Rising business costs have been cited by 65.1 percent of businesses in Wales as the biggest threat to their operations in the coming quarter, according to a new survey from Swansea-based Uplands Communications.
The results of a new Business Aspirations Survey from telephony experts, Uplands Communications, shows that more than 65 percent of firms are anxious about the issue, even though 76.4 percent of businesses polled have seen revenue grow during the pandemic and 85.2 percent have grown their teams by 1 to 10 members of staff.
Paul Hooper, MD of Uplands Communications, which is based in Swansea, said: “We deal with many hundreds of businesses across the country and these results, which were taken from manufacturing, retail, professional services and other sectors are really borne out by the conversations we are having with customers on the ground. The Uplands Business Aspirations Survey shows continued buoyancy, investment, job creation and a commitment to assimilating the streamlining and efficiencies that have been put in place as a result of Covid. However, rising costs of fuel and energy, raw materials and wages is biting and business owners are feeling the sting. A big part of our role as telephony providers is to support customers to make savings or efficiencies with their telephony and this is something that many firms approached us for during the pandemic. A shift to hybrid or home working or a move towards having more teams in the field rather than being tied to an office or a company HQ has given a number of our customers the impetus to make changes to their communications that are delivering efficiencies and will help future-proof their operations. We are also helping companies to reduce and control costs by offering a free Telecoms audit, as we often find that business are paying for services they simply do not need and they weren’t aware of this.”
Paul adds: “Clearly the big story in telephony at the moment is the swich to VoIP, which has inherent costs associated, but which is an unavoidable change for businesses with a looming deadline. There are certainly things you can do in the planning stages to mitigate costs further down the line and to make sure the switch is planned and the tech and hardware that firms put in place are appropriate and cost savvy.”
Uplands Communications is a leading managed services company delivering flexible voice, data and mobile communications. The firm, which has its HQ in Swansea and an office in Somerset, specialises in independent network management and providing bespoke, converged solutions that aren’t tied to technology and supplier.