with the world by
Wednesday. Small business owners should grasp this opportunity and sell
through their own site or via on-line sales platforms. When you make the most
of technology, you make the most of a global market."

To help SMBs make smarter decisions about their business, HP
has just launched its Business Answers blog to provide small business
decision-makers with the latest tips and advice on everything from how to get
your business noticed online to making everyday efficiencies to run a
successful business.

To obtain a free copy of the report and for more information
about the HP Business Answers blog, please visit:
www.hp.com/uk/bablog. You can also follow us on Twitter at
@HPBizAnswers.

About the SMB research

The following research was conducted by Vanson Bourne between
June and July 2010. The 1000 decision-makers were divided into four
categories: sole traders; 2-10 employees; 10-25 employees; and 26-50
employees.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact
on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest
technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing,
personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve
customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available
at www.hp.com.

(i) Some 99.3% of the UK's 4.8 million businesses in the UK are
small (having between 1-49 employees) 2009 GDP 'UK output, income and
Expenditure', Office for National Statistics, May 2010

    Editorial Contacts
    Theresa Moss
    Edelman for HP
    +44-20-3047-2324
    theresa,moss@edelman.com

Editorial Contacts: Theresa Moss, Edelman for HP, +44-20-3047-2324, theresa,moss at edelman.com