Start up companies will be able to turn to their local Chamber of Commerce for their IT and telecoms needs in the coming months, according to David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The service will be offered as part of a "start up pack" for new companies, which will be offered through the 57 Chambers that are accredited by the BCC.
The Essential Business Start-up Pack will include access to advice services in areas such as health and safety, human resources and finance, Frost told delegates at the launch of Small Business Week. But companies struggling to keep up with technology will be most interested in the part of the package known as "IT in a box."
This, Frost said, will include fixed and mobile communications, as well as a number of hosted IT services. BT is set to provide the main communications elements of the BCC service, but the BCC has also signed up Microsoft and Dell as "strategic partners". The pack will offer options ranging from support to single workers based at home to small companies operating from commercial premises, according to the BCC.
The BCC's new service comes alongside moves from BT to bolster its own small business offerings. At the London launch, BT Business managing director Bill Murphy admitted that large companies, as well as Government, could do more to tailor services for smaller firms.
BT is launching a range of free services, from business administration toolkit Business Builder, and Tradespace, an online e-commerce community, as well as paid-for services such as video and audio conferencing, and IT support. Once company using Tradespace, Murphy said, had increased monthly turnover by 20 per cent.
Murphy added that technology had enabled the number of micro-businesses to grow rapidly, especially in the English regions.
