Basic organisational flaws in company IT architectures will leave British businesses struggling with "content chaos" as they attempt to meet impending real-time data regulation, Microsoft has warned.

The software giant argues that with volumes of corporate information rising fast, firms are facing huge financial and regulatory pressures as the government begins to regulate in real time.

According to Microsoft, businesses that fail to address this grassroots data management issue and opt for basic legal compliance will risk "falling foul of government legislation and miss out on business opportunity".

"The UK has a well-documented and long-standing productivity deficit compared to our leading international competitors," said Matthew Fell, head of small business and enterprise at the Confederation of British Industry, in a statement.

"Overcoming this gap is vital to the UK's long-term global competitiveness. Effective deployment of technology, coupled with information management, is a key part of the package of measures that can help drive up the UK's productivity levels."

Microsoft UK director of people and culture Steve Harvey added in a statement: "Businesses must realise that the right approach to compliance is about more than just dealing with each regulatory issue as it arises - it's about business competence."

"Real-time regulation will place far greater pressure on businesses to meet standards. Their current lack of ability to make information available to staff shows that too many just aren't ready.

"They need to make sure that teams and individuals are aware of their responsibilities from a compliance perspective and have the tools to carry them out."