UK leads the chase for online trade

One in four small to medium sized businesses are using the internet to drive sales, and resellers could benefit.

One in four UK small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is now using the internet to drive business forward, making the UK Europe's fastest growing marketplace for web related products, according to research from analyst IDC.

The report stated that over $5tn (£3.5tn) will be spent on the development of ebusiness strategies by companies worldwide over the next four years. The number of SMEs using the internet to drive their businesses in the UK has increased by half in the past year.

Richard Bradley, operations director for SME channels, Europe, Middle East & Africa, at Cisco, said it was encouraging news for the channel. "We are finding that most SMEs are buying from a local reseller and being advised by a local consultant. These are often one and the same."

He added that there is an increasing amount of business for resellers because of the diversity of the SME market which allows them to be more selective of the customers they target.

"They can either approach sales vertically in one particular market, be technology led and concentrate on niche areas, or do it on an adoption basis and target early or late adopters," said Bradley.

Peter Reynolds, managing director of Networks Unlimited, believed that resellers should specialise. "Resellers cannot attack the whole SME market because it's too big," he said.

He added that resellers would benefit from partnerships with companies such as value-add distributors or internet service providers to add services options for end users.