Adding IT to the SME toolkit
By Alan Cane
Published: July 8 2008 16:33 | Last updated: July 8 2008 16:33
The past few years have seen a marked change in the marketing of software and services. Vendors such as SAP and Oracle, which had previously confined their attention to the giants of the business world, have begun to court small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a cornucopia of new products.
“So many companies that have traditionally focused on large enterprises are now going into the SME market. It is amazing. Everything is about SMEs,” says Joslyn Faust, principal analyst specialising in the SME market for Gartner, the consultancy.
But, she warns, it is not necessarily to everyone’s benefit. “Many of these vendors do not understand that it is a totally different business model. Service, support and pricing are all very different. The products need to be very simple and they all need to work together. SMEs are worried that the IT they are offered will prove to be too complicated, too costly or that the vendor will consider them too small for proper support,” she says.
Buying consumer-grade technology is one answer for very small firms.
Eilert Hanoa, chief executive of Mamut, a European provider of integrated software and internet services for SMEs, shares Ms Faust’s concerns: “There is a misconception within the SME sector that technology is expensive and that it is a luxury a small business cannot afford. Most SMEs have few people to turn to for technology advice and this has led to an abundance of fear, uncertainty and doubt when buying IT.
“This sorry state of affairs has been compounded, and in some cases encouraged, by an IT sector that has done the SME sector a disservice by downsizing enterprise applications for the SME market without addressing their need for less complexity.”
SAP, however, one of the world’s largest software groups, has seen a significant change in its mix of customers over the past 10 to 20 years. At one time it was a provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software only to large corporates, it now estimates that 70 per cent of its customers – about 35,000 globally – are SMEs.
Simon Etherington, head of the SME division for SAP in the UK, says the sector is covered by a three-product family: Business One, an out-of-the-box business management system for companies with less than £30m-£40m in turnover; Business by Design for larger groups; and Business-all-in-One for vertical industries. These products are generally marketed to customers via channel partners who can offer technical help and business advice.
Are there any companies too small for an SAP offering? “If there are, we haven’t found them yet,” says Mr Etherington.
But he warns that IT is no magic bullet. The customer, he says, must have a clear vision of what it wants to do, where it wants to go and how it thinks IT can support its objectives.
He says that SMEs may have an advantage because they see their business processes – essentially what the business does – more clearly than bigger enterprises. And any IT investment must be treated as a business project rather than an IT initiative, he counsels.
Dawn Baker, head of marketing for the small business division of Sage, the UK accounting software group, concurs: “Small businesses have to make monthly decisions based on cash flow. So an owner may be faced with the dilemma of whether to take £100 ($197) extra as a bonus or use it to buy a piece of software.
“Another option, especially for businesses at the upper end of the SME sector is to look into hosted versus on-premises software solutions, as this might provide a higher degree of flexibility with less up-front investment. Either way, any investment in IT should be linked to a business plan.”
Big-ticket technologies such as ERP are not alone in being reconfigured to fit a smaller customer. Virtualisation – running a number of operating systems and application packages on the same server – is becoming increasingly attractive to small companies, not simply because of savings on the cost of servers but because of disaster recovery and business continuity.
Martin Niemer of VMware, a leading vendor of virtualisation software, says that companies with only four or five servers and fewer than a dozen staff are virtualising their servers as a protection against downtime, “which could cost them a huge amount of money”.
Typically, VMware consolidates applications from 10 machines on to a single server. The latest servers can run as many as 30 virtual machines.
So how do we define an SME or SMB (small and medium-sized business)? Definitions vary geographically. In Europe, a small company might have 10-49 employees and a medium-sized one, 50-250. In some regions, 5,000 people might still constitute a medium-sized company.
Smaller concerns are generally seen as more flexible and agile than their larger competitors. Simon Devonshire, head of SME marketing for O2, the mobile operator, says small businesses are typically quicker to adopt new technologies than large corporates.
“This is largely the consequence of a difference in the attitude towards technology in small versus larger businesses. In large corporations, new technologies such as the latest handheld mobile device and laptops are often viewed as a privilege, restricted to senior management.
“Small businesses are more likely to recognise the business benefit that a new technology will bring as opposed to seeing it as a status symbol.”
Again, the technology cannot be deployed unthinkingly.
Michel Robert, managing director of the European hosting group Claranet warns that SMEs must be sure their investments will move the business on. “Most SMEs don’t care if the technology is the newest or the fanciest or the quickest. They care about reliability and about whether it will take them in the right direction. SMEs cannot afford to experiment and get it wrong.”
He points to the dangers of growing complexity, which SMEs may be ill-prepared to deal with. He recommends outsourcing the bread-and-butter operations: “This will allow you to focus the technical resources you have on the future and on innovation and on aligning IT with the business.”
The impact of the internet on SMEs has been particularly strong. While a couple of decades ago, an SME might be considering what accounting package to buy, today it is chiefly concerned with connectivity.
Chris Stening of Easynet, part of the BSkyB group, says the company has seen an exponential demand for broadband from SMEs driven by e-mail, web traffic and online applications.
“The internet has changed the way small businesses think about themselves,” he says.
A company can use a cleverly designed website to make it seem larger than it really is: equally, a failed internet connection can quickly cost a small company more than it can afford.
A survey carried out among UK SMEs by Quocirca, the consultancy, for Easynet Connect, the company’s SME network, says connection has become vital for many: “While a quarter of companies could work for days with no internet connection, most companies require failures to be fixed inside a day. For one in four, time to fix is even tighter at less than an hour and for some no break is acceptable.
“In such critical situations, a second redundant connection has to be worth considering,” Quocirca recommends. The survey shows that from a simple web presence and e-mail, SMEs are selling online, using internet protocol telephony and networked video. Almost half use the network for remote back-up and disaster recovery.
Are there simple guidelines that SMEs should follow in their adoption of IT? Joslyn Faust of Gartner suggests that potential buyers should not focus on price too strongly. “Free or almost free does not mean stress-free,” she says, adding that new additions must work with existing equipment if the company is not to have problems as it grows.
She also says it is important to make sure that the vendor understands the customer’s business. “Too many do not understand these vertical markets, which leads to frustration for their customers as they get up to speed.”
There are heartening signs, she says, that vendors are working towards the idea of “one-stop shopping” for SMEs. “That is what SMEs have always wanted but what they have not been able to have because of the state of the market. It takes a few years for vendors to get it right.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Grozzies
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Microsoft line extended to small business
Microsoft line extended to small business
By Richard Waters in San Francisco, FT.com site
Published: Mar 03, 2008
Microsoft will on Monday take the wraps off a new service designed to repel Google's incursion into one of its core markets, selling software applications to small and medium-sized businesses.
The plan will involve delivering a service over the internet for small companies to do things such as manage corporate e-mail and let workers collaborate on documents, rather than requiring them to buy the software. Users of the new internet services will be charged a flat annual subscription fee per worker.
The move marks a response to Google's launch a year ago of a set of online applications for business customers, for a fee of $50 a year for each worker. Google executives have suggested that even if companies don't end up using their services, the presence of an alternative could still lead companies to negotiate lower prices from Microsoft.
Chris Capossela, head of Microsoft's Office desktop applications and related server software businesses, dismissed the threat from this new low-priced competition. He refused to disclose what Microsoft would charge for its online services, but said: "We're really not worried about cannibalisation."
The new Microsoft services involve two of its main server products - the Exchange e-mail software and SharePoint, which is used to manage documents centrally and make it easier for workers to collaborate.
Internet-based versions of this software were made available to big companies last year. It will now be extended for a test period to the smaller companies that have traditionally formed the backbone of Microsoft's business.
In spite of the experimentation with offering online versions of its server-based software, Microsoft has so far retained its traditional business model for its dominant Office suite of PC applications.
It is counting on the functionality of its software to counter Google. "Looking at their software, it's incredibly basic," said Mr Capossela. "It isn't good enough for a 50-person company."
He also said Google, which has been building a sales force to improve relations with business customers, had a long way to go before being taken seriously as a business software supplier.
"The reality is, it takes a very long time to build the credibility with [chief information officers]," he said.
By Richard Waters in San Francisco, FT.com site
Published: Mar 03, 2008
Microsoft will on Monday take the wraps off a new service designed to repel Google's incursion into one of its core markets, selling software applications to small and medium-sized businesses.
The plan will involve delivering a service over the internet for small companies to do things such as manage corporate e-mail and let workers collaborate on documents, rather than requiring them to buy the software. Users of the new internet services will be charged a flat annual subscription fee per worker.
The move marks a response to Google's launch a year ago of a set of online applications for business customers, for a fee of $50 a year for each worker. Google executives have suggested that even if companies don't end up using their services, the presence of an alternative could still lead companies to negotiate lower prices from Microsoft.
Chris Capossela, head of Microsoft's Office desktop applications and related server software businesses, dismissed the threat from this new low-priced competition. He refused to disclose what Microsoft would charge for its online services, but said: "We're really not worried about cannibalisation."
The new Microsoft services involve two of its main server products - the Exchange e-mail software and SharePoint, which is used to manage documents centrally and make it easier for workers to collaborate.
Internet-based versions of this software were made available to big companies last year. It will now be extended for a test period to the smaller companies that have traditionally formed the backbone of Microsoft's business.
In spite of the experimentation with offering online versions of its server-based software, Microsoft has so far retained its traditional business model for its dominant Office suite of PC applications.
It is counting on the functionality of its software to counter Google. "Looking at their software, it's incredibly basic," said Mr Capossela. "It isn't good enough for a 50-person company."
He also said Google, which has been building a sales force to improve relations with business customers, had a long way to go before being taken seriously as a business software supplier.
"The reality is, it takes a very long time to build the credibility with [chief information officers]," he said.
Monday, January 21, 2008
FT.com / Companies / IT - IBM to vie with Microsoft for business market
FT.com / Companies / IT - IBM to vie with Microsoft for business market
IBM to vie with Microsoft for business market
By Richard Waters
Published: January 21 2008 16:48 | Last updated: January 21 2008 16:48
IBM is to take another stab at breaking into one of Microsoft’s core markets, with the announcement on Monday of new software initiatives aimed at small businesses.
Slowing growth in the “enterprise” market of big companies and governments has prompted a number of tech giants to look down-market in search of new opportunities. Most notable is SAP, which is trying to break out of its traditional large-company market with its Business By Design line of online services. Quoting research firm IDC, IBM said the IT market for small businesses is worth $400bn a year.
However, the push takes these companies into head-on competition with Microsoft in one of its most entrenched markets, thanks to the near-ubiquitous use of its desktop software and an established network of partners who sell and support its products.
IBM’s plans include a line of server software products for the smallest businesses, or those with between five and 100 employees, a type of customer that IBM has never targeted before.
They also involve a series of “software-as-a-service” (Saas) offerings for slightly bigger companies. With Saas, a tech company takes over a computing function on behalf of a customer and delivers the results over the internet as a service, usually in return for a monthly fee.
IBM has used a series of acquisitions to support its push into the small business market. Last Friday, it announced the purchase of Net Integrations Technologies, a 60-person company in Toronto, whose software will sit at the heart of the new small business server. Other acquisitions have included WebDialogs, a web conferencing concern, whose software is to be embedded in the new Saas initiative.
Known as IBM Lotus Foundations, IBM’s server line will build on the company’s email and collaboration software business. Though no pricing was disclosed, IBM said it would set the level below Microsoft’s Small Business Server, its own entry-level server product for small businesses. The first product to be announced includes a package of basics such as email, data back-up and recovery and office productivity tools.
The small-business software push follows IBM’s announcement last year of a package of productivity applications, known as Lotus Symphony, that directly challenge Microsoft’s Office suite.
With Symphony, IBM hopes to create a “front end” interface through which users can access its other software tools.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
IBM to vie with Microsoft for business market
By Richard Waters
Published: January 21 2008 16:48 | Last updated: January 21 2008 16:48
IBM is to take another stab at breaking into one of Microsoft’s core markets, with the announcement on Monday of new software initiatives aimed at small businesses.
Slowing growth in the “enterprise” market of big companies and governments has prompted a number of tech giants to look down-market in search of new opportunities. Most notable is SAP, which is trying to break out of its traditional large-company market with its Business By Design line of online services. Quoting research firm IDC, IBM said the IT market for small businesses is worth $400bn a year.
However, the push takes these companies into head-on competition with Microsoft in one of its most entrenched markets, thanks to the near-ubiquitous use of its desktop software and an established network of partners who sell and support its products.
IBM’s plans include a line of server software products for the smallest businesses, or those with between five and 100 employees, a type of customer that IBM has never targeted before.
They also involve a series of “software-as-a-service” (Saas) offerings for slightly bigger companies. With Saas, a tech company takes over a computing function on behalf of a customer and delivers the results over the internet as a service, usually in return for a monthly fee.
IBM has used a series of acquisitions to support its push into the small business market. Last Friday, it announced the purchase of Net Integrations Technologies, a 60-person company in Toronto, whose software will sit at the heart of the new small business server. Other acquisitions have included WebDialogs, a web conferencing concern, whose software is to be embedded in the new Saas initiative.
Known as IBM Lotus Foundations, IBM’s server line will build on the company’s email and collaboration software business. Though no pricing was disclosed, IBM said it would set the level below Microsoft’s Small Business Server, its own entry-level server product for small businesses. The first product to be announced includes a package of basics such as email, data back-up and recovery and office productivity tools.
The small-business software push follows IBM’s announcement last year of a package of productivity applications, known as Lotus Symphony, that directly challenge Microsoft’s Office suite.
With Symphony, IBM hopes to create a “front end” interface through which users can access its other software tools.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Thursday, November 29, 2007
SAP - German SMEs' Recipe for Success
SAP - German SMEs' Recipe for Success
Globalization has brought great benefits for many German SMEs. In an interview with SAP INFO online, Professor Bernd Venohr from the Institute of Management at the Berlin School of Economics describes the strategies, management structures and processes that pave the way for global success.
Globalization has brought great benefits for many German SMEs. In an interview with SAP INFO online, Professor Bernd Venohr from the Institute of Management at the Berlin School of Economics describes the strategies, management structures and processes that pave the way for global success.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Computable.nl | Nieuws | Strategie | SAP A1S: 'Gemak dient het mkb'
Computable.nl | Nieuws | Strategie | SAP A1S: 'Gemak dient het mkb'
SAP biedt on-demand bedrijfsprocessen in hoop op expansie in mkb-markt. Begin volgend jaar komt het nieuwe product A1S voor het midden- en kleinbedrijf van SAP op de markt. "We liggen op schema, dus we gaan de lancering in het eerste kwartaal gewoon halen", beloofde ceo Henning Kagerman de aanwezigen op de persconferentie van Sapphire in Wenen.
SAP biedt on-demand bedrijfsprocessen in hoop op expansie in mkb-markt. Begin volgend jaar komt het nieuwe product A1S voor het midden- en kleinbedrijf van SAP op de markt. "We liggen op schema, dus we gaan de lancering in het eerste kwartaal gewoon halen", beloofde ceo Henning Kagerman de aanwezigen op de persconferentie van Sapphire in Wenen.
Monday, May 14, 2007
SAP - Focus On "Do-It-for-Me" Web Services: Small Companies Point and Click on E-Commerce
SAP - Focus On "Do-It-for-Me" Web Services: Small Companies Point and Click on E-Commerce
Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) have big buying power when it comes to Web services and tools. While many large enterprises bought into the Web in the 1990s and early 2000s, growing numbers of SMEs are just now turning to e-commerce and other online tasks.
Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) have big buying power when it comes to Web services and tools. While many large enterprises bought into the Web in the 1990s and early 2000s, growing numbers of SMEs are just now turning to e-commerce and other online tasks.
FT.com / Companies / IT - PC and software makers race to woo small businesses
FT.com / Companies / IT - PC and software makers race to woo small businesses
PC and software makers race to woo small businesses
By Kevin Allison in San Francisco
Published: May 14 2007 22:44 | Last updated: May 14 2007 22:44
Computer makers are launching products and overhauling their sales strategies in an attempt to woo small business customers, as companies with 100 employees or less come into their own as sophisticated consumers of information technology.
The moves come as falling prices make technologies previously available only to the world’s biggest companies affordable to small businesses. “The technology is more affordable, cutting across all product categories,” said Ray Boggs, an analyst at IDC, the market research company. “Small firms today are looking like mid-sized firms did five years ago.”
At the same time, smaller companies have become increasingly computer-savvy, with business owners spending more on IT to increase productivity and boost sales.
“Even small businesses with a few employees are a lot more computer literate than they were in the past,” said Satjiv Chahil, a vice-president of marketing at Hewlett-Packard’s personal computer division. Earlier this year, HP rolled out a dozen products, including servers, PCs and storage devices designed for small businesses.
Dell, IBM and Cisco Systems have also launched products intended for small businesses in recent months. On the software side, Microsoft and SAP have been stepping up efforts to win small business accounts.
Technologies of interest to small businesses include wireless networking, servers, and business applications such as e-mail or customer relationship management software, Mr Boggs said.
Mark Shearer, general manager of IBM’s small business server line, said: “Small businesses essentially need the same kinds of infrastructure and capabilities that larger businesses need. They’re competing in a global economy and their customer needs are intense.”
HP and IBM have been overhauling sales strategies while Cisco Systems last month announced plans to double to 10,000 the number of sales partners trained to work with small businesses.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
PC and software makers race to woo small businesses
By Kevin Allison in San Francisco
Published: May 14 2007 22:44 | Last updated: May 14 2007 22:44
Computer makers are launching products and overhauling their sales strategies in an attempt to woo small business customers, as companies with 100 employees or less come into their own as sophisticated consumers of information technology.
The moves come as falling prices make technologies previously available only to the world’s biggest companies affordable to small businesses. “The technology is more affordable, cutting across all product categories,” said Ray Boggs, an analyst at IDC, the market research company. “Small firms today are looking like mid-sized firms did five years ago.”
At the same time, smaller companies have become increasingly computer-savvy, with business owners spending more on IT to increase productivity and boost sales.
“Even small businesses with a few employees are a lot more computer literate than they were in the past,” said Satjiv Chahil, a vice-president of marketing at Hewlett-Packard’s personal computer division. Earlier this year, HP rolled out a dozen products, including servers, PCs and storage devices designed for small businesses.
Dell, IBM and Cisco Systems have also launched products intended for small businesses in recent months. On the software side, Microsoft and SAP have been stepping up efforts to win small business accounts.
Technologies of interest to small businesses include wireless networking, servers, and business applications such as e-mail or customer relationship management software, Mr Boggs said.
Mark Shearer, general manager of IBM’s small business server line, said: “Small businesses essentially need the same kinds of infrastructure and capabilities that larger businesses need. They’re competing in a global economy and their customer needs are intense.”
HP and IBM have been overhauling sales strategies while Cisco Systems last month announced plans to double to 10,000 the number of sales partners trained to work with small businesses.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
FT.com / Technology - TECHNOLOGY LITE: The shrinking IT department
FT.com / Technology - TECHNOLOGY LITE: The shrinking IT department
TECHNOLOGY LITE: The shrinking IT department
By Dan Ilett
Published: May 9 2007 11:36 | Last updated: May 9 2007 11:36
Business leaders are learning a few lessons about IT. After spending small fortunes on equipment and technical specialists over the last decade or so, many have started to realise that a lack of cost savings and profit avenues from these investments means a shake-up is required.
In a bid to reset the IT profit model, larger businesses are now starting to mimic smaller ones by contracting specialist IT companies to service their technology while they focus on selling their product.
TECHNOLOGY LITE: The shrinking IT department
By Dan Ilett
Published: May 9 2007 11:36 | Last updated: May 9 2007 11:36
Business leaders are learning a few lessons about IT. After spending small fortunes on equipment and technical specialists over the last decade or so, many have started to realise that a lack of cost savings and profit avenues from these investments means a shake-up is required.
In a bid to reset the IT profit model, larger businesses are now starting to mimic smaller ones by contracting specialist IT companies to service their technology while they focus on selling their product.
Monday, April 23, 2007
FT.com / Technology - SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES: Profit from picking the right IT partner
FT.com / Technology - SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES: Profit from picking the right IT partner
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES: Profit from picking the right IT partner
By Stephen Pritchard
Published: April 18 2007 10:08 | Last updated: April 18 2007 10:08
Over the past decade, smaller enterprises have faced a paradox: the price of computer equipment appears to fall each year, yet smaller companies are devoting a growing percentage of their turnover to IT.
An office PC with a decent specification is now widely available for less than $500. Yet Gartner, the industry analyst firm, predicts that small and mid-sized companies in Europe alone will increase their spending on technology by 10 per cent this year – a higher percentage increase than for larger enterprises.
The discrepancy, however, is easily explained. Smaller companies are becoming more dependent on technology, and are using it in more areas of their business. This is especially true both of small companies that want to grow, and of mid-sized businesses that are looking to technology for efficiency gains.
In turn, this is putting pressure on the traditional relationship between small companies and their IT suppliers.
A few years ago, a business would be satisfied if its local computer dealership could supply a few PCs, some printers and perhaps install a network. But commoditisation of much computing hardware, along with SMEs’ increasing reliance on business applications such as CRM and ERP, is changing that relationship.
“SMEs often no longer have a supplier as such for computer hardware, printers or broadband services. They buy the cheapest,” suggests Andy Kyte, a vice-president and fellow at Gartner. “But if companies want to grow, they need to acquire [business] software, and at that point, they need a value-added reseller.”
Finding the right reseller should be a priority for company directors. As Mr Kyte points out, SMEs are often reluctant to change resellers once they have established a relationship, not least because of the time and costs involved in selecting a new supplier.
Selecting the right partner becomes all the more important if that company is also going to customise or adapt an application for the business, because it will be even harder to find a company prepared to work with someone else’s custom code.
It is not an easy task. The IT consultancy and reseller markets have undergone considerable changes since the end of the technology boom, and by no means all changes favour the smaller business that needs to invest in IT.
According to Jim Shepherd, senior vice-president at AMR Research, the number of hardware resellers is falling, particularly in North America. Market conditions favour a smaller number of larger resellers and distributors and software companies are encouraging their resellers to focus on volume sales.
Businesses have, of course, benefited from the lower cost of IT hardware and to some extent, software licences. But the “added value” integration and consulting that SMEs rely on so heavily to make technology work is often squeezed, as the larger resellers go after volume.
At the other end of the spectrum, Mr Shepherd identifies smaller, more localised IT companies whose owners all too often lack the ambition shown by their customers.
“These are ‘lifestyle’ companies: the owners’ motivation is to make enough money to fund their lifestyles but they are not aggressively trying to grow their businesses,” he says. Such resellers are often reluctant to invest in building expertise in particular vertical industries, yet such expertise is what their customers need to expand their own companies. “But SMEs cannot get the efficiencies they need in order to make money, without IT.”
The outlook for small and mid-sized companies is not universally bleak. Mr Shepherd says mid-sized businesses, in particular, stand to benefit from a trend for highly skilled IT specialists at large IT and systems integration groups to form their own, boutique consultancies.
These often focus around a particular vertical industry or enterprise software platform, and will charge rather less than the large international groups but offer a much greater level of expertise than local IT suppliers can offer.
Such consultancies – as well as individual, freelance IT experts – also give SMEs the option of sourcing the commodity parts of their IT systems, such as PCs, directly or through an online outlet at the lowest cost and spending the money saved on integration or customisation expertise.
The moves by software and hardware vendors such as Microsoft, SAP and IBM to support consultancies is also helping SMEs buy services in this way with greater confidence.
“We are making more of our services available for our partners to deliver, whether it is a security solution or a technology such as RFID,” says Rich Michos, vice-president of sales for small and mid-sized business at IBM.
Industry analysts agree that SMEs are more likely to trust their IT consultant or reseller to deliver a new or complex technology if they know their supplier is backed by a large, global vendor.
But this, Mr Michos says, is only one factor to bear in mind when picking an IT partner. It should also look for a company that can call on other resources, including external specialists, to help with projects; for a company that can integrate the technology and one that understands its business. Above all, however, it needs to be a company they can rely on.
“It is important that a technology reseller can be a one-stop shop, if necessary by collaborating with other people,” says Mr Michos. “But above all it is about working with someone you trust.
“Businesses are putting more thought into how they source their IT. They might not be able to afford the bills of the large consultancies, but with the right research they can still find a trusted partner with the skills to support them as their business grows.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES: Profit from picking the right IT partner
By Stephen Pritchard
Published: April 18 2007 10:08 | Last updated: April 18 2007 10:08
Over the past decade, smaller enterprises have faced a paradox: the price of computer equipment appears to fall each year, yet smaller companies are devoting a growing percentage of their turnover to IT.
An office PC with a decent specification is now widely available for less than $500. Yet Gartner, the industry analyst firm, predicts that small and mid-sized companies in Europe alone will increase their spending on technology by 10 per cent this year – a higher percentage increase than for larger enterprises.
The discrepancy, however, is easily explained. Smaller companies are becoming more dependent on technology, and are using it in more areas of their business. This is especially true both of small companies that want to grow, and of mid-sized businesses that are looking to technology for efficiency gains.
In turn, this is putting pressure on the traditional relationship between small companies and their IT suppliers.
A few years ago, a business would be satisfied if its local computer dealership could supply a few PCs, some printers and perhaps install a network. But commoditisation of much computing hardware, along with SMEs’ increasing reliance on business applications such as CRM and ERP, is changing that relationship.
“SMEs often no longer have a supplier as such for computer hardware, printers or broadband services. They buy the cheapest,” suggests Andy Kyte, a vice-president and fellow at Gartner. “But if companies want to grow, they need to acquire [business] software, and at that point, they need a value-added reseller.”
Finding the right reseller should be a priority for company directors. As Mr Kyte points out, SMEs are often reluctant to change resellers once they have established a relationship, not least because of the time and costs involved in selecting a new supplier.
Selecting the right partner becomes all the more important if that company is also going to customise or adapt an application for the business, because it will be even harder to find a company prepared to work with someone else’s custom code.
It is not an easy task. The IT consultancy and reseller markets have undergone considerable changes since the end of the technology boom, and by no means all changes favour the smaller business that needs to invest in IT.
According to Jim Shepherd, senior vice-president at AMR Research, the number of hardware resellers is falling, particularly in North America. Market conditions favour a smaller number of larger resellers and distributors and software companies are encouraging their resellers to focus on volume sales.
Businesses have, of course, benefited from the lower cost of IT hardware and to some extent, software licences. But the “added value” integration and consulting that SMEs rely on so heavily to make technology work is often squeezed, as the larger resellers go after volume.
At the other end of the spectrum, Mr Shepherd identifies smaller, more localised IT companies whose owners all too often lack the ambition shown by their customers.
“These are ‘lifestyle’ companies: the owners’ motivation is to make enough money to fund their lifestyles but they are not aggressively trying to grow their businesses,” he says. Such resellers are often reluctant to invest in building expertise in particular vertical industries, yet such expertise is what their customers need to expand their own companies. “But SMEs cannot get the efficiencies they need in order to make money, without IT.”
The outlook for small and mid-sized companies is not universally bleak. Mr Shepherd says mid-sized businesses, in particular, stand to benefit from a trend for highly skilled IT specialists at large IT and systems integration groups to form their own, boutique consultancies.
These often focus around a particular vertical industry or enterprise software platform, and will charge rather less than the large international groups but offer a much greater level of expertise than local IT suppliers can offer.
Such consultancies – as well as individual, freelance IT experts – also give SMEs the option of sourcing the commodity parts of their IT systems, such as PCs, directly or through an online outlet at the lowest cost and spending the money saved on integration or customisation expertise.
The moves by software and hardware vendors such as Microsoft, SAP and IBM to support consultancies is also helping SMEs buy services in this way with greater confidence.
“We are making more of our services available for our partners to deliver, whether it is a security solution or a technology such as RFID,” says Rich Michos, vice-president of sales for small and mid-sized business at IBM.
Industry analysts agree that SMEs are more likely to trust their IT consultant or reseller to deliver a new or complex technology if they know their supplier is backed by a large, global vendor.
But this, Mr Michos says, is only one factor to bear in mind when picking an IT partner. It should also look for a company that can call on other resources, including external specialists, to help with projects; for a company that can integrate the technology and one that understands its business. Above all, however, it needs to be a company they can rely on.
“It is important that a technology reseller can be a one-stop shop, if necessary by collaborating with other people,” says Mr Michos. “But above all it is about working with someone you trust.
“Businesses are putting more thought into how they source their IT. They might not be able to afford the bills of the large consultancies, but with the right research they can still find a trusted partner with the skills to support them as their business grows.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
FT.com / Technology - DISASTER RECOVERY/BUSINESS CONTINUITY: Plan to stay calm in a crisis
FT.com / Technology - DISASTER RECOVERY/BUSINESS CONTINUITY: Plan to stay calm in a crisis
DISASTER RECOVERY/BUSINESS CONTINUITY: Plan to stay calm in a crisis
By Alan Cane
Published: April 18 2007 10:10 | Last updated: April 18 2007 10:10
It’s the bombs and the Buncefields that make the news, but most threats to a business’s survival are of a more humdrum nature.
The statistic is well known but no less shocking for that: 80 per cent of businesses that suffer a major disruption fail within 18 months, as their customers go elsewhere.
Legislation and regulation, however – Sarbanes Oxley in the US, the Civil Contingencies Act in the UK and so on – are the principal drivers behind a new awareness of the importance of disaster recovery and business continuity that is manifesting itself in an unprecedented wave of interest in the ways and means by which a business can protect itself against the unexpected.
And the unexpected is just that. Nicki Dennis, head of market development for the British Standards Institute, says: “It could be a fire or a flood or a terrorist attack, but most of the things that upset continuity are more mundane – drilling through an outside power cable, for example, or failure of the air conditioning. If you have a plan in place to cope with emergencies, it helps create a degree of calm.”
So what is disaster recovery? What do we mean by business continuity? A useful handbook published by IT Governance* says disaster recovery is the “methodical preparation and execution of all the steps that will be needed speedily to recover from a disaster, usually one caused by technology”. Business continuity is designed to ensure that: “certain business functions continue to operate in spite of disasters striking an organisation”.
Disaster recovery has historically focused on ways to recover from IT failures, but has morphed into business continuity, as the importance of people and an emphasis on speed of recovery has become evident.
“Do we have incidents? Absolutely. Have they affected our business? No,” says Karen Dye who has global responsibility for Sun Microsystems’ crisis management programmes.
She points to the importance for a multinational of observing continuity guidelines in each of the territories in which the group operates, but says the way the group is distributed worldwide is a strength. She points to the most important elements of the Sun plan.
First, that it is championed by a senior executive at headquarters – who reports directly to the chief executive – and by a champion in each of the business units.
Second, the plan is “owned” by the business units that take responsibility for implementing it.
Third, that with limited resources, there is an emphasis on what is most critical to the business.
Peter Power, managing director of London-based Visor Consultants, which specialises in advising companies on contingency planning, likes to describe the dangers as “bombs, bird flu and banana skins” – the latter frequently leading to the loss of a company’s reputation – a situation from which it can be difficult to recover.
Mr Power says that contingency planning has splintered into silos – enterprise risk management, corporate social responsibility, operational risk management, business continuity and data security.
He advocates a holistic approach, that could be labelled “corporate resilience”, which should attract lower insurance premiums. “It can give you competitive advantage” he argues. “Take it out of the box labelled ‘grudge purchase’ and cut your insurance bills.”
Michael Faber, vice-chairman of another recently formed organisation, the Institute of Operational Risk, agrees that business continuity and operational risk are two sides of the same coin. “There has to be greater integration,” he says. “That is the way forward.
“After all, our job is to provide the right information to the board so it can appreciate the true level of risk and take appropriate decisions.
“There is a danger that all these pockets of risk that are not talking to one another or sharing information will present a disjointed view to the board. The different disciplines need to co-ordinate and co-operate more.”
It is an approach that would be welcomed by the rapidly growing business continuity industry. Keith Tilley, who is vice-president, Europe, for SunGard Availability Services, the Philadelphia-based pioneer in disaster recovery centres, says customers are demanding a sharp reduction in the time between the onset of an incident and full data availability. “When we started in 1979, it was 24-48 hours. Now for priority applications, people are asking for 100 per cent availability.
“In the business, we talk about the ‘recovery time objective’ – how quickly does something need to be recovered – and ‘recovery point objective’ – what should it look like on recovery.
“A City trader would not want to lose a single transaction but might be able to survive for 10 to 15 minutes. An airline such as Ryanair needs its online booking system available at all times, otherwise potential customers would simply switch to competitors.”
A point made time and again by business continuity experts is that the development of an effective plan starts with a careful examination of the basics of the business. Edward Wilding, chief technical officer at Data Genetics International notes: “The fundamental question which businesses must keep in sight when preparing their business continuity programme is: ‘Why are we doing this?’.
“There is a world of different between appearing to comply with a given standard and creating and implementing a strategy that both works and is practical. Too many businesses try to adopt best practice or benchmark their procedures against competitors without thinking: ‘Will this work in the event of a catastrophe?’”
And David Porter, senior risk and fraud expert at Detica, emphasises simplicity. “Most business continuity plans are too complex and confusing for people to follow when they are in the heat of a crisis,” he says.
Once you have written your plan – and before consigning it to the shelf – you must carry out a table-top simulation in which all the key actors in the plan are around the table. You’ll be amazed at the number of holes and glitches that come out of this dress rehearsal.”
* Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity by Thejendra BS, IT Governance Publishing 2007. www.itgovernance.co.uk
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
DISASTER RECOVERY/BUSINESS CONTINUITY: Plan to stay calm in a crisis
By Alan Cane
Published: April 18 2007 10:10 | Last updated: April 18 2007 10:10
It’s the bombs and the Buncefields that make the news, but most threats to a business’s survival are of a more humdrum nature.
The statistic is well known but no less shocking for that: 80 per cent of businesses that suffer a major disruption fail within 18 months, as their customers go elsewhere.
Legislation and regulation, however – Sarbanes Oxley in the US, the Civil Contingencies Act in the UK and so on – are the principal drivers behind a new awareness of the importance of disaster recovery and business continuity that is manifesting itself in an unprecedented wave of interest in the ways and means by which a business can protect itself against the unexpected.
And the unexpected is just that. Nicki Dennis, head of market development for the British Standards Institute, says: “It could be a fire or a flood or a terrorist attack, but most of the things that upset continuity are more mundane – drilling through an outside power cable, for example, or failure of the air conditioning. If you have a plan in place to cope with emergencies, it helps create a degree of calm.”
So what is disaster recovery? What do we mean by business continuity? A useful handbook published by IT Governance* says disaster recovery is the “methodical preparation and execution of all the steps that will be needed speedily to recover from a disaster, usually one caused by technology”. Business continuity is designed to ensure that: “certain business functions continue to operate in spite of disasters striking an organisation”.
Disaster recovery has historically focused on ways to recover from IT failures, but has morphed into business continuity, as the importance of people and an emphasis on speed of recovery has become evident.
“Do we have incidents? Absolutely. Have they affected our business? No,” says Karen Dye who has global responsibility for Sun Microsystems’ crisis management programmes.
She points to the importance for a multinational of observing continuity guidelines in each of the territories in which the group operates, but says the way the group is distributed worldwide is a strength. She points to the most important elements of the Sun plan.
First, that it is championed by a senior executive at headquarters – who reports directly to the chief executive – and by a champion in each of the business units.
Second, the plan is “owned” by the business units that take responsibility for implementing it.
Third, that with limited resources, there is an emphasis on what is most critical to the business.
Peter Power, managing director of London-based Visor Consultants, which specialises in advising companies on contingency planning, likes to describe the dangers as “bombs, bird flu and banana skins” – the latter frequently leading to the loss of a company’s reputation – a situation from which it can be difficult to recover.
Mr Power says that contingency planning has splintered into silos – enterprise risk management, corporate social responsibility, operational risk management, business continuity and data security.
He advocates a holistic approach, that could be labelled “corporate resilience”, which should attract lower insurance premiums. “It can give you competitive advantage” he argues. “Take it out of the box labelled ‘grudge purchase’ and cut your insurance bills.”
Michael Faber, vice-chairman of another recently formed organisation, the Institute of Operational Risk, agrees that business continuity and operational risk are two sides of the same coin. “There has to be greater integration,” he says. “That is the way forward.
“After all, our job is to provide the right information to the board so it can appreciate the true level of risk and take appropriate decisions.
“There is a danger that all these pockets of risk that are not talking to one another or sharing information will present a disjointed view to the board. The different disciplines need to co-ordinate and co-operate more.”
It is an approach that would be welcomed by the rapidly growing business continuity industry. Keith Tilley, who is vice-president, Europe, for SunGard Availability Services, the Philadelphia-based pioneer in disaster recovery centres, says customers are demanding a sharp reduction in the time between the onset of an incident and full data availability. “When we started in 1979, it was 24-48 hours. Now for priority applications, people are asking for 100 per cent availability.
“In the business, we talk about the ‘recovery time objective’ – how quickly does something need to be recovered – and ‘recovery point objective’ – what should it look like on recovery.
“A City trader would not want to lose a single transaction but might be able to survive for 10 to 15 minutes. An airline such as Ryanair needs its online booking system available at all times, otherwise potential customers would simply switch to competitors.”
A point made time and again by business continuity experts is that the development of an effective plan starts with a careful examination of the basics of the business. Edward Wilding, chief technical officer at Data Genetics International notes: “The fundamental question which businesses must keep in sight when preparing their business continuity programme is: ‘Why are we doing this?’.
“There is a world of different between appearing to comply with a given standard and creating and implementing a strategy that both works and is practical. Too many businesses try to adopt best practice or benchmark their procedures against competitors without thinking: ‘Will this work in the event of a catastrophe?’”
And David Porter, senior risk and fraud expert at Detica, emphasises simplicity. “Most business continuity plans are too complex and confusing for people to follow when they are in the heat of a crisis,” he says.
Once you have written your plan – and before consigning it to the shelf – you must carry out a table-top simulation in which all the key actors in the plan are around the table. You’ll be amazed at the number of holes and glitches that come out of this dress rehearsal.”
* Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity by Thejendra BS, IT Governance Publishing 2007. www.itgovernance.co.uk
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Automatisering Gids, Cisco verbreedt aanbod voor MKB
Automatisering Gids, Cisco verbreedt aanbod voor MKB
Het vlaggenschip in de nieuwe reeks is de Unified Communications 500 Serie, die is bedoeld voor bedrijven met 8 tot 48 gebruikers. Alle vormen van communicatie zijn via één gebruikersinterface toegankelijk, waarbij de keuze van apparatuur (pc, laptop, PDA) vrij is. Het platform werkt met Unified IP-telefoons van Cisco zelf, inclusief de 'softphone' IP Communicator.
Tot de overige onderdelen van het systeem behoort de Catalyst Express 520, een switch die zijn stroomvoorziening via het netwerk krijgt (Power over Ethernet). Ook de Cisco Mobility Expres Solution, inclusief een draadloos basisstation, is in het MKB-systeem opgenomen. Verder zijn diverse beheer- en monitoring-tools ontwikkeld. Een compleet systeem inclusief één IP-telefoontoestel gaat in de VS circa 700 dollar per werkplek kosten. De producten komen in juni op de markt.
Daarnaast heeft Cisco een nieuw certificatieprogramma voor partners in het MKB opgezet. SMB Select Certification moet partners die zich specifiek op kleine en middelgrote bedrijven richten de juiste instrumenten aanreiken. Onderdeel van SMB Select Certification is onder meer een speciaal trainingsprogramma waarmee medewerkers zich in technisch en verkoopopzicht kunnen bekwamen. (Geert Kelfkens)
Zie ook:
Cisco wil het MKB veroveren met communicatieoplossingen - Automatisering Gids, nr. 40 2005
Het vlaggenschip in de nieuwe reeks is de Unified Communications 500 Serie, die is bedoeld voor bedrijven met 8 tot 48 gebruikers. Alle vormen van communicatie zijn via één gebruikersinterface toegankelijk, waarbij de keuze van apparatuur (pc, laptop, PDA) vrij is. Het platform werkt met Unified IP-telefoons van Cisco zelf, inclusief de 'softphone' IP Communicator.
Tot de overige onderdelen van het systeem behoort de Catalyst Express 520, een switch die zijn stroomvoorziening via het netwerk krijgt (Power over Ethernet). Ook de Cisco Mobility Expres Solution, inclusief een draadloos basisstation, is in het MKB-systeem opgenomen. Verder zijn diverse beheer- en monitoring-tools ontwikkeld. Een compleet systeem inclusief één IP-telefoontoestel gaat in de VS circa 700 dollar per werkplek kosten. De producten komen in juni op de markt.
Daarnaast heeft Cisco een nieuw certificatieprogramma voor partners in het MKB opgezet. SMB Select Certification moet partners die zich specifiek op kleine en middelgrote bedrijven richten de juiste instrumenten aanreiken. Onderdeel van SMB Select Certification is onder meer een speciaal trainingsprogramma waarmee medewerkers zich in technisch en verkoopopzicht kunnen bekwamen. (Geert Kelfkens)
Zie ook:
Cisco wil het MKB veroveren met communicatieoplossingen - Automatisering Gids, nr. 40 2005
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
FT.com / Technology - Small and medium-sized companies: Free software and services packed with value
FT.com / Technology - Small and medium-sized companies: Free software and services packed with value
Small and medium-sized companies: Free software and services packed with value
Stephen Pritchard
Published: March 28 2007 10:14 | Last updated: March 28 2007 10:14
Technology trends are challenging the notion that anything free is likely to be of little value. Some of the largest technology companies, including Microsoft, Skype and Google, are focusing on new business models.
Skype, one of the pioneers of internet telephony, bases a large part of its business on the idea of providing some free services, in its case calls to other Skype users, and more recently, to some landlines.
Skype, of course, hopes to make money by selling other features, such as calls to fixed or mobile users, voicemail and numbers that link Skype to the fixed-line network for incoming calls. In some ways the business model is not far from that of the mobile phone business, where in many markets operators subsidise the phones, in order to sell airtime and other services.
None the less, the mobile business model is a way for small companies to acquire sophisticated equipment without paying an upfront fee: unsubsidised, a smart phone from the likes of Nokia, Motorola or HTC can cost almost as much as an entry-level laptop.
A number of mobile operators are understood to be looking at a similar model for laptops themselves, where the purchase cost of the machine is offset by a monthly charge for downloading data.
Even more interesting, perhaps, are some of the ideas coming from the software and internet services field. Small businesses and the self-employed have long used free e-mail services such as Hotmail and Googlemail. Often, small organisations only move to a more sophisticated e-mail system when the need to promote a corporate identity prompts them to register their domain name. And for many sole traders – from knowledge workers to builders – the brand is their name, and what comes after the @ symbol matters rather less.
But some small businesses do want more from their e-mail, and Microsoft and Google have both responded by offering a number of more flexible, hosted services. Microsoft, through its Live programme, allows companies to register their own domain names but still have up to 25 free e-mail accounts each with 2GB storage – more than many larger companies with their own mail infrastructure provide to employees.
A charged-for service supports 50 e-mail accounts and online contact management, while a premium service offers a greater range of internet applications, including basic document management and even customer relationship management systems.
Google is less specific than Microsoft in aiming its free services at small businesses, but the fact is that many small and even some larger companies already make use of offerings as diverse as Google Maps and e-mail.
But it is day-to-day software applications, including spreadsheets and word processing, that could do most to cut small businesses’ IT spending. Rather than pay for an office suite upfront, applications such as Writely give a good degree of functionality to a business user with a broadband connection and a browser. Google covers the cost of running the free version of Google Apps with advertising; businesses can opt for an ad-free version for $50 a month. And competition between companies offering “office 2.0” services should ensure costs stay low or even fall further.
“There are quite a few start-ups in the ‘office 2.0’ market,” says Nicholas Carr, author of Does IT Matter?. “There are two models for suppliers: build your own massive data centres, a la Google and Microsoft, or just create the software and then use other companies’ data centres to run the service. The latter model reduces the entry costs significantly.”
This could mean that companies with even quite specialist software needs might be able to find a free, or low- cost service, online. Online software service Salesforce.com, for example, extended its AppExchange service last year to allow third-party software developers to use it as a way to distribute their applications without first building infrastructure.
According to Peter Critchley, strategy director at IT consultancy Morse, the suitability of free or low-cost applications depends largely on how critical they are to the business that uses them.
“There is a trend for core technology to reduce in price and commoditise to the point where it is free or pseudo-free, or paid for in a different way,” he says. “The limits come down to the business criticality of the application. You might be happy running free web serving or free e-mail, if it would not hurt your business too much if the services are not available.”
Being able to turn to a competitor for a similar service will be vital if small and medium-sized enterprises, rather than consumers, are to accept the free software model.
Few if any businesses now question the fact that web browser software is free, even though it is critical to so many business processes; a company dissatisfied with Explorer can switch to Netscape or more recent alternatives, such as Firefox.
But companies do need to know they can transfer their data; the fact that web browsers are all based on standards is a key factor in making a switch feasible.
“Google and other companies are adopting standard, open data formats for many of the online applications,” says Nicholas Carr. “So it’s generally not difficult to extract your data in a usable format. But data transfers are always problematic, as different applications have different features and protocols. Companies should carefully consider the risk of lock-in, just as they should for bought hardware and software.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Small and medium-sized companies: Free software and services packed with value
Stephen Pritchard
Published: March 28 2007 10:14 | Last updated: March 28 2007 10:14
Technology trends are challenging the notion that anything free is likely to be of little value. Some of the largest technology companies, including Microsoft, Skype and Google, are focusing on new business models.
Skype, one of the pioneers of internet telephony, bases a large part of its business on the idea of providing some free services, in its case calls to other Skype users, and more recently, to some landlines.
Skype, of course, hopes to make money by selling other features, such as calls to fixed or mobile users, voicemail and numbers that link Skype to the fixed-line network for incoming calls. In some ways the business model is not far from that of the mobile phone business, where in many markets operators subsidise the phones, in order to sell airtime and other services.
None the less, the mobile business model is a way for small companies to acquire sophisticated equipment without paying an upfront fee: unsubsidised, a smart phone from the likes of Nokia, Motorola or HTC can cost almost as much as an entry-level laptop.
A number of mobile operators are understood to be looking at a similar model for laptops themselves, where the purchase cost of the machine is offset by a monthly charge for downloading data.
Even more interesting, perhaps, are some of the ideas coming from the software and internet services field. Small businesses and the self-employed have long used free e-mail services such as Hotmail and Googlemail. Often, small organisations only move to a more sophisticated e-mail system when the need to promote a corporate identity prompts them to register their domain name. And for many sole traders – from knowledge workers to builders – the brand is their name, and what comes after the @ symbol matters rather less.
But some small businesses do want more from their e-mail, and Microsoft and Google have both responded by offering a number of more flexible, hosted services. Microsoft, through its Live programme, allows companies to register their own domain names but still have up to 25 free e-mail accounts each with 2GB storage – more than many larger companies with their own mail infrastructure provide to employees.
A charged-for service supports 50 e-mail accounts and online contact management, while a premium service offers a greater range of internet applications, including basic document management and even customer relationship management systems.
Google is less specific than Microsoft in aiming its free services at small businesses, but the fact is that many small and even some larger companies already make use of offerings as diverse as Google Maps and e-mail.
But it is day-to-day software applications, including spreadsheets and word processing, that could do most to cut small businesses’ IT spending. Rather than pay for an office suite upfront, applications such as Writely give a good degree of functionality to a business user with a broadband connection and a browser. Google covers the cost of running the free version of Google Apps with advertising; businesses can opt for an ad-free version for $50 a month. And competition between companies offering “office 2.0” services should ensure costs stay low or even fall further.
“There are quite a few start-ups in the ‘office 2.0’ market,” says Nicholas Carr, author of Does IT Matter?. “There are two models for suppliers: build your own massive data centres, a la Google and Microsoft, or just create the software and then use other companies’ data centres to run the service. The latter model reduces the entry costs significantly.”
This could mean that companies with even quite specialist software needs might be able to find a free, or low- cost service, online. Online software service Salesforce.com, for example, extended its AppExchange service last year to allow third-party software developers to use it as a way to distribute their applications without first building infrastructure.
According to Peter Critchley, strategy director at IT consultancy Morse, the suitability of free or low-cost applications depends largely on how critical they are to the business that uses them.
“There is a trend for core technology to reduce in price and commoditise to the point where it is free or pseudo-free, or paid for in a different way,” he says. “The limits come down to the business criticality of the application. You might be happy running free web serving or free e-mail, if it would not hurt your business too much if the services are not available.”
Being able to turn to a competitor for a similar service will be vital if small and medium-sized enterprises, rather than consumers, are to accept the free software model.
Few if any businesses now question the fact that web browser software is free, even though it is critical to so many business processes; a company dissatisfied with Explorer can switch to Netscape or more recent alternatives, such as Firefox.
But companies do need to know they can transfer their data; the fact that web browsers are all based on standards is a key factor in making a switch feasible.
“Google and other companies are adopting standard, open data formats for many of the online applications,” says Nicholas Carr. “So it’s generally not difficult to extract your data in a usable format. But data transfers are always problematic, as different applications have different features and protocols. Companies should carefully consider the risk of lock-in, just as they should for bought hardware and software.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP startet Tests der Mittelstandssoftware
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP startet Tests der Mittelstandssoftware
Der deutsche Softwarekonzern SAP plant, seine mit Spannung erwartete neue Mittelstandssoftware bis zum Jahreswechsel zur Marktreife zu bringen. Dann falle die Entscheidung, ob das Produkt einer breiten Masse potenzieller Kunden angeboten werde, sagte Konzernchef Henning Kagermann der FTD.
Bis dahin soll das Paket, das mit neuen Vertriebs- und Servicemodellen verbunden ist, von einzelnen Anwendern erprobt werden. "Hier auf der Cebit zeigen wir ausgewählten Kunden und Partnern das Produkt", sagte Kagermann.
Das neue Angebot ist ein wichtiger Baustein für SAPs künftiges Geschäft. Der weltgrößte Hersteller von Programmen zur Unternehmenssteuerung will in den kommenden Jahren im Mittelstand besonders stark wachsen. Um mehr Kunden in diesem Marktsegment gewinnen zu können, hat das Unternehmen Anfang des Jahres ein neues Produkt angekündigt. In die Mittelstandssoftware mit dem Codenamen A1S will SAP rund 300 bis 400 Mio. Euro investieren.
Mittelstand gilt als besonders attraktiv
Der Mittelstand gilt als besonders attraktiv für Firmensoftwarehersteller, weil hier die Nachfrage stark wächst. Von der neuen Software verspricht sich SAP ab 2010 rund 760 Mio. Euro zusätzlichen Jahresumsatz und 10.000 neue Kunden pro Jahr. Das Produkt soll als Software zur Miete im Internet angeboten werden - ein Geschäftsmodell, mit dem andere Anbieter in den vergangenen Jahren hohe Wachstumsraten erzielt haben. Die SAP-Software soll vor allem über Internet und Telefon verkauft werden. Sie ist auf Unternehmen zugeschnitten, die sich mit einer Standardlösung zufriedengeben und auf eine firmenspezifische Anpassung verzichten können.
Das ist ein neues Geschäftsmodell, und das bringen sie nicht an einem Tag heraus", sagte Hans-Peter Klaey, bei SAP weltweit für das Mittelstandsgeschäft verantwortlich, der FTD. Im laufenden Jahr soll es mehrere Schritte geben, um das Produkt, aber auch Service und Marktzugangsstrategien zu prüfen.
Laut Kagermann wird das neue Angebot im zweiten und dritten Quartal ausgewählten Kunden vorgestellt. Im zweiten Halbjahr können erste Unternehmen mit dem Programm arbeiten. Dann soll das Geschäftsmodell auf den Masseneinsatz ausgerichtet werden. Weil SAP nicht nur die Software fertigstellen, sondern auch die nötige Infrastruktur und den Service aufbauen muss, ist der Zeitplan nicht in Stein gemeißelt. "All die Dinge sind Risikofaktoren, die natürlich zu anderen Einschätzungen führen können", sagte Kagermann.
Vertrauen der Anleger soll zurückgewonnen werden
Der SAP-Chef hofft, während der Phase der Einführung des neuen Produkts das Vertrauen der Investoren wiederzugewinnen. Das Unternehmen hatte zuletzt enttäuscht: Sowohl die Ankündigung der zusätzlichen Investitionen als auch eine unter den Erwartungen gebliebene Geschäftsentwicklung im vergangenen Jahr ließen den Aktienkurs fallen.
Kagermann schloss nicht aus, dass SAP weiteren Kundengruppen künftig Software zur Miete anbietet. "Wenn das funktioniert, will ich nicht ausschließen, dass wir mit dem Ansatz auch in andere Schichten hineingehen", sagte er. Allerdings ist er sich sicher, dass das neue standardisierte Produkt für den Mittelstand nicht von Großkunden eingesetzt werden wird. Der SAP-Chef sieht auch keine Gefahr für die bereits etablierten Produkte seines Konzerns. "Wir wollen nicht ein bestehendes Geschäft ablösen, sondern ein Zusatzgeschäft eröffnen", sagte Kagermann.
Der weltgrößte Hersteller von Unternehmenssoftware ist für sein Wachstum auf den Mittelstand angewiesen: Bis 2010 soll der Anteil, den diese Kunden zum konzernweiten Umsatz beisteuern, von heute 30 Prozent auf 40 bis 45 Prozent wachsen. Bis 2010 will der Anbieter den Kundenstamm von 38.000 auf 100.000 ausbauen. Als mittelständisch gelten Firmen mit bis zu 2500 Mitarbeitern.
Der deutsche Softwarekonzern SAP plant, seine mit Spannung erwartete neue Mittelstandssoftware bis zum Jahreswechsel zur Marktreife zu bringen. Dann falle die Entscheidung, ob das Produkt einer breiten Masse potenzieller Kunden angeboten werde, sagte Konzernchef Henning Kagermann der FTD.
Bis dahin soll das Paket, das mit neuen Vertriebs- und Servicemodellen verbunden ist, von einzelnen Anwendern erprobt werden. "Hier auf der Cebit zeigen wir ausgewählten Kunden und Partnern das Produkt", sagte Kagermann.
Das neue Angebot ist ein wichtiger Baustein für SAPs künftiges Geschäft. Der weltgrößte Hersteller von Programmen zur Unternehmenssteuerung will in den kommenden Jahren im Mittelstand besonders stark wachsen. Um mehr Kunden in diesem Marktsegment gewinnen zu können, hat das Unternehmen Anfang des Jahres ein neues Produkt angekündigt. In die Mittelstandssoftware mit dem Codenamen A1S will SAP rund 300 bis 400 Mio. Euro investieren.
Mittelstand gilt als besonders attraktiv
Der Mittelstand gilt als besonders attraktiv für Firmensoftwarehersteller, weil hier die Nachfrage stark wächst. Von der neuen Software verspricht sich SAP ab 2010 rund 760 Mio. Euro zusätzlichen Jahresumsatz und 10.000 neue Kunden pro Jahr. Das Produkt soll als Software zur Miete im Internet angeboten werden - ein Geschäftsmodell, mit dem andere Anbieter in den vergangenen Jahren hohe Wachstumsraten erzielt haben. Die SAP-Software soll vor allem über Internet und Telefon verkauft werden. Sie ist auf Unternehmen zugeschnitten, die sich mit einer Standardlösung zufriedengeben und auf eine firmenspezifische Anpassung verzichten können.
Das ist ein neues Geschäftsmodell, und das bringen sie nicht an einem Tag heraus", sagte Hans-Peter Klaey, bei SAP weltweit für das Mittelstandsgeschäft verantwortlich, der FTD. Im laufenden Jahr soll es mehrere Schritte geben, um das Produkt, aber auch Service und Marktzugangsstrategien zu prüfen.
Laut Kagermann wird das neue Angebot im zweiten und dritten Quartal ausgewählten Kunden vorgestellt. Im zweiten Halbjahr können erste Unternehmen mit dem Programm arbeiten. Dann soll das Geschäftsmodell auf den Masseneinsatz ausgerichtet werden. Weil SAP nicht nur die Software fertigstellen, sondern auch die nötige Infrastruktur und den Service aufbauen muss, ist der Zeitplan nicht in Stein gemeißelt. "All die Dinge sind Risikofaktoren, die natürlich zu anderen Einschätzungen führen können", sagte Kagermann.
Vertrauen der Anleger soll zurückgewonnen werden
Der SAP-Chef hofft, während der Phase der Einführung des neuen Produkts das Vertrauen der Investoren wiederzugewinnen. Das Unternehmen hatte zuletzt enttäuscht: Sowohl die Ankündigung der zusätzlichen Investitionen als auch eine unter den Erwartungen gebliebene Geschäftsentwicklung im vergangenen Jahr ließen den Aktienkurs fallen.
Kagermann schloss nicht aus, dass SAP weiteren Kundengruppen künftig Software zur Miete anbietet. "Wenn das funktioniert, will ich nicht ausschließen, dass wir mit dem Ansatz auch in andere Schichten hineingehen", sagte er. Allerdings ist er sich sicher, dass das neue standardisierte Produkt für den Mittelstand nicht von Großkunden eingesetzt werden wird. Der SAP-Chef sieht auch keine Gefahr für die bereits etablierten Produkte seines Konzerns. "Wir wollen nicht ein bestehendes Geschäft ablösen, sondern ein Zusatzgeschäft eröffnen", sagte Kagermann.
Der weltgrößte Hersteller von Unternehmenssoftware ist für sein Wachstum auf den Mittelstand angewiesen: Bis 2010 soll der Anteil, den diese Kunden zum konzernweiten Umsatz beisteuern, von heute 30 Prozent auf 40 bis 45 Prozent wachsen. Bis 2010 will der Anbieter den Kundenstamm von 38.000 auf 100.000 ausbauen. Als mittelständisch gelten Firmen mit bis zu 2500 Mitarbeitern.
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About Me
- Albert van Grondelle
- Lelystad, Flevoland, Netherlands
- Informatieprofessional gespecialiseerd in het organiseren van content, kennis en samenwerking(collaboration) in de onderneming.