Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Small Business Technology Needs

Almost any business-related technology on the market--broadband services, IT infrastructure, office productivity software, accounting software, CRM software , etc.--was originally designed with enterprise-level business in mind. This is not because of some unrighteous bias against mom-and-pops and the small business backbone of America. It's a simple matter of economics. As businesses form around technology innovations, the earliest adopters will be those with the budget to buy, and those are most commonly large business.

So what's the net result? When technology vendors enter the marketplace gunning for big business--looking to land a whale or two, not a thousand tiny bluegill--they inevitably tailor their solutions to attract this level of macro-enterprise. But eventually, and more rapidly of recent, technologies become affordable for micro-enterprise. The only question is: when they do, does the shoe fit?

PC's, for example, existed for decades in a business environment where most customers had an IT staff that could handle patches, upgrades, and bugs. But, as the technology became more and more affordable for small business and in-home use, the paradigm which once demanded a buyer have on-site technicians and support no longer fit. I still firmly believe that Mac's are less powerful and less adaptable in a large network environment. But, they key to their success has been the introduction of a newly re-designed solution that accommodates the unique needs of the emerging small-business and SOHO market.

Broadband is no different. As high-speed internet came available, those that could afford T1 and T3 connections made no beef about the extreme difficulty with which WAN networks could be integrated and secured. The PCI-DSS came along and really added a heavy burden, but enterprise-level buyers relied on a wealth of in-house technical resource. Today, however, broadband needs to be available to the small chains, the small businesses, and the rural offices. Accel Networks' fixed wireless broadband solution is a managed solution. From provisioning to plugging it in, Accel can manage the entire system for end-users. And, with our easy-to-use management tools, even small business owners aren't afraid to call themselves the "network admin."

The trend from big to small, from whale hunting to netting schools of small business, has happened in nearly every market since the industrial revolution. Today, small business computing, small business account software, small business crm software, small business this and that technology are all growing wildly. What will be the next emerging technology to become affordable and usable to the small business market?

Labels: Broadband, Small Business