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| E-business needs more town criers |
October 11, 2004 |
By Peter Wolchak
Remember town criers? They’re the guys who used to go about town shouting out the news. It was an essential service, as the populace back then was largely illiterate and, until Fox News was invented, these folks had no other way to learn about important events.
Back in 1666, the story yelled in the streets told about the Great Fire of London. Today, the story is about the boost e-business technology can provide to a company’s bottom line, and it seems we need town criers again, because apparently many in the business community are not hearing the news.
According to a recent set of reports by the Canadian e-Business Initiative (CeBI), a large percentage of Canadian firms are simply ignoring the benefits of front- and backoffice e-commerce technology.
Consider this: the 2004 Net Impact study found at least half of all Canadian small and medium businesses have not implemented even a single Internet business solution (IBS), and only 10 per cent of SMEs planned to do so.
Now, if by IBS the study meant honking-great ERP systems or the complete revamp of a supply chain to incorporate RFID tags, that stat would be less alarming. No one is surprised that a small company does not have theresources to support a massive tech implementation.
But that’s not what IBS means here. If a company has a Web site, it has an IBS. If it uses e-mail to communicate with suppliers, it has an IBS.
So half of Canadian SMEs haven’t even gone that far? That’s frightening, especially because those which have implemented even basic Internet business solutions have realized an almost 10 per cent upswing in revenue.
With half of small businesses left behind, what does that say about their competitiveness, and about the competitiveness of the overall Canadian economy?
The truth is Canada’s position as an e-commerce innovator is slipping in relation to other countries. The CeBI reports concluded that effective e-business technologies are available, that the business case for their use is solid, and that the cost of implementation is not prohibitively great. So what’s the problem?
A recent symposium sponsored by Industry Canada concluded that simply getting the e-commerce word out to small and medium businesses is vital. Backbone has been doing its bit. Let’s hope other town criers step out into the streets.
CALL TO ACTION: THE BRANHAM 300
We here at Backbone have often looked to the Branham Group’s annual Branham 300 as a bellwether for the tech industry. The ranking of Canada’s top 300 privately and publicly held information technology companies is a great resource for industry players and watchers.
For example, last year’s “Top 25 Canadian IT Up and Comers” list included PointShot Technologies, which made headlines with a mobile Internet-access
implementation it created in partnership with Bell Mobility and VIA Rail. The project gave full ’net access to passengers travelling between Toronto and Montréal, and was the f irst such implementation in North America. Also on the list last year was Q9 Networks, an outsourced Internet infrastructure provider. Q9 just announced the expansion of its Toronto data centre after its original installation filled up less than 48 months after opening. With U.S. hosting companies often struggling, Q9 is a Canadian success story, and its recognition along with PointShot’s last year is indicative of the Branham 300’s value.
So Backbone is extremely pleased to have signed a partnership agreement with Branham. As the media partner on the initiative, our March/April issue will feature the Branham 300 list and an analysis of those results.
The deadline for applications is Nov. 26. If you’ve got a success story and want more details on the Branham 300, check out http://www.branhamgroup.com/branham300.
Get the word out on what your company is doing.
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| Top 300 Issue |
 
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