Barriers to SMEs Adoption of Big Data Analytics for Competitive Advantage

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (which includes micro companies employing <; 10) make a significant contribution to the UK economy accounting for 99.9% of all businesses, employing 60% of the work force and generates 2,168 pound billion; this represents 52% of the turnover of all businesses in the UK [1]. Big Data Analytics is rapidly being utilised by large companies on a global scale to gain competitive advantage which is well documented in the literature. However, the evidence from the literature indicates that SMEs are underutilising this technology for a variety of reasons, for example lack for expertise and cost implications. The intention of this paper is to identify barriers to the adoption of Big Data Analytics by SMEs to help them overcome the challenges and to exploit the benefits of Big Data Analytics to improve their competitive advantage which will benefit the wealth of the country particularly in the aftermath of Covid-19.