The Gap with Larger Competitors

A converged network allows Small and Medium businesses to regain their edge over their Larger competitors and once again get closer to their Customers

Traditionally, small and medium size businesses have been more agile and more intimate with their customers than the typical large company could ever hope to be.

But I saw a major shift in the late '90s when large enterprises began taking advantage of networked solutions to establish effective communications channels and enable systems to share up-to-date customer information. This allowed customer-facing representatives across the enterprise to provide an enhanced customer experience thanks to their improved access to information. Suddenly, even the biggest companies could be closer to their customers and more effectively address their needs. Now the tide has turned once again. These network-based tools like voice over IP, or VoIP. Once reserved for large companies with dedicated IT staffs and hefty budgets - are now easy for small and medium size businesses to buy, deploy, and support as well.

One Network, Full Applications
A number of reasons have now made these sophisticated applications available for small and medium size businesses. Chief among these is the network itself. In the past, companies maintained disparate networks - one for voice communications, another for data, and possibly others for discrete business systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP). Increasingly, small and medium size businesses are merging these networks into one intelligent, secure Internet Protocol network that reduces operating costs and boosts employee productivity. By 2010, approximately 40% of companies will have integrated their voice and data communications into a single network, according to estimates from research firm Gartner.

A coverged IP Network is less expensive to design and operate, simpler to manage and maintain, and handles data, voice, and video traffic. This makes it possible for small and medium size businesses to enhance their interaction with customers,who increasingly expect an efficient, positive experience when they communicate with companies, no matter the size. Small and medium size businesses that have already converged their networks are deploying a wide variety of applications that take advantage of this synthesis.

For example, they can integrate a call-center application to their customer and increasingly ERP & MRP System is allowing representatives not only to instantly retrieve updated customer information, but also accurate supply chain data such as current inventory levels or delivery schedules.