What small business executives have learned about managing information technology

In this study, 308 small business executives were interviewed and asked to identify the single most important thing they had learned about managing the use of information technology (IT) in their firms. The most common response was staying current/keeping up with changing IT. The training/education of end users, the ability to get information quickly, and accurate data were also given as things the executives had learned. The small business executives interviewed were from a variety of industries including the computer industry, the health care industry, engineering, consulting, manufacturing, insurance, accounting, and law. Ninety-two percent of the executives had acquired new hardware and 89.9% had acquired new software for their firms since their firms had first started using computers. In approximately 90% of the firms, the number of users of computers had increased and the majority of the new users were classified as both managerial and clerical. Again, approximately 90% of the firms had increased the number of functions for which computers were used within their firms with applications in accounting having the greatest increase.