Small businesses need 'good business intelligence'

Date: 7th October 2008

The UK's small business sector needs to adopt better business intelligence if it is to survive the credit crunch.

That's the opinion of Accenture, which provides specialist outsourcing and technology services for more than 150 cities across the globe.

The firm believes that growing companies will reap the benefits if they can use business intelligence to "react rapidly to the changing business environment".

The head of information management services at Accenture, Nick Millman, said: "Knowing which geographies, market segments, products and services are making or losing money is critical to making decisions based on reliable data rather than relying on gut instinct."

He added business intelligence can play a key role in helping an organisation out-perform its competitors.

Research published last month revealed that while many costs for small businesses have soared during the economic downturn, fees for services such as accountants and telecoms had actually gone down.