Small Businesses See Need for Online Presence, Mobility

Small Businesses See Need for Online Presence, Mobility

more Manitoba small businesses are recognizing the need to invest more money in their online operations and in technology that makes their workforce more mobile, according to the results of a new survey.

The Bank of Montreal said a Pollara survey of 502 Canadian small business owners found 64 percent of Prairie (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) respondents plan to make major changes or investments in their online presence in the coming years.

That was the highest percentage among the six regions included in the survey. The next highest was Quebec, at 59 per cent, while the national average was 54 per cent.

More than four in 10 (41 per cent) also said they'll be investing more money on technology that creates a more mobile workforce. That, too, was the highest percentage among the six regions, and was four percentage points above the national average.

Ron Collins, BMO's vice-president of commercial banking in Winnipeg, said the survey results show small businesses here recognize the marketplace is changing and they need to invest more money in their businesses to remain competitive.

"And as technology continues to evolve for tablets and smartphones... more companies understand they have to change the way they deliver their services and also how they monitor their workforce and their staffing to be competitive," he added.

A local spokesman for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said he's not surprised to hear more Manitoba small businesses are investing in their online operations and in mobile technologies.

"I think what the survey overall talks about is the same thing that we're hearing at CFIB," said Elliot Sims, the CLUB's director of provincial affairs in Manitoba.

"As the economies of scale come down and as technologies change and become more adaptable, small businesses are now able to have the same technologies that large companies have because the costs of having it are going down. …