You\'re Not Alone - Simplaris
In May ‘08, The Toronto Star published a fascinating article citing the results of a 2007 Dell survey of twelve countries (Canada, U.S., France, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Britain, Japan, Germany and India) related to their small business technology needs.

On a broad level, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are coming into their own, currently representing one-third of the global market and growing. They’re aware of technology, with 66% acknowledging that IT is extremely important to their business and 88% of small business experts believing that SMB owners would reap financial benefits from greater awareness of their IT options.

The majority agree IT is important, but a real ‘day in the life’ of an SMB owner is typically anything but simple on the technology landscape. SMBs generally possess the basic hardware, with over 91% of US-based small businesses recording the use of computers. However, hardware without effective and efficient software is useless. Software needs may seem manageable at first:

  • I need a suite of tools (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.):
 $700.00
  • I need an accounting package:
 $200.00
  • I need a human resources/payroll solutions:
 $200.00

Total  

 $1,100.00

Then the business grows larger and an employee is hired who also needs the same software:

Total $1,100.00 X 2 =  

 $2,200.00

Time passes, and new editions come out at an incremental cost.

New needs develop, more employees are hired, collaboration and coordination challenges compound, new software is published and the cycle snowballs. Questions come from all directions; people need centralized access to the company’s resources and each other’s work, and there just isn’t the time to research each new technology direction to determine the right next steps for the business.

Technology can be one of the greatest financial, time and management burdens that the SMB owner will encounter, and running software on individual desktops creates overly complicated, fragmented systems that tie each employee to a specific computer.

How Can the Cycle Be Broken?

On-demand software or software-as-a-service (SaaS) has entered the technology arena in response to this problem. As Ridgely Evers, Founder and Chairman of NetBooks explains in his blog post, “SaaS is one of those marvelous things that’s nearly 100% upside. It is far more secure, and far easier to manage, than desktop software, and the fact that it lives on the Internet means that you can use it from anywhere. Best of all, it can tie together everyone in an organization, no matter where they are or what they do.” The software is centrally housed, and the service provider takes care of everything including maintenance, upgrades, etc. The SMB only pays a small licensing fee each month for the latest version of the solution, eliminating the up-front investment.

The next evolution to bridge the gap for SMB owners is the Personal Internet Consultant (PIC). Much like it sounds, a PIC provides guidance on how to get the most out of your time and IT dollar along with advice on next steps to optimize your business’ marketing and performance in the online arena. The PIC and SaaS eliminate two of the greatest impediments to SMB owners; cost and command of the technology. With both taken care of, the SMB owner has a head start in maximizing their growth and return through the use of technology.

You’re not alone and there is a solution.

Simplaris