DMSL: Growth of UK home businesses reveals hidden potential for local IT resellers

By Simon Meredith | 9th September 2016

The Heart of Home Business Britain report shows that growing population of smaller enterprises need support to make the best use of technology

Romford, 09 September 2016 – DMSL, the specialist distributor and aggregator of communications services, is hailing the findings of a new report into the UK’s home businesses as evidence of a massive and growing opportunity for communications and IT resellers.

The Heart of Home Business Britain report, which is based on analysis by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr), incorporating primary research by YouGov, and commissioned by Vonage UK, the leading provider of cloud voice services, says that there are over 2.75 million home businesses in the UK today – more than half (52 percent) of the UK’s total business population and a 23 percent increase over the past decade. These businesses are contributing an estimated £94bn gross value added (GVA)1 to the economy and the total annual revenue of home businesses is projected to be £212bn this year.

The report also says that while technology is enabling home business success by lowering the barriers for start-ups, it also notes that these businesses need more mentoring and support.

John Carter, Managing Director of DMSL, which recently partnered with Vonage to launch the company’s channel partner programme in the UK, says that the report reveals huge potential for local reseller businesses that are focused on supporting small and home-based businesses.

The Heart of Home Business Britain report shows us that there is absolutely no shortage of opportunities for resellers who can offer the quick, simple and effective solutions and services that these small, home-based businesses will be looking for. Availability of high-speed broadband is spreading and while this is an opportunity in itself, the greater potential lies in taking the benefits of cloud-based communications, like those offered by Vonage, and other services to these businesses.”

According to Carter, most home-based firms will want the reassurance of knowing that their IT and communications supplier is local. “What this report shows is that there is a massive hidden opportunity for B2B resellers out there. Many of these home-based businesses will be very dependent on their IT and communications and when things go wrong, they will need to get problems sorted out straight away. They will want their trusted IT supplier to be close at hand.

“They may be used to thinking on their feet and learning new skills, but as they get busier, they will also need to call on more external help and expertise. Some will grow to the point where they need to move to dedicated business premises, at which stage they will need even more assistance. If locally-based resellers can provide the right kind of services and support, they will really benefit from the boom in entrepreneurial activity and home-based working.”

DMSL works with a nationwide network of partners through which it offers a range of broadband connectivity and cloud-based or hosted voice services. It runs focused marketing programmes that identify business opportunities and then passes these onto resellers to fulfil at a local level. DMSL provides support during the sales and provisioning process and can also give resellers access to its own billing engine to simplify customer management.

Picture: John carter, DMSL.

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Notes to editors
1 – GVA measures the value of goods and services produced by individual sectors and areas of the economy.

A .pdf of the The Heart of Home Business Britain report is available on request.

About DMSL
Established more than 15 years ago to meet the growing need for expertise in broadband and telecoms services, DMSL is a leading specialist distributor and aggregation partner for broadband, mobile and fixed voice and cloud services. It works with leading suppliers, such as BT, Gamma, O2, Plusnet, Telefonica, Virgin Media Business and Vonage, to bring resellers the best solutions the industry can provide.

DMSL offers a portfolio of business services and products, from single phone lines to multi-site hosted VoIP platforms. It offers bespoke telecoms solutions that are right for the needs of individual customers and partners, backed by unrivalled business and technical support.

For further information, please contact:
Vicky Thrower, Head of PR
Tel: 01708 776005
www.dmsluk.co.uk.

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