Small business is big business [BT broadband office]

Small business is big business

Posted 11 September 2007 at 8:24AM by Simon Dickson in IT systems and support

The IT industry is finally realising that small business is big business. Some IT firms have, in the past, defined 'small' as being 'up to 500 employees'; but with 95% of UK firms employing fewer than 5 people, and computers becoming an integral part of virtually every operation, they are gradually waking up to the unsatisfied demands of small businesses. Oh, and the potential profits, too.

In the wake of falling sales and market share, Dell has decided to target the small business with its new Vostro line of laptops and desktops, promising 'a new idea: a suite of systems and services designed just for small business.' Prices start well under £200 - excluding VAT and delivery, and including a monitor. But the only obvious innovation (inside the box, at least) is the lack of 'unwanted trialware' - ranked as small business owners' number one frustration when buying IT. (By the way, Dell, small business owners aren't the only ones who hate that.)

Where Dell clearly hopes to deliver benefit to small business is with service and support 'from a dedicated team of small-business trained experts.' It's easy to buy your company's first PC, especially since you've probably bought a PC for home, and know what to expect. But for most people, buying and configuring a second machine is a step into the unknown. There just isn't much call for wireless networking, shared peripherals, storage and backup solutions, or servers in the typical home setup.

The reaction so far has been muted, with influential US columnist Walt Mossberg declaring: 'Judged by its hardware and software, the Vostro ... is mostly a branding-and-marketing ploy at the moment. Dell concedes the new line is 'just a first step' in what it swears will be a major initiative to serve very small businesses.'

But if it's business IT support you're after - and you'll forgive us for the occasional word from our sponsor - have a look at BT's Business IT Manager service: we can help you choose, buy, install and manage the right IT setup for your small business. Our IT Site Manager package will proactively monitor your systems, spotting - and often fixing - problems before you've noticed them. You also get the reassurance of a named contact at our UK-based call centre, and free engineering visits when you need them.

Tags: bt business it manager, dell, small business, trialware, vostro

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Comments

1. At September 11, 2007 12:09 PM, Douglas Logan wrote:

Your comment about what is / is not a small business is true. I work in the tourism industry and the government definition of an SME is huge. As you point out, most small businesses are 1-5 employees, ie micro businesses.
I have found DELL and BT Business not very helpful, if you even find out who you should contact!! I could not even understand the accent of the person in the Dell call centre, so I ended up without something that I needed for my computer and thought that I had ordered.

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