Posted: 12th Aug, 2008 By: MarkJ
The results of a new survey conducted by
O2 with the help of 530 small businesses have found that nearly a quarter (24%) of those questioned revealed they now spend up to 50% of their time away from the office. Over half (57%) said that new technologies, such as wireless (
Wi-Fi) Internet access and
Mobile Broadband had influenced their decision not to have a fixed business premises:
Simon Devonshire, head of
O2 SME marketing, comments:
Developments in technology and mobile communications are enabling businesses to be flexible and respond very quickly to changes in the market place. Getting rid of the office relieves many small businesses of a major overhead very quickly and shows a rapid response to current economic pressures.
In a further indication of the declining need for office space, over half (53 per cent) of small businesses revealed they now have a virtual network allowing them to work completely remotely. 39 per cent expected to have a network installed in the next 12 months and revealed that faster remote access to email and business servers will see them spending significantly more time away from the desk.
It's perhaps no coincidence that a recent report from NB Real Estate revealed that vacant office space in some cities across the UK has nearly doubled compared to this time last year.