Connecting Somerset recently commissioned a piece of market research to investigate e-adoption levels and barriers to further take up in the county; current and future support needs; and, the perception of Connecting Somerset - concluding with a set of recommendations. We had 450 responses to the survey; thanks to those of you that responded we're most grateful for all your feedback.

The results of the survey suggest there is scope to improve the availability and quality of support, as well as a continuing need to stimulate and generate greater levels of demand for the take up of technology. The preferred ways in which you'd prefer support to be delivered are via workshops, the Connecting Somerset website and one-to-one sessions. The results of the report also indicated that the majority of respondents are planning to make investments in technology in the near future, the most popular being search engine optimisation, website operation, online marketing and e-commerce.

Over the coming weeks we'll be developing a new strategy for the project that takes into account the results of the market research. Our aim is to refresh the project, becoming more innovative and pro-active in the way in which we deliver our services and interact with businesses. Some of the areas we'll be looking into:

• Improvements to the broadband infrastructure in the county
• Raising the awareness levels of local businesses, and assisting them to adopt beneficial technologies
• Continuing to address the needs of non-adopters with more basic support activities
• Helping businesses to articulate their needs, as the research indicated that a significant number lack the confidence to approach technology suppliers, web designers etc
• There was a notable demand for support in the use of social media, which we'll address, as well as a need for ongoing support on legal and security issues
• Improvements to our website content and interface so that we're able to deliver information and advice the widest possible audience
• Continuing to deliver a programme of focussed technology workshops and events; and
• To investigate ways in which we can deliver intensive support measures such as one-to-one site visits

In the next edition of the newsletter we aim to share with you our strategy for the future of the project.