SMALL businesses waste over 98 hours a year due to misfiring tech – the equivalent of 12 working days.

The poll of 1,000 SME owners found they typically lose one hour and 54 minutes of staff time to technical problems every week.

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Nearly a third (32 per cent) are held back by slow internet and 28 per cent blame outdated laptops.

More than one in four (26 per cent) lamented incompatible software, and 20 per cent struggled with working on the go due to their worn-out smartphone.

In fact, 59 per cent feel like their devices always fail them when they need them most.

And as a result, 67 per cent have cancelled important meetings, 52 per cent have missed deadlines and 41 per cent have lost business opportunities due to tech failures

Whereas small business owners reckon productivity would increase by nearly 40 per cent if their tech ran more smoothly.

The research was commissioned by Samsung, which has launched ‘movie posters’ to dramatise the impact of dysfunctional phones and tech on small businesses as 74 per cent admit their device is integral to their job.

‘Disconnected: The Silent Office’, ‘The Day the Calls Dropped’, ‘The Ring of Silence’, ‘Business Phone Down’ are inspired by real sci-fi, drama, thriller and action film tropes, and released as part of the launch of the Galaxy A Series A56 5G Enterprise Edition which comes with a next day replacement service.

The study also found that they would lose an average of £228,332 per year – £4361.70 per week – if their work phones were inaccessible.

And 28 per cent face battles with their workplace devices several times a week or more.

On average, those polled spend an extra hour each week contacting IT to resolve hardware and software problem as 59 per cent reveal they sometimes must work overtime as a result.

Nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) saying these frustrations prevent them from working properly, and 42 per cent reporting increased stress as a result.

Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) believe morale within their business would even improve with better-functioning technology.

While 54 per cent typically replace outdated devices every two to five years, 47 per cent admit they’ve tried to cut corners on tech quality — only to spend nearly £3,200 each year on repairs and updates.

Annika Bizon from Samsung said: “Having issues with your work devices can cause a mountain of problems for business, even leading to a loss in revenue.

“We want to have SME owners back by offering next business day replacement – ensuring all the productivity with none of the setbacks.”

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