Global study of small businesses reveals growing demand for software as a service.

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. today launched the results of a global study looking at how small businesses use and manage their IT, as well as their attitudes toward hosted IT services. The research highlighted that many small businesses struggle to compete with big businesses and are unsure of how to get access to higher-quality IT services that could help them. Government support is often widely used and well-received, but in some cases, it is thought to be too limited. Small businesses face numerous challenges with IT but are also seeing the benefits that mobile working and social networking can bring.

Despite global concerns about an economic slowdown, most small businesses reported that they had performed well in the past year. Globally, 39 percent of businesses had grown, while 36 percent had remained steady in the past year. Hosted IT solutions appear to offer some of the answers raised by the small businesses surveyed. Not only does buying software on a subscription basis reduce the reliance on IT skills and offer enterprise-class security protection, but it enables businesses to focus on other business priorities.

The research also highlighted that some emerging markets are outpacing western countries in terms of new technology adoption. About 87 percent of Russian small businesses surveyed have branded company e-mail, while 63 percent have a customer database and an above-average 24 percent use mobile e-mail. Similarly, Russian small businesses are the most likely to have IT (97 percent), while fewer (91 percent) U.S. small businesses used IT.

Meanwhile, 67 percent of Chinese small businesses use social networking applications to talk to existing customers and 57 percent use them to promote their business. That compares with just 26 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of small businesses in the U.K. -- typically seen as a mature market -- that use social networking to talk to existing customers or promote their business. The research also found that 65 percent of the small businesses surveyed would consider buying IT services on a subscription basis, such as hosted e-mail, shared calendaring and other applications.

"Despite their varying businesses and greatly differing needs, many small businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on information technology and the Internet for networking, communications and sales. As they become more Web-savvy, we're seeing that small businesses are starting to seriously consider hosted services to meet some of their IT needs," said John Zanni, general manager, Software + Services Industry team, for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "At this time of economic uncertainty, the benefits of buying IT services on a subscription basis become ever more apparent."

The research, which surveyed small businesses' attitudes on a range of areas, also found that many have "IT envy" for the resources of larger businesses. A vast majority -- 79 percent -- think that larger businesses gain significant advantage from having access to better IT resources. Despite this, 37 percent still use Web mail, such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! services, rather than business e-mail services such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange.

Meanwhile, small businesses' main priority -- managing relationships and customer service -- was found to be highly dependent on IT, because 89 percent of firms also agreed that professional communications are important to their business.

Other findings from the research indicated that small businesses desire more developed capabilities for security and mobile services, with 56 percent of small businesses indicating they would prefer to have more protection from viruses and spam. Meanwhile, 44 percent of small businesses believe they would benefit from mobile e-mail and shared calendar functionalities.

"Today, using hosted software and services is an efficient way of getting high-quality and professional communications services at a predictable cost without the need for upfront investments or time-consuming implementations or maintenance. As businesses can pay on a per-user, per-month basis, they can greatly reduce the cost, while still gaining enterprise-grade professional communications services such as mobile e-mail," said Michael Korbacher, director, EMEA Web and Application Hosting, for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "Microsoft envisions a world of software plus services that consists of a broad blend of traditional applications and services available over the Internet. As small businesses become more and more Internet-literate, the case for using software online will drive strong demand for service providers."

Key findings from the research include the following:


-- Half of the small organizations were found to receive some kind of information or support from public services or government bodies. The exceptions were Russia, where the figure is 32 percent; Italy, where it is 39 percent; and Japan, where the figure is 40 percent.

-- Overall, 61 percent of respondents said that professional-looking communications were either "critical" or "very important." Swedish, Russian and Australian small businesses are especially keen to promote the professional image, while Japanese and Chinese small businesses thought it a lower priority.

-- While only 15 percent of respondents noted "IT issues" as one of their top three time-consuming activities, in certain countries this task was seen as much more time-consuming -- for example, in Sweden and Canada.

-- Sweden was seen to be at the vanguard of IT utilization among respondent countries, with above-average adoption of technologies such as mobile e-mail, company-branded e-mail, customer databases and e-commerce Web sites. The U.K. and Russia also scored highly, with China and France showing less adoption of technologies.

-- The U.S. and France are the countries where small businesses are most likely not to have any IT, both at 9 percent. Only 3 percent of Russian small businesses have no IT.

-- Most of the time, IT support is provided by either the respondent or by someone within the organization, either a professional or an amateur. Occasionally, small companies will recognize that they need to invest in professional IT support; as suggested earlier, this is particularly so in Australia, where 34 percent of respondents used an external IT service and support company.

-- The local or national retailer of IT support is very important in this context, as is the online merchant. Around 89 percent of the respondent organizations use one of these three sources. While the British and French respondents use online more than most, Australian and Japanese organizations seem to prefer the local IT provider.

-- Overall, 65 percent of respondents said either "yes" or "maybe" when asked if they would consider using a hosting service.

-- About 47 percent of small businesses in total said their business would be better if they had more IT resources. Russian (72 percent) and Chinese (83 percent) small businesses felt most strongly about this, suggesting that small businesses in those countries felt IT provided a competitive enablement and advantage.

-- About 58 percent of small businesses revealed they use IT skills in-house, while 63 percent (in another question) said they believed larger enterprises with more IT resources gain a competitive advantage. Swedish small businesses were most likely (23 percent) to employ an IT specialist, while many Canadian (20 percent) small businesses also employed an IT specialist. About 34 percent of Australian small businesses used outside IT services and support, much more than any other country.


About the Research

The research report "Microsoft Global Small Business Index, October 2008" was executed by Vanson Bourne Ltd. between May and July in 2008. The research questioned more than 1,300 small businesses, including at least 100 in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Russia, plus 200 in the U.K. and the U.S. A copy of the full research report is available through mscsemea@webershandwick.com.


About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.


SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

Russia Issues $1 Billion in Collateral-free Loans to Commercial Banks

Russia injected another $1 billon (27.5 billion rubles) into commercial banks Tuesday, a portion of the 100 billion they they willing to loan.

There was a 9.5 percent cut off rate at the auction which lasted for 5 weeks.

India to Open Seattle, Atlanta Consulates in 2009

According to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh there will be two new consulates opened in the U.S. in 2009; one in Seattle and another in Atlanta.

Along with its Washington, D.C. embassy, India has consulates in New York, Chicago and Houston.

All of this is to increase awareness of opportunities to do business in India throughout the U.S.

Barclays May be Looking to Russian banks for Investment

While it declined to comment, reports are that British bank Barclays may be seeking financing from Russian lenders, although details aren't available on how much is being sought or whether it has been successful.

Recently Barclays has said they're pursuing about $10 billion to meet benchmarks set up by the British government.

Specific Russian banks mentioned in a report from the Wall Street Journal are VTB and Sberbank.

Barclays operates in Russia through their March acquisition of Expobank.

Ontario Trade Mission Leaves For China

McGuinty Government Pitches Green Technology To New Markets

TORONTO, Oct. 24 /CNW/ -

NEWS

Premier Dalton McGuinty is leading an Ontario delegation representing innovative companies on a trade mission to China to tap into new markets and bring new investment to Ontario.

Their aim is to create jobs, opportunity and prosperity in Ontario by selling environmental technologies to China. This is in response to China's efforts to reduce pollution by 10 per cent between 2006 and 2010. The trade mission includes nearly 30 delegates from 20 organizations.

The first stop for the Ontario trade mission will be Shanghai. The Ontario delegation will then travel to Nanjing on October 28 and Jinan on October 31.

QUOTES

"We're going to deliver the message that Ontario is open for business, ready to compete and equipped to win. There are great opportunities in China to promote our strengths in environmental technologies and create new partnerships. Now is the time to work together to bring jobs and opportunity to families in Ontario and China," said Premier Dalton McGuinty.

<<
QUICK FACTS

- China is investing $175 billion in environmental protection between 2006 and 2010.

- Premier McGuinty's first trade mission to China took place in November 2005 and included stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Hong Kong.

LEARN MORE

Learn more about Ontario's leadership in environmental technologies.

Read about the Council of the Federation, the Canada China Business Council and their mission to China.

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ontario.ca/premier-news
Disponible en français


For further information: Premier's Media Office: (416) 314-8975

Potash Corp. Expects to do Strong Business in China and India in 2009

Canadian-based Potash Corp. (POT.TO) CEO Bill Doyle said on a conference call that he expects the company to do solid business in China and India in 2009.

Business in the U.S. on the other hand will be slow for about four to six months until the spring planting seasons starts, said the CEO of the world's largest fertilizer company.

Boyle added that demand for corn fertilizer should outpace supply in the years to come. The major variable is whether corn prices can stay above $4 a bushel. Other than that, things are looking good for the company. At this time for the 2009 corn crop it stands at $4.30 a bushel.

According to Doyle, he also thinks some of his competitors may unexpectedly find themselves in highly leveraged positions, which would give them a chance to look into mergers & acquisitions with them.

The company has been exploding in growth the last couple years, as in the third quarter alone it has outperformed last year's record-breaking totals.

Surprisingly the company has suffered a huge decline in stock in relationship to funds selling off their stakes in order to get more liquid, as well as concerns commodities will be down for some time. The funds are wrong on the commodity long-term outlook, but they're in a forced liquidation stage and it will take some time before they have the funds to invest in commodity-related companies.

For China and India it confirms that while growth is slowing there, the shear size and needs of the countries will keep them growth markets for years to come.

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Research and Markets: Examine and Improve Your Understanding of Chinese Trade Associations & Events in China with this Essential Report

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Trade Associations & Events in China" report to their offering.

China will soon become the largest market in Asia for business and professional events. As elsewhere in the world, trade associations play an important role in the Chinese events industry, but, as with other aspects of business in China, they do not always work in the same way as in other countries and this is not necessarily well understood by those trying to do business there.

In this report, BSG has undertaken new research in an effort to answer the following key questions:

- Who are the key associations in China organising exhibitions, congresses and conferences?
- What role does the government play in most associations in China?
- How do Chinese trade associations generate revenues?
- What criteria do the associations use when selecting the city and venue for an event?

The report also draws on BSG's proprietary database of major exhibitions in China which has been built up since the company's formation in 2000.

For this report, BSG conducted interviews with major trade associations, exhibition organisers and relevant government officials. In addition, BSG leveraged our comprehensive database of business events in China to identify the key trade associations and exhibitions.

In the 1980's, trade associations in China used to be virtually indistinguishable from the government. The relationship has evolved significantly since then. Most trade associations no longer receive direct financial subsidies, but they do receive other forms of government support and key management positions at associations tend to be held by ex-government officials.

Key sources of revenue are fees from members and event organisation. BSG estimates that membership fees account for 70%-80% of trade association revenues and event-related revenues account for 10%-20%. The trade associations play a role in organising forums, seminars, conferences and large-scale exhibitions. They are either given a percentage of revenues or fixed fees.

The involvement of the association can range from lending their name to an event to actively promoting the event to their membership and taking responsibility for organisational tasks. Event organisers that work with trade associations in China most value the association's close relationship with relevant government authorities and their membership database.

Although the government in China is now less directly financially responsible for trade associations, it still maintains a strong interest in controlling associations as a whole. Additionally, the market in China views trade associations as a bridge between enterprises and the government that often communicates and even assists to implement the government's policies.

Most events organised by Chinese trade associations currently are still held in the Chinese mainland. However, the rapid development of Macau, modelled on Las Vegas, may alter China's events market in the coming years. Currently, Macau remains somewhat of an unknown amongst associations. Many view it as an immature location for events, but most have not yet been there.

The associations interviewed listed the following factors that affect their decision as they select the location of an event:

- Location of the city relative to the manufacturing base for the event
- Opinion of the government authorities - who often affect a decision by providing incentives or even paying the full cost of the event
- Venue quality and available support services
- Quality of local infrastructure to support the event
This report also contains five sections of tables and figures outlining the following data:
- A list of the top 80 trade associations in China including events they support, membership figures and number of offices
- A list of the top associations ranked by their involvement in the top 50 events in China
- A detailed table outlining the top exhibitions in China and the trade associations that support those events
- A directory of the top trade associations in China including contact details (website, email, telephone number) when available
- A list profiling the top exhibitions in China

Key Topics Covered:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

KEY INSIGHTS FROM INTERVIEWS WITH ASSOCIATIONS

PROFILE OF ASSOCIATIONS AND RELATED EVENTS

TYPES OF ACTIVITIES

SOURCES OF REVENUE

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT

VENUE AND LOCATION SELECTION OF EVENTS

TABLES OF KEY ASSOCIATIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

Tables

TABLE 1: TOP TRADE ASSOCIATIONS IN CHINA, EVENTS ORGANISED, MEMBERSHIP AND NUMBER OF OFFICE

TABLE 2: ASSOCIATIONS RANKED BY INVOLVEMENT IN TOP 50 EXHIBITIONS IN CHINA

TABLE 3: TOP EXHIBITIONS IN CHINA AND SUPPORTING TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

TABLE 4: CONTACT DETAILS OF TOP TRADE ASSOCIATIONS IN CHINA

For more information visit Research and Markets
SOURCE: Research and Markets Ltd.
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716
press@researchandmarkets.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

IBM CFO Mark Loughridge: Sales in Brazil, Russia, India and China to Continue Growing

In a recent interview, International Business Machines (IBM) Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge said he expects that sales in emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) will continue to grow at a healthy pace for a minimum of six months, even with the current economic conditions.

IBM, along with a number of companies and sectors has had the majority of company growth happen in the BRIC countries over the last several years, and they will continue to outperform sales in Western Europe and the United States for the foreseeable future.

This should be true as much of the global slowdown in growth shouldn't have too much of an impact on companies working with the infrastructure of emerging markets as IBM is. IBM is helping BRIC economies to modernize their banking, transportation and telecommunications systems, which have been the underpinning of company sales growth.

"If we look at the headlights, we have our strongest headlights extending about six months into the future. We see very strong opportunities here," Loughridge said. "There are big opportunities for the roll-out of these infrastructure projects."

While sales in China and other Asian countries was a decent 6 percent, Russia especially shined for IBM sales, with revenue increasng by 51 percent for the quarter ending September 30. Also enjoying solid growth was India sales, coming in at 28 percent sales increase, and Brazil, which was right behind them with 24 percent sales growth for IBM in the 3rd quarter.

Loughridge said China sales would have been better, but the Olympics temporarily slowed things down. Next quarter, expectations are China sales will significantly rebound for the company.

Starting a Successful Business in the Challenging and Rewarding BRIC Countries

In the beginning of the launch of the BRIC blog network, which deals primarily with doing business in Brazil, Russia, India and China, we've started things off with the obvious: How to start a business in each country, and what the practical steps, time and money needed to get things up and running.

So depending on the country you're interested in, here's the articles and links to starting a business in these tremendous emerging markets.

Starting Business in Brazil

Starting a Business in Russia

Starting a Business in India

Starting a Business in China
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