Most businesses are small (over 98% have less than 100 employees) and they like it that way: they value the flexibility, responsiveness and customer interaction. So why did Avaya recently make a major announcement encouraging small businesses to “Think Big?” and why are they hosting a customer event on June 22nd for customers and prospects to find out MORE?
Well it’s probably not because Avaya thinks small is bad: small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) have helped make Avaya the No.1 provider of business communications systems. More than seven million workers around the world rely on Avaya IP Office, Avaya’s flagship small business solution.
What Avaya was saying is the competitiveness of an organization is now less dependent on its size than ever before. The playing field is not completely level (it never will be) but it’s better than ever before. By making smart use of today’s communications capabilities, small businesses can compete against anyone, anytime, anywhere, any size. If you think it, you can do it. Here are just three reasons why:
Advanced capabilities: Communications solutions for SMEs used to be “stripped down” versions of solutions for enterprises. Avaya IP Office was designed from the ground up for SMEs and includes support for mobility, presence, video communications and more that used to be available only on solutions for larger enterprises.
Mobility: The mobility and routing capabilities of a solution like Avaya IP Office make it easy to connect people and offices in one, cohesive responsive unit. A small company can hire home-based workers, or open small branch offices, or more effectively connect employees on their mobiles and deliver seamless, customer service as easily as a much bigger company with many more employees.
Scalability: You can grow quite large with today’s “small business” systems. Avaya IP Office handles up to 32 locations and 1,000 users.
One Avaya small business customer recently hit the nail on the head: “We do several million dollars a year,” he said. “We’d never be able to touch that without the communications that we have here.” View the video about this business, a veterinary practice outside Cincinnati, as well as other companies at http://www.avaya.com/usa/portfolios/small-business/?view=what-customers-say
For all of these reasons, now is the time to start “Thinking Big”—and using communications to get there. Also, don’t forget to enter our contest: www.avaya.com/innovators