CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the case study
Small and Medium businesses (SMBs) have played great roles in the development of various economies of the world. They are recognized and acknowledged worldwide as vital and significant contributors to economic development, job creation, and the general health and welfare of economies, both nationally and internationally. Over the years there have been many attempts at defining what constitutes SMBs. Researchers and policy makers, looking for an objective definition of SMBs, have used a variety of criteria including total assets, total employees and net worth (Cochran, 1981). There have been various definitions given to small and medium businesses in Ghana but the most commonly used criterion is the number of employees of the enterprise. In defining small and medium businesses in Ghana (Osei et al 1993) classified SMBs into three categories. There are micro-employing less than 6 people, medium-employing 6-9 people and small businesses-between 10 and 29 employees. In terms of activities they are mostly engaged in retailing, trading or manufacturing and education. In Ghana SMBs have been noted as the engine of growth by the National board for small scale industries through the provision of employment and income. They represent about 92% of Ghanaian business and contribute about 70% to Ghana’s GDP and over 80% to employment (Ghana statistical service 1998). Information is needed and distributed every day in businesses. Every business start with high hopes of success but with inaccurate data and the wrong means of transferring this information may lead to the sudden collapse of the business. Computer network is one tool owners of businesses can utilize to gain access to accurate information and transfer those information generated at rapid speed. Data generation, dissemination and storage are at the