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Microsoft Surveys SMBs to Identify Business Priorities

March 25, 2009 5:22 PM
   Microsoft today released its first-ever Microsoft SMB Insight Report, which is planned as an annual study of the business challenges and technology priorities facing SMBs.

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The report identified virtualization, IT consolidation, business intelligence, software as a service (SaaS) and support of remote workers as the top technology investment priorities for SMBs in 2009.
 
The authors surveyed over 600 Microsoft Small Business Specialists in five countries.
 
The following are some of Microsoft's key findings on the technologies most likely to drive growth and profitability for SMBs in 2009:
 
·         50% identified virtualization or IT consolidation through a small or midsize server as the technology most likely to reduce operating costs.
·         The Small Business Specialists expect a 20 % increase this year in the number of SMBs that use software as a service.
·         More than 50 % of the Small Business Specialists considered customer relationship management (CRM), virtualization or IT consolidation through a small or midsize server as the best investment for maximizing business growth in a down economy.
·         Nearly 40 % expect an increased interest in business intelligence and identified it as a critical tool for helping improve a customer's experience and increase loyalty.
·         More than half of the surveyed Small Business Specialists anticipate an increase in the number of SMB remote workers, and nearly 60 % expect that the shift to more remote workers also will lead to bigger roles and more responsibilities for those individuals working remotely.
 
A complete version of the 2009 Microsoft SMB Insight Report is available online.
 
 

Skype for SIP: VoIP Provider Targets Corporate PBX Market

March 23, 2009 7:58 AM
It was only a matter of time.
 
Skype today announced the Skype For SIP beta program, which will enable businesses to receive and manage inbound calls from Skype users on SIP-enabled PBX systems, connecting a company's Web site to the PBX system via click-to-call. The beta is initially available to a limited number of participants.
 
The financial benefits are clear, allowing businesses to connect to over 400 million registered Skype users while offering the features and integration capabilities of traditional office PBX systems.
 
According to the official announcement:
 
The beta version of Skype For SIP will enable business users to:
·         Place Skype calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide from any connected SIP-enabled PBX; reducing costs with Skype's low-cost global rates
·         Purchase Skype's online numbers, to receive calls to the corporate PBX from landlines or mobile phones
·         Manage Skype calls using their existing hardware and system applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail.
 
Beginning today, SIP users, phone system administrators, developers and service partners are invited to apply to the Skype For SIP beta program. Applicants will need to be businesses, have an installed SIP based IP-PBX system, as well as a level of technical competency to configure their own SIP-enabled PBX.
 
During the beta period all calls will be charged at standard Skype rates. Further pricing details will be announced when the product is fully launched later this year.
 
 

Alcatel-Lucent CFO Sees Profitability Ahead

March 13, 2009 2:10 PM
A French newspaper is quoting Alcatel-Lucent's CFO as saying he expects a return to profitability by the latter part of next year.
 
Paul Tufano, the company's chief financial officer, was quoted in Les Echos, as saying, "Regarding net income, we expect to return to profits during 2010, most likely in the second-half of the year."
 
Back in December company CEO Ben Verwaayen unveiled Alcatel-Lucent's strategic plan, which called for working closely with Alcatel-Lucent's service provider, enterprise and application partners to -- as Verwaayen said -- "innovate, collaborate and partner... to stimulate a sustainable business model for the industry that will fuel innovation and the capital investment required to expand the overall web experience to more people and businesses."
 
At the time, company officials offered a break-even forecast in terms of operating profit in 2009.
 
As I wrote in the December piece:
 
In 2010, Alcatel-Lucent is targeting to achieve a gross margin in the mid thirties range and an operating margin in the mid single-digit range, and looking ahead to 2011, the goal of the company is to achieve a gross margin in the mid to high thirties range and an operating margin in the mid to high single-digit range.
 
Alcatel-Lucent received a measure of positive news from an R. W. Baird recommendation upgrade, from Neutral to Outperform. A recent Barron's article quoted the analyst team at Baird, who believe the risk/reward profile is attractive.
 
Alcatel-Lucent's balance sheet is probably the biggest concern for investors, but we believe its complexity has deterred investors from analyzing it in detail. Our analysis suggests the company's liquidity position is not overly concerning and balance-sheet risks may be overestimated by the market.
 
Alcatel's cash position is in reasonable shape and will receive a welcome injection of net cash in the second quarter when the company sells its stake in [European military-tech firm] Thales for 1.6 billion euros. Alcatel's pension obligations are sizable, currently valued at more than 10 times the company's market cap, but remain overfunded despite recent market turmoil due to the conservative allocation of plan assets. While comparisons with Nortel Networks are inevitable, and our worst-case scenario analysis suggests Alcatel could experience liquidity strains in 2011, we believe a bankruptcy or major liquidity problem is unlikely.

tw telecom's Herda Calls for National Business Broadband Policy

March 3, 2009 6:54 PM
tw telecom Chairman, CEO and President, Larissa Herda, delivered a keynote at Comptel this evening, calling on the industry to engage Congress and the FCC in establishing a national Broadband Policy for Businesses that will spur innovation for enterprises and create jobs in what she termed, the New Broadband Economy.

Just hours before Herda's presentation, President Obama ended months of sepculation, and announced that he has nominated Julius Genachowski to head the Federal Communications Commission.
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Herda urged the competitive carriers in attendance to fight for a national business broadband policy that includes three critical points -- effective regulation of Special Access, including Ethernet services, and UNE last-mile facilities; interconnection for IP voice and data services; and a reform or elimination of the forbearance process.
 
She noted that 2009 has been quite a year so far, with a new administration, a crazy market, and many challenges, but there is hope.
 
Herda described the industry as facing uncertainty, with treacherous market conditions, and sleepless nights, the likes of which many had never experienced before.
 
She told the audience that we need wisdom from government as well as business leaders, to navigate these treacherous waters.
 
"As an industry, we are at a cross roads," Herda said, "we face new challenges, and a long road lies ahead of us."
 
She got a good response from the assembled group when she likened the past decade to a popular reality television show. "The past eight years has been Survivor FCC, but with no immunity on the island," she said.
 
Herda called on government regulators to treat everyone fairly. "There cannot be one set of rules for only the most powerful and a different set of rules for everyone else," she said.
 
"We can continue down the same paths, permitting consolidation and deregulation to limit competition and forestall innovation," Herda said, "or we can unleash the power of competition for the good of the entire U.S. economy"
 
"We must enable the enterprise with technological solutions that will propel and accelerate growth," she said.
 
In the end it's about the customer. "Customers will either reap the benefits or suffer the costs."
 
Herda again, "The world has changed. The way we interconnect with the incumbent needs to change, because the enterprise customer is changing what they're doing, how they're doing it, and the applications they're developing," Herda said. "A comprehensive broadband policy for business must focus on better, more efficient, more scalable ways to interconnect with the incumbents."
 
Herda foresees a fundamental shift in enterprise data as customers adopt and implement applications such as Collaboration, Web 2.0 applications, Software as a Service, Ethernet and Storage, Telepresence, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Green IT and Cloud Computing; all of which require massive amounts of data bandwidth.
 
"Demand for bandwidth is growing -- exponentially," she said. "Yet, access to the end user customers and the buildings is generally constrained -- limited to the facilities available only from the incumbent. This limited access often means higher prices and less innovation, which inflicts harm not just on our business, but more importantly on the hospitals, schools, banks, and government agencies on which our nation depends for economic progress."
 
"The bottom line is that competition drives innovation," Herda added. "We need a healthy competitive environment to spur innovation that delivers better solutions to the enterprise customer because that will lead to a more stable and healthy economy."

Siemens Announces Results of Communications Survey

February 24, 2009 10:55 AM
Siemens Communications announced the results of a global survey conducted by SIS Research that uncovered the top five pain points in communication for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The survey found that companies with 100 employees could be losing more than $5,000 per employee per year by not addressing common communication issues.
 
Among the key findings:
 
·         68% of respondents have trouble coordinating communications among team members, affecting their ability to respond quickly to time-sensitive requests.
·         68% of respondents said they experience work delays while waiting for information from others.
·         77% of respondents receive unwanted communications that disrupt workflow and decrease productivity.
 
 
 
The complete text of the release as I received it follows:
 
 
Companies with 100 Employees Could Be Losing More Than $5,000 Per Employee Per Year by Not Addressing Inefficient Communication Issues
 
Communications barriers and latencies can cost small and medium businesses up to 40 percent of their productive time, according to a Siemens-sponsored global study
 
 
On average, 70 percent of employee respondents of small and medium businesses (SMBs) with up to 400 employees said they spend 17.5 hours each week addressing the pain points caused by communications barriers and latencies, according to a global study sponsored by Siemens Enterprise Communications and conducted by SIS International Research. The research also showed that while SMB awareness of unified communications as a solution is rising, nearly 60 percent of SMBs do not currently employ one based on the sampling.
 
In addition, researchers at SIS International Research determined that the time spent per week dealing with communications issues was more than 50 percent higher in companies with more than 20 workers. In hard costs, the study concluded, companies of 100 employees could be losing more than $500,000 each year by not addressing their employees' most painful communications issues.
 
Key Findings. The Siemens-sponsored SMB study ascertained the top five pain points to be, in order of their estimated expense to an SMB: inefficient coordination; waiting for information; unwanted communications; customer complaints; and barriers to communication. Specifically, they obtained the following responses to each of these pain points:
 
1. Inefficient Coordination: Sixty-eight percent of respondents have trouble coordinating communications among team members, affecting their ability to respond quickly to time-sensitive customer requests. They also average 3.7 hours per week attempting to coordinate communications across team members, slowing the realization of goals and deadlines.
 
2. Waiting for Information: Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they experience work delays while waiting for information from others that they have attempted to reach live multiple times using multiple methods. The average delay is 3.5 hours per week per knowledge worker. This is a considerable amount of time to spend before making progress on a particular task, which could negatively affect critical business processes.
 
3. Unwanted Communications: Unwanted communications, including low-priority calls and voicemail, were experienced by the survey group by 77 percent of respondents, who said they spend two or more hours per week dealing with unwanted communications. These interruptions create distractions and disrupt workflow, leading to lower productivity and missed deadlines.
 
4. Customer Complaints: Seventy-four percent of respondents said they average 3.3 hours per week dealing with negative comments or complaints from customers, specifically because the customer was unable to reach them in a timely fashion. This eight percent loss in productivity is itself significant, but the true cost of customer dissatisfaction may be much greater.
 
5. Barriers to Collaboration: Sixty-one percent of respondents find difficulty in establishing collaboration sessions with colleagues and average 3.3 hours per week attempting to address issues of inaccessibility or lack of full collaboration with colleagues.
 
Other Findings. Another finding of the SIS International Research study is that SMB employees are highly mobile, with more than 50 percent identifying themselves as mobile workers, either traveling outside the office, roaming inside the office, or working from home some or all of the time. Overall, SMBs placed a high or very high priority on improving communications for mobile workers.
 
Researchers also confirmed that SMBs are increasingly using various communications technologies, including phone, instant messaging, and video conferencing, in an effort to increase productivity. However, they found that the proliferation of these technologies has created multiple points of presence for individual employees with which other employees must contend. The resulting fragmentation of the SMB communication fabric can create a barrier to effective communications and collaboration.
 
According Frost & Sullivan analyst, Vanessa Alvarez, in general SMBs currently have very ad-hoc communications strategies in place. Integrated unified communications solutions, such as Siemens OpenScape® Office, which integrates voice, email, instant messaging, presence and mobility, can help efforts to solve the increasingly fragmented communications landscape SMBs are facing. "With the SIS research suggesting that unified communications can help SMBs eliminate as much as 20 percent of hidden costs due to fragmented communications, it's clear that the return on investment is significant," Alvarez said.
 
"This study echoes the very communication pain points that many of our SMB customers have told us are driving their adoption of our UC solutions," said Rudolf Hamann, Vice President of SMB Product Management, Siemens Enterprise Communications. "Although we are seeing strong adoption in this market, based on this study's findings, we believe that more than 60 percent of SMBs are not currently using a UC solution and are missing out on a major opportunity to cut costs. In addition, they can gain new levels of competitiveness, productivity and collaboration."
 
"Even by assigning hard costs of more than $5,000 per employee a year for these pain points, there remain the soft costs of lost opportunities and customer dissatisfaction due to the lack of responsiveness caused by disparate communications."
 
The study surveyed a total of 513 knowledge workers, in Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, United States, and United Kingdom. The knowledge workers also represented eight key vertical industries: communications, finance, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, professional business services, real estate, and wholesale or retail trade.
For an executive summary of the research, go to [www.siemens.com/us/open/smb].
 
 
About Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN Group)
 
The SEN Group is a premier provider of enterprise communications solutions. More than 14,000 employees in 80 countries carry on the tradition of voice and data excellence started more than 160 years ago with Werner von Siemens and the invention of the pointer telegraph. Today the company leads the market with its "Open Communications" approach that enables teams working within any IT infrastructure to improve productivity through a unified collaboration experience. SEN Group is a joint venture between the private equity firm, The Gores Group, and Siemens AG and incorporates Siemens Enterprise Communications, Enterasys Networks, SER Solutions, Cycos and iSEC. In fiscal 2008, The SEN Group generated revenues of approximately 3.21 billion Euros.
 
Note: Siemens and OpenScape are registered trademarks of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
 
This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
###
 

Is This the Beginning of Nortel Sell-off?

February 20, 2009 1:41 PM
Radware is acquiring Nortel's Layer4-7 application delivery products, which were originally acquired by Nortel in 2000 by way of its purchase of Alteon.
 
It was not unexpected that Nortel would shed some assets as it strives to restructure itself while under bankruptcy protection. Radware, based in Israel, was earlier rumored to be interested in Nortel's Metro Ethernet products.
 
We'll see if this portends a bigger breakup of the once high-flying telecom gear maker.
 
Radware issued the following statement: (reprinted in full)
 
Radware (NASDAQ: RDWR), the leading provider of integrated application delivery solutions for business-smart networking, today announced that it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Nortel [TSX: NT, OTC: NRTLQ] to purchase certain assets related to Nortel's Layer 4-7 Application Delivery Business. Nortel added the application switch product line in October 2000 by way of its corporate acquisition of Alteon WebSystems, Inc.
 
"We believe acquiring Nortel's Application Delivery Business is a strategic move that will directly benefit Radware and Nortel's [Alteon] customers. Our ultimate goal is to provide them with a stronger, integrated product backed by world-class support and a globally-focused organization," stated Roy Zisapel, CEO, Radware. "We are committed to making this transaction seamless for existing Nortel [Alteon] customers and intend to take the necessary steps to ensure zero disruption to their business when the transfer occurs."
 
As part of the intended acquisition, Radware would take on Nortel's application delivery products, offering them under a merged brand, Radware Alteon. From the onset, Radware plans to significantly invest in service and support for the existing Nortel [Alteon] customer base as well as augment its current global support infrastructure with all of the necessary resources to guarantee world-class support for these customers.
 
Additionally, Radware intends to reinforce its commitment to all existing Nortel [Alteon] customers by offering a 5-year support product plan, thus securing the investment of these customers in Nortel [Alteon] technology. Radware also intends to invest in these products by continuing to sell them and invest in their development - leveraging mutual strengths of both Radware and Nortel [Alteon] technologies and experience - to provide customers with the next generation of more reliable, high-performance and feature-rich solutions.
 
"This move is a positive one for both companies and their respective customers and partners," offered Lucinda Borovick, Research Vice President, Datacenter Networks, IDC. "It will provide a stable path forward for existing Nortel application delivery customers with an established industry provider that specializes in this space and will continue to invest in the advancement of the product line."
 
The assets to be acquired under the agreement include Nortel's Layer 4-7 application delivery products, intellectual property, certain tangible assets and inventory and certain service contracts. Radware also plans to take on certain employees who will be integrated into the Radware team with a specific focus on products under the Radware Alteon brand.
 
Nortel has filed the asset purchase agreement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware along with a motion seeking the establishment of bidding procedures for an auction that allows other qualified bidders to submit higher or otherwise better offers, as required under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. A similar motion for the approval of the bidding procedures has been scheduled with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Consummation of the transaction is subject to higher or otherwise better offers, approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the satisfaction of other conditions.
 

Keener on Obama's Broadband Stimulus

February 19, 2009 3:22 PM
Writing about President Obama's signing of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," TMCnet columnist Barlow Keener does a good job parsing the bill for its broadband communications related passages, from who will be doling out the funds (NTIA, RUS) to what the requirements are for getting those funds (jobs creation, shovel readiness...), and so on.

Rural highway.jpg
 
One thing I found interesting was the provision in the Bill for so-called "net neutrality obligations" contained in the legislation:
 
Grants provided must be subject to NTIA-determined "non-discrimination and network interconnection obligations" which "at a minimum" must follow the FCC's non-discrimination policy. Grants may be provided for a wide range of equipment and services including education of broadband subscribers.
 
It's an informative piece, one which I highly recommend.
 
 

Dell to Enter Smartphone Fray?

January 30, 2009 8:56 AM
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Dell is planning to release two new SMARTPHONES at the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.
 
To say it's a tall order to break into this market would be an understatement. Just ask Motorola how tough it could be. And Nokia... And Ericsson...
 
Blackberry is hot with their Storm smartphone, and of course Apple keeps moving iPhone after iPhone. Even the Google phone from T-Mobile (T1) is enjoying some success.
 
But that's quite a lineup to sidle up to and say "I want to compete with you."
 
The reports say that Dell would release a Windows Mobile version and an Android version as well.
 
Sure, Dell has competed (and for a while was winning the battle) on the PC and laptop front. They have the wherewithal to market and move products and accessories.
 
But will they compete on design? Ease of use? Access to apps? Price?
 
Time will tell.

Problems at the Post Office

January 29, 2009 8:58 AM
I heard the story on the radio coming in to work this morning, and I noticed that Rich has a post today about the Downward Spiral of Snail Mail as well.
 
Seems that the United States Postal Service, citing a precipitous drop in the amount of mail it carried last year, is facing a severe cash flow challenge and reported a net loss of nearly $3 billion last year alone.
 
Postmaster General John Potter appealed to a Senate committee yesterday, asking for among other things, the ability to cut back postal delivery to five days from the current six days a week.
 
Potter is asking Congress to amend a 1983 Postal Service law that mandates mail delivery every day but Sunday.

Might not seem that significant, but it would be a fundamental change to a basic service that we've all grown accustomed to. I doubt most people would complain or even notice, but for seom this may be a major inconvenience. Certainly businesses that depend on the timely delivery of certain information (periodicals, bills, etc...) would be affected.

I guess change is in the air.
 
Did you know that the lightest day for mail delivery is Tuesday?
 
Neither did I.
 
I know in Canada, for example, their postal service does not deliver on Saturdays.
 
And while I love most things Canadian, I hope that this isn't a small first step towards a giant leap in moving our government to a more Canadian model, particularly when it comes to things like taxes, national healthcare, new shoes on budget day, and a couple of other odd laws, such as:
 
·         You may not pay for a fifty-cent item with only pennies.
·         Citizens may not publicly remove bandages. (maybe this is a good thing?)
·         It is illegal for clear or non-dark sodas to contain caffeine.
·         In British Columbia, it is illegal to kill a Sasquatch.
·         In Toronto, you can't drag a dead horse down Yonge St. on a Sunday.
 
Maybe the last two aren't so bad, but I think you see where I'm coming from.
 
 

Analyst: Netbooks to Surge

January 26, 2009 11:03 AM
I bought a netbook, then I returned it without even opening it. It was a good deal, but even still the price was so close to the cost of a full-fledged laptop (with optical drive, bigger hard drive, bigger screen, etc...) that I thought I would either continue to live without or simply wait until the next generation of netbooks arrived.
 
I have always believed that the holidays are the worst time to buy technology as the stuff they announce at CES a month later is always more exciting. (I take buyer's remorse to extreme levels when it comes to gadgets and tech...)
 
Maybe waiting was a good thing.
 
ABI Research just released its forecast for a "market explosion" of netbooks, estimating that in 2009 we can expect to see 35 million netbooks shipped, growing to 139 million by 2013.
 
ABI Research Practice Director Kevin Burden describes the evolution of the portable computing tool, from the PDAs of "old" to the latest ultra-mobile PCs or UMPCs:
 
PDA's began our reliance on instant accessible data while traveling. When PDA functionality converged with cellular voice, smartphones became the new darling of mobile professional technology that many expected to evolve into the hub for all data and communication needs for travelling professionals. Today, with a better understanding for what a smartphone is, is not, and may never be, along with a reality check on the usefulness of UMPCs, the market remains open for new device types.
 
Smartphones did a lot to raise our comfort level with mobile technology as well our expectations for how connected we could be and how accessible information and data should be while on the road. Enter the netbook with its light-weight, medium-sized form factor and low-cost processors leading to moderate overall price points may finally have "right-sized" mobile technology for productive travels.
 
The jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. Netbooks offer a great space saving form factor and light weight, but most keyboards come in at 15-20% smaller than a traditional laptop. For a poor typist (read: fat fingers) like myself, is it worth that particular pain? Netbooks are the perfect device to leverage the wealth of Web-based apps and "from the cloud" computing tools, but why is it so hard to find one with built-in 3G wireless? What about battery life? When can I expect to get 6-8 hours from a single charge?
 
I know, I know, I've read the reports of HP's amazing 8-hour battery life and I've heard about Radio Shack's great deal ($99) that combines an Asus netbook with AT&T's 3G service. But that $99 turns into $1,500 bucks when you factor the cost of the service over the 2-year commitment.
 
Still I am intrigued by the form factor, and I believe that there is definitely a niche, whether it's for people who are extremely cost conscious, or simply looking for an alternate device fort raveling and so on.
 
Regardless of what I think, ABI believes we're on the verge of some serious netbook deployments. As they say, watch this space...
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