Heeding of Investment Call May Boost Data Storage

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The recent economic news in the UK has been mostly positive, with increasing growth, improved future projections and falling unemployment.

All this will greatly please the government, both for its own sake and because there is a general election less than two years away. It may also mean expanding businesses need to make the most of the data storage services available to them as they seek to maximise their physical space and overcome any limitations in their in-house electronic storage facilities.

However, the gradual emergence of the UK economy from its long slump since the credit crunch began in 2007 has not been fuelled by nearly as much business investment as might be anticipated, according to chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.

Addressing the Confederation of British Industry's Growing Business Awards today (October 23rd), Mr Alexander will say: "I know that over the last few years, economic uncertainty made investment harder, but now that we have stable finances; and with confidence growing; and a bright future ahead … I hope you will agree that there’s never been a better time to invest.

"We’ve done the emergency repairs, the engine has had a full service and is getting going again. But it won’t get into top gear until British business starts investing some of the half trillion pounds worth of cash it’s built up in reserve."

The minister is to state that if the level of business investment in 2012 had been just ten per cent higher than it was, gross domestic product would have risen by an extra £12 billion, worth an extra one per cent of growth.

What this may all mean is not just that the economy could be doing better than it is, but that there is huge potential for more expansion both of output and the size of businesses. This could be an exciting prospect if a large part of the £500 billion cash pile is invested, not least because there is the tantalising possibility that as sentiment and confidence improves, firms will start to dip more deeply into these funds.

Expansion in businesses will bring many challenges, of course. In practice, it will mean taking on more staff, adding to the stock of machinery and IT capacity, seeking more and larger offices and, in many cases, the creation of more data.

All this will emphasise the need for practical solutions, which can be provided by those offering remote data storage facilities. New investment can certainly help companies move towards paperless offices, but unless more storage software and hardware is also added at a rate that matches the growth of data, this could be hard to manage without outside help. Moreover, it is important that extra information stored electronically is kept safe and secure.

Other reasons more storage space might be needed could include a lack of availability of new office space in some places. The recent economic climate has done nothing to encourage the construction of this, so while there may be investment in some major cities – particularly London – the scope of businesses based in smaller centres of population to larger premises may be limited.

Indeed, such pressures may be arising already. New figures published today by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills have revealed the sheer number of private sector firms has now reached a record high of 4.9 million, up 447,000 since 2010. Nearly half their combined turnover of £3,300 billion is accounted for by small and medium-sized enterprises, who employ 14.4 million staff.

The overwhelming majority of these – 99 per cent – employ fewer than 250 people and half are staffed by less than 50. All that means that most companies will operate in premises of limited size and significant expansion could leave them short of space, not least in the cases of firms who take on more staff when the new £2,000 Employment Allowance comes into effect in April, cutting the National Insurance bill for all firms, but having the greatest benefits for the smallest ones.

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