Cash-strapped entrepreneurs increasingly favouring remote working

CASH-strapped entrepreneurs are foregoing the cost of an office, computer equipment, traditional landline phone systems and electricity, and putting the funds towards building their teams and investing in their product or service, a Birmingham company has found.

Internet-based phone service provider  Nimvelo said a survey of its customers had found two-thirds (66%) were either operating remotely or employing remote staff.

Technology and professional services companies were the most likely of all SMEs to work remotely, while healthcare and manufacturing companies were the least likely to have remote workforces.

Charles Chance, Nimvelo founder and managing director, said: “Infrastructure costs are becoming increasingly expensive for UK businesses. In our own start-up business, we’ve found that using remote software tools to establish remote ways of working has lowered our overheads and allowed us to invest more into improving the quality of our service.”

The firm said many business owners had concluded that not maintaining a physical office saved a significant amount of money – 70% of respondents noted that they saved over £10 a month (with 40% saving closer to £20 a month) by using a VoIP (Voice over IP) telephone system instead of traditional landlines.

“Entrepreneurs are avoiding the long-term commitments of traditional, and often costly, landline systems and opting instead for flexible, Internet-based phone services. These VoIP-enabled services can connect a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, or any other compatible handset over the Internet,” added Mr Chance.