Written by: Compass Intelligence
6/6/2007 2:00 PM

IBM, MICROSOFT, CISCO, AT&T & SALESFORCE.COM RANK HIGH IN ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES, ACCORDING TO COMPASS INTELLIGENCE

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, JUNE 6th, 2007 - According to new research from Compass Intelligence, LLC, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, AT&T and Salesforce.com all have something in common: they do a good job of providing a meaningful, relevant online experience to Small and Mid-sized Business (SMB) decision-makers. Compass Intelligence began an extensive research project to determine key best practices with regard to online relationship building with SMB decision-makers at the beginning of the second quarter of this year. This research, part of the firm's Customer Experience Model practice, included analysis of the websites of 40 vendors, primary research with more than 540 SMB decision-makers and briefings with several of the vendors reviewed in the research.

"The Web is a viable platform through which to engage SMB decision-makers meaningfully and is one of the key chan¬nels through which these customers currently inform their ICT purchase decisions," says Kneko Burney, President of Compass Intelligence. "What's more, SMB decision-makers are looking to the Web as a means to further engage with customers, suppliers, key vendors, partners, each other, experts and more. As such, vendors hoping to tap into the massive SMB market opportunity, worth more than $289 Billion in ICT spending in the US, will need to invest in Web strategies that do more than just drive transactions, but that also work to build relationships," says Ms. Burney.

Out of 40 tech and non-tech vendors, below are the top 10 vendors winning the SMB online experience race (Rankings in order):

1.  IBM
2. Microsoft
3. Cisco
4. AT&T
5. Salesforce.com
6. HP
7. Dell
8. Intuit
9. 37signals
10. Verizon

With regard to the top ranked vendors: 

1. IBM provides a rich and consistent experience for customers online, with portals for both Small and Mid-sized business customers tailored to meet each segment's individual needs.
2. Microsoft's powerful Small Business resources combined with a variety of targeted learning-based tools set its experience apart.
3. Cisco takes a more non-nonsense approach and focuses on putting products, tools, and information into context with business needs.
4. AT&T also leverages a powerful Small Business experience, which is built to serve up tailored content for each user based on their profile.
5. Salesforce.com stands out with regard to providing a separate online experience for existing customers, which is built around personal interactions with Salesforce.com experts and with each other.

Compass Intelligence, a consulting and market analytics company, specializes in segment and vertical market intelligence for the high-tech, IT and telecom industries. Compass Intelligence offers clients a completely new research experience with a unique and intuitive online intelligence tool, INSTANT Access. The company provides market intelligence, forecasts, competitive analysis, market data, insights, and announcement analysis for multiple markets. Discover the Compass Intelligence difference and visit http://www.compassintelligence.com .

Company Contacts:

Kneko Burney
President & Chief Strategist
kneko@compassintelligence.com

Amie Perez
Operation Manager
(972) 287-5952
aperez@compassintelligence.com

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