ICT Adoption by ICT SMEs in the UK West Midlands - the Forgotten ICT Adopters

The West Midlands (WM) ICT industry is one of ten target sectors identified by the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands (AWM), for clustering development. AWM is investing resources to fund projects that will meet the needs of industry in encouraging development of clustering activity and the growth of the ICT Cluster, including helping companies to adopt new technologies. During 2007 research was conducted and reported which involved over 200 ICT SMEs in the West Midlands (WM) UK which indicated that common misconceptions are as endemic in ICT companies as in any other sector. This research is unique as it focuses on one sector only and it is the sector that is often assumed not to need intervention to support ICT adoption. Many National Government projects focus on adoption at a level intended for other sectors. This leads to a dichotomy as Government intervention can assume a certain level of skills and knowledge in ICT companies, whilst ICT companies often do not recognise their need in this area. This research shows that in order to overcome the challenges of ICT adoption, in this and other sectors, it is necessary to start by empowering the ICT industry with a sustainable means of adopting new technologies. This will enable the SMEs in the ICT industry to support SMEs in other sectors and other organisations that use ICT but for whom ICT is not their core business. However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary to identify the factors which hinder the smooth adoption of new technologies in the ICT industry. This paper concentrates on the issues relating to the knowledge and level of education of the owner/manager. Whilst the owner-manager has a major influence on ICT adoption in other industry sectors; in the ICT industry, where ICT adoption and diversification are necessary at an alarming speed, the implications of this influence are not only on the SME itself but are far wider-reaching. Consequently, this research has identified specific educational concerns and suggests possible solutions to overcoming them which can afford ICT SMEs with a sustainable means to adopt new technologies that are not only necessary for their competitive advantage but that of other sectors too.