There were an estimated 4.9 million private sector businesses in the UK at the start of 2013, of which 99.9 per cent were SMEs.

www.gov.uk

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK accounted for 59.3 per cent of private sector employment and 48.1 per cent of private sector turnover at the start of 2013.

Working in partnership with an extensive network of universities, social and local government and enterprise partners in the UK, other European countries, China, Russia, USA and Canada, we have focused our research excellence on supporting SME growth and sustainability.

Our research has identified SMEs as the key engine for innovation, economy growth and job creation.

SMEs are sometimes slow in adopting new and emerging technologies and less able to gain the maximum benefits from ICT applications and our work focused on encouraging the use of ICT technology to aid growth and expansion.  

Through funded projects we have developed strong collaborations with Research Technology Developers (RTDs), SMEs and public body partners.

We have provided tools, processes and events through which SMEs can engage with universities and become more competitive, including web-based intelligent support systems for SMEs, to meet their decision support; education and knowledge transfer needs.