WebNow Online Solutions Simplified

Online businesses should consider using integrated technologies to attract a broader customer base, says WebNow.

While the reflected increase in internet connectivity is a very positive sign, just 10% percent of the population is connected to the internet. By contrast, some reports show that up to 90% have cell phones. Of those, around 65% have browsing capability. One Cape Town CEO urges online businesses to integrate both platforms into their marketing and operational plans.
Internet usage and broadband trend reports issued by World Wide Worx and Cisco have shown a dramatic increase in connectivity and use patterns compared with last year. Research data released in January revealed that 10% of South Africans are connected to the internet. Broadband usage data in March showed that internet access from a broadband connection has increased by 50%, with wireless access growing nearly three times faster than fixed line access.

Many businesses are migrating their operations to the internet environment, using online technologies such as cloud computing, ecommerce functionality and payment gateways such as PayPal. There are many reasons for doing so. Companies can reduce costs, enhance operational flexibility and expand their customer base to broader markets.

This is undoubtedly good news, reflecting increased confidence in the internet as an ecommerce medium. The Seacom cable, more reliable, cheaper connections and reducing hardware costs are clear influencing factors. But what of the remaining population and particularly small businesses who are not yet connected as a result of cost or lack of knowledge? Many may be alienated from commercial opportunities and possibly denied the chance to expand their own small businesses as a result of their lack of access.

Jean-Pierre Dumont, CEO of full service ISP and web development consultants WebNow, is asking the same questions, saying: “The usage statistics show some fantastic growth from last year. But the connectivity gap may alienate a large proportion of potential customers.” Dumont expresses the view that with just 10% of the population actively connected, businesses should consider how to integrate other tools to connect with the remaining 90% and broaden their customer base on their own doorstep.

Mobile internet and SMS platforms are the answer. With such significant cell phone penetration and over 60% of that penetration allowing mobile browsing, it is becoming much easier to expand a business’s customer base, and also to allow smaller traders to compete in a wider market.

Dumont continues: “Clearly, South Africa’s socio-economic structure has a great impact on the connectivity gap which will in turn influence the size of a business’s economically active market. But the point is that there are technologies available that enable a two-prong approach to help online businesses interact directly with their customers without relying on a customer’s own connectivity.”

In one example, WebNow is currently developing a platform for a web-based business seeking to attract users who lie at both ends of the connectivity scale. The system’s end users lie within the connected demographic. But the vast majority of the business’s service providers do not have internet connections. As a result, a large proportion of the marketing and development budget is being allocated to two-way SMS functionality.

By integrating different platforms into the development architecture, it allows the internet to be used as a pull mechanism to help customers find service providers. At the same time, the system leverages South Africa’s widespread cell phone coverage to push service providers towards their customer base.

By taking this approach, it will be possible to open up many more commercial opportunities for businesses working from grassroots level right up to well entrenched major corporates.”

There is a buzz around the office and an air of excitement. Something is looming....

Identifying that "something" is the challenge. There are winds of change blowing over the industry. Many experts predict that 2010 will be the year that defines our Connected Futures.
So how do one approach such a time? By coming up with new and improved ways of doing business. Innovation will be the order of the day, new products should come to the forefront, new levels of customer service will required in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors. This is an exciting time to be a client.  

It seems clear that SaaS (software as a service) offerings will be the definitive answer to the question, What happens now? Faster and more reliable broadband connections ensures that South Africa is ready for this movement. Although be it, a few years behind our 1st world compatriots, we are gearing up to explore this untouched landscape.

What does this mean for everyday South Africans? Gone are the days that you need to install a program or application with a cd or dvd on every computer in your office. Things will run more securely and much faster. All you will need is an internet connection to  access and utilise your Accounting Programs.

WebNow is spending quite a lot of time researching and developing these "services" and we are preparing the release of some fantastic concepts. These services will change the way we do business from now on. 

If all this post did, was to intrigue you, then I succeeded. The time is right to get online and be part of something big. As mentioned, all you need is an internet connection!

If you are looking for an ADSL solution for your office or home you need to prepare yourself for the array of options and technology out there in order to make an informed choice of service provider.

If you already have some sort of connection to the Internet you going to start your search on Google, and you are going to get hundreds and thousands of results. If you don’t have access to the Internet currently you are going to probably turn to the Yellow Pages and look up “Internet Service Provider”, make a call to their call centre and get considerably confused.

First up, you need to decide on whether you require a shaped or un-shaped ADSL service because this will change the price dramatically.

In order to shape an ADSL service an internet service provider will restrict certain types of web traffic that you can use with your ADSL. So for example you may not be able to get to certain websites like Facebook or you will not be able to use voice over IP services such as Skype.

The reason why service provider do this is because certain types of web traffic use up lots of bandwidth and so if they own 10 GB of traffic for example and sell 1 GB bundles of this they can sell more (by over subscribing) if they sell unshaped ADSL.

So if you only using your ADSL for e-mail and for going to locally hosted websites then a shaped ADSL service is fine, but if you want to go to International websites, use Skype and watch movies then un-shaped is the way to go.

Finweek , a South African business publication that is normally quite conservative with the content it publishes, wrote a cover feature on social networking last week. I think if a magazine like this is making bold statements about adopting social networks and giving employees more freedom then every business should be listening.

It is not just Finweek that is advocating the use of these social networking tools.  The European Commission sees three drivers for use of the internet of the future - social networking, 'the internet of things' and the mobile internet.  The article titled "Businesses need to sign up to social networks" was published on ZDNet.co.uk. 

The era of Web 2.0 has matured and the future lies with businesses that adapt and effectively use it to communicate and collaborate. This change needs to be slow and various implementations need to be tried until your business finds what works, but the reality is that without it your business will be left behind.

The article mentions that large amount of people in South Africa who already access the Internet from mobile devices, whether that is purely from the mobile phones or from a 3G/HSDPA device. When your workforce is accessing e-mail while on holiday in remote locations, and others are sitting in cubicals, in order to collaborate effectively you need to offer your employees some sort of platform whether it be Sharepoint, Facebook or Twitter.

As we still in the beginning stages of 2009 why not conduct a brainstorming session involving all your employees using a social networking platform, let it run for a week – who knows you could get your next big idea out of there or find a potential leader! 

I read an article on Biz-Community yesterday regarding trends in 2009 and the opportunities created by those trends.

The article speaks about what analyst firms like Gartner have been saying for years:

• People are on the move and prefer to work from where ever they are instead of a fixed location.
• Employee measurement and tracking systems need to be changed from how long an employee sits in an office for to a performance based measurement system.
• Office space is expensive; as is office furniture and your customers don't want to pay a premium for your services to fund this expense.

When you look at businesses in South Africa, there are very few that have embraced this concept and allow employees to telecommute and rather have a true virtual office or a hot desk system (a desk that any employee can use when they are in the office).

Yet as a business in South Africa you have the tools to offer this to employees, there are a range of broadband  offerings available from ADSL to HSDPA, employees can use VoIP and instant messaging to communicate with internal as well as external customers, and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft's SharePoint enable effective remote working.

In an era where talent is scarce, giving all your employees ADSL at home and launching a telecommuting program will be seen as a perk and will attract new talent, besides the fringe benefits of saving your business money as you require less space, and saving the environment by reducing carbon emissions caused from commuting.