British Chambers of Commerce have released the results of what they claim is the largest independent survey of business broadband usage, covering 4,000 UK businesses.
They found that the percentage of companies with a broadband Internet connection has doubled from 19 per cent. to 39 per cent. over the last year.
Different companies saw different advantages to broadband. Over 60% of all companies see more effective communication as the biggest benefit, while 46% felt the next most important benefit to be improved business productivity and 45% of all companies cited cost savings as a benefit.
Interestingly over 60% of all companies thought their customers would pressure them within the next five years to conduct business that requires a broadband connection. Nearly half of all companies, (48%) predict suppliers will exert similar pressure.
Remote working was seen as a big advantage with 53% of businesses now report that on average their staff work from more than one location for at least one day a week. Surprisingly 11% of companies report that more than half of their employees work at more than one location for at least one day a week.