Security has been identified as the number one IT concern for the UK's small and medium-sized businesses, research published today has claimed.

The first annual IT Issues Survey, conducted by PC World Business, found that almost 60 per cent of British businesses admitted to being generally unprepared and under resourced to handle security and virus threats.

The poll also suggested that basic IT problems are extending IT managers' average week by up to half a day.

One in three IT professionals surveyed claimed that their week was extended by three to five hours due to basic unforeseen problems, while 27 per cent spend an extra one to two hours a week dealing with such issues.

The survey of more than 700 IT professionals in small and medium sized businesses in the UK revealed that one in four admitted to lacking adequate IT resources in-house, while nearly half were unsure whether they had the appropriate resources to handle IT issues.

In terms of where time is spent, the research indicated that nearly one in five IT managers found networking problems the most time consuming, followed by email problems (16 per cent), server maintenance (15 per cent) and internet access (14 per cent).

Derek Lloyd, managing director of PC World Business, said: "Small businesses are increasingly worried about security and virus attacks, and acknowledge that they are lacking the appropriate resources and security measures when such things occur.

"Additionally, basic IT problems are adding to their headaches and ultimately distracting them from their job.

"The best advice I can offer is that small businesses take a good look at the measures they have in place to reduce these occurrences before they happen, as this will save a lot of time and effort compared to dealing with the consequences afterwards."