Small and medium-sized firms asked for input on network technologies

Cisco Systems, in partnership with Momentum Research Group, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Schulich School of Business at York University, has launched a study into the impact of networking technologies on Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) productivity in Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Australia.The study is focused on the impact networking technologies have on outcomes such as reduced operating costs, improved customer satisfaction and competitive advantage.Representatives of SME companies (companies with fewer than 500 employees) can participate in the survey by clicking on one of the links below.Once the study is completed, the collected data will provide information for an interactive tool being developed that will enable SMEs to benchmark their organizations against others in their industry, other industries, regions, and countries. More countries will be added to the survey throughout 2006, broadening the range of data available for comparison.The Net Impact SME study is the latest in a series that Cisco has commissioned around the globe in recent years. The most recent study, “Net Impact: Europe eGovernment,” studied the effect of internet applications, networking technologies, business processes and organizational behaviors by measuring 12 operating metrics that are drivers for four broad productivity outcomes.Overall, companies that implemented the best practices identified for each productivity outcome in that study experienced an average 3-7 times greater improvement across the 12 metrics than their peers who did not use all of the identified best practices.Representatives of SME companies wishing to participate in the latest survey can select English or French versions at http://www.netimpactstudy.com/sme/index.html.Alternatively, respondents can go directly to the English survey at http://www.netimpactstudy.com/sme.html, or in French http://www.netimpactstudy.com/sme_fr.html”