The next 10 years will herald a ‘seismic shift’ in the UK business landscape, but business fundamentals such as access to funding will still apply, according to a futurology report launched this week by Bibby Financial Services.

The ‘2020 Vision – the Future of Business’ report focuses on the future of business over the next decade.

Among its key findings, it predicts a surge in the number of micro-businesses, often operating outside of traditional business hours and premises, as larger companies become unable to absorb the 5 million new workers expected by 2020.

It suggests large numbers of these ‘semi-detached’ firms – who group and share their expertise depending on their current need – will quickly overtake traditional businesses and will focus themselves around small and medium-sized enterprise ‘hubs’, rather than in major towns and cities.

In addition, the report highlights the emergence of a much greater dependency upon IT and mobile commerce by 2020, as access points and connection speeds increase exponentially and entrepreneurs seek to tap further the low overheads and barriers to entry afforded by a virtual business.

However, despite progress, the report warns that entrepreneurs of the next decade will still depend as much on business fundamentals, such as access to funding, as their present-day counterparts.

Edward Rimmer, UK chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, said: “If anything, the past few years have shown that UK businesses have the ability to adapt to face challenges head-on and evolve to respond to new opportunities. However, despite their adaptability, businesses can do little without access to the cash they need to grow and develop.

“The way companies need, use and access funding will certainly change in the coming years and it is important the finance industry evolves to meet these new demands head-on.”

Article contributed by BCR Factorscan