A new study by United Parcel Service reveals that small- and medium-sized companies believe that keeping pace with change is their top technological worry. The survey also shows that these businesses expect to grow in the months ahead despite the sluggish U.S. economy.
The inaugural “UPS Business Monitor-United States,” a survey sponsored by UPS and conducted by the marketing insight firm TNS, interviewed 600 managers and owners of U.S.-based small- and mid-sized enterprises and found 59% said their top technology worry is just keeping up with the pace of technological change, with 53% worrying about Internet security breaches. They also consider cell phones to be their most-needed technology device, according to the report.
Fully 88% expect to grow their business over the coming year, which UPS COO David Abney called good news for the U.S. economy. But while they’re bullish on their own individual businesses, only one-third say they expect to add more employees over the coming year, he noted.
The respondents are also evenly split – 49% said ‘No’ and 46% ‘Yes’ – when asked if they expect difficulty in the future finding skilled employees. The report also noted that the group clearly believes political leaders should be paying the most attention to “sustaining economic growth,” “changing the healthcare system” and “securing future energy supplies,” in that order.
