IT a hit, not a Midland myth.

Byline: Steve Pain Technology Editor

Midlands firms are grasping the nettle of new information technology, according to a new survey which claims to dispel the 'myth' that the region is lagging behind in the IT stakes.

The research, carried out by business advisers Andersen, looked at companies with at least 25 employees and found virtually all of them used IT in some form and were enthusiastic about the benefits it had brought. Only five per cent thought the Midlands to be a sterile environment for technology.

Researchers interviewed people with responsibility for IT at 221 firms - 100 of which were manufacturers and the rest in the service sector.

The most popular IT functions were e-mail (96 per cent) and financial control (91 per cent), with over half using it for production control or procurement. Manufacturers demonstrated slightly higher take-up of all types of IT than service firms.

Eighty five per cent of companies had a website, which was seen mainly as a marketing tool, and 14 per cent of these used it for e-commerce, on-line orders or quotations.

The overwhelming opinion of firms questioned in the survey was that IT had had a positive impact on the business, with hardly any claiming it had had a negative impact.

Highest satisfaction ratings were given to production control, where 91 per cent felt it had had a positive effect on working practices, followed by email and knowledge management (90 per cent), customer relationship management (88 per cent) and financial control (87 per cent).

Over a quarter of the companies spent pounds 100,000 or more a year on IT. And despite the current economic climate, 83 per cent of those questioned said their IT budget would remain at its present level or increase during the year ahead.

As for developing new IT functions, respondents were more likely to suggest further investment in current applications than in new ones.

The majority felt a demonstrable efficiency gain or a sound business case was more likely to encourage the use of IT in a company than a good local service provider or an internal champion - although all four are felt to be helpful.

Just over a third of companies managed all their IT functions themselves without any help from outside organisations, although almost half (48 per cent) outsourced some of the maintenance work and 30 per cent used outside suppliers for web management.

Two in three of those questioned disagreed with the statement that the West Midlands is a sterile environment for technology, while a small minority (five per cent) agreed.

Hilary Campton, marketing manager for Andersen in the Midlands, said: 'Hopefully this survey will dispel the image of the Midlands as an area which is behind in terms of technology. We were delighted to find such extensive take-up of IT and such enthusiasm about the benefits it could bring.

'However the survey did reveal some ways in which companies could improve their IT strategy and make better use of the technology they already had.'

She added: 'Just one per cent of companies use their website for customer support, yet the provision of aftersales information via the internet has been shown to prevent unnecessary telephone calls and reduce customer service costs.

'Only 21 per cent of companies had an IT director. With IT now playing such a critical part in business, we believe it needs a board level champion to ensure it is placed firmly on the corporate agenda.'

The results of the survey can be found on the Midlands Technology Network website at www.mtn.org.uk.