Go ON UK encourages small firms to get online
A new campaign has been launched to push the UK's smaller companies to participate on the internet.
Go ON UK is an exciting new partnership which aims to bring the benefits of an online presence to all Britons and is particularly targeted towards small firms.
The iniative was announced by the government's 'digital champion' Martha Lane Fox, who previously led a separate campaign to get Brits connected to the internet.
Ms Lane Fox said that an improved commercial web presence was essential to boosting UK businesses and preventing them from being overtaken by their competitors.
"The private sector including small businesses will grow twice as fast as their competitors if they are online, and evidence shows that SMEs with a web presence do get significant benefits," she noted, citing a recent study by Lloyds Banking Group.
Nearly 70 per cent of businesses believe that being online saves them time and money and more than a third believe that it raises their sales volumes.
Furthermore, the UK is only going to become increasingly connected to the web, as it is the leading G20 nation when it comes to internet profits.
The web contributes more to the nation's GDP than to any other G20 country and is predicted to reach £221 billion by 2016, according to Boston Consulting Group.
As a result, it has become even more crucial to imbue consumers and companies with the IT skills that will allow them to connect with the online world.
"Failing to act now would result in charities and small businesses operating at a significant disadvantage as the rest of the UK becomes increasingly digital," Ms Lane Fox warned.
Go ON UK is a cross-sector partnership supported by a range of organisations including the BBC, the Big Lottery Fund, Lloyds Banking Group and Age UK.