Living Large: Small Companies Yield Big Results with Web Collaboration

Living Large
Small Companies Yield
Big Results with Web
Collaboration
By Anne SaitaEditorial DirectorLarstan Business Reports
Larstan Business Reports, Inc., Potomac, MDwww.larstan.com B U S I N E S S R E P O R T S
Copyright © 2007 All rights reservedast year 671,800 small businesses opened, while communications. A key reason for the wide embrace544,800 shuttered their doors, according to the U.S. among small businesses is cost: most can buy the toolsSmall Business Administration. Not all of these as a service, rather than investing in expensive hardwarefLailures were due to bankruptcy, but a sizeable number requiring massive network renovations, time andlikely discovered it cost more than expected to reach their physical space for deployments.revenue goals. One major culprit was travel expenses. LastJune more than 85 percent of small business owners "I basically sign on and start collaborating," Weinsteinexpected revenue to decline due to increased gas prices. added. Wainhouse Research conducted a 2006The survey by DollarDays.com also suggested almost a independent web survey to identify popular applicationsthird of those companies planned to lay off employees if and motivations driving smaller enterprise's use of webgas prices didn't drop significantly. conferencing. Of the 1,562 valid responses, 75 percentreported solid to dramatic growth in usage, making webThose gas hikes have forced many of the 25.8 million conferencing a vital part of daily business. Those userssmall businesses nationwide to find creative ways to cited the ability to reach more people, save travel costscut costs and stay competitive with more recognized and time and increase productivity as major benefits.market leaders in a global economy. As such, smallercompanies are discovering a secret tool: Web-based Accelerating Business and Increasing Salescollaboration. Though larger organizations may view online collaborationtools primarily to improve internal communications, theVirtual collaboration and online meeting technologies SMB is leveraging its investments to pump up a normallyare advancing SMBs' reach without huge investments, small sales force and provide training so product pitchesthus allowing them to not only save costs and land more can be perfected. Such operational streamlining helps asales but to better educate consumers and business company run more efficiently and atWeb-based speed.partners and serve a greater number of people lost by Sales now can take clients through a hands-onformer logistical barriers. In turn, this knowledge transfer demonstration without either leaving the office. Not onlyis allowing smaller companies to gain greater mindshare does knowledge transfer vastly cut travel costs, but it alsoand reach new markets through numerous, innovative accelerates business and provides more promise inapplications for traditional Web-based knowledge reaching busy executives who can view demos from theirtransfer technology. office desk, rather than a meeting room or off-site location.
Such programs include video conferencing, web Small companies measure themselves closely throughconferencing, media streaming and webcasting - all productivity or efficiency units. "So if I can conduct 10designed to allow companies to work together in real- sales demos in a day instead of one or two, I've madetime or archive presentations for on-demand retrieval, be money," Weinstein said.it a polished sales presentation, in-house training orthought leadership seminar. Some companies are going Among industries the analyst finds embracing web-so far as to use these tools for IT troubleshooting, based conferencing to expand the reach of theirparticularly by allowing remote access to ailing PCs and messaging and meeting possibilities are educationlaptops in the field. through distance learning; health care throughtelemedicine; and legal through "telejustice." The"The SMB has definitely jumped hard and heavy into financial industry, often an early adopter of emergingthese tools," said Ira Weinstein, senior analyst and technologies, also is a big believer in the power of thesepartner at Wainhouse Research Inc., an independent communications services. "Picture that small hedge fundmarket research firm focused on rich media that needs to get the word out to their clients, and theyneed to get people with as much impact as possible.These tools do a great job of that," Weinstein said."The SMB has definitely ... [download for more]