Is technology fueling a small firm renaissance?

The New Reality
Technology is levelling the playing field

It has always been accepted that large corporates are big and powerful, but slow and inflexible. And that smaller businesses are far more nimble, yet far more limited. But what if all that were no longer the case? What if technology, the great leveller, had changed things for good? Today, startups and small firms have the same access to apps and infrastructure as global giants. Clouds don’t care how big you are when they charge by the gigabyte. Now small businesses are nimble and unlimited, meaning they are free to become more ambitious.

The Insight
Small businesses need new technology packaged just right

What stands in the way of small firms adopting the latest connected technology? Put simply, they have too many other things to think about. They don’t have time to read the manual. Or research the options. They don’t have time to train people in new things. Or to undertake technical support. Things need to ‘just work’. Be obvious and intuitive. And ideally not involve dealing with twenty new suppliers.

The Idea
EE@work

Most cellular networks are much of a muchness: handsets + bundles + customer service. It’s difficult to truly differentiate. Yet EE, the UK’s largest network and 4G pioneer, had an innovative and entrepreneurial approach. For small businesses, EE would try out new flexible styles of contract. It would look for connectivity applications beyond mobile handsets, such as actioncams, mobile routers and drones. And it would pursue exclusive deals with apps and Cloud service providers. All designed to help small businesses work smarter using the latest connected technology and software. Effectively, EE changed its role from network and handset provider to technology partner – associating the brand with the virtues of Britain’s nimble, entrepreneurial and vibrant small business community.

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This project began with a quick chat over coffee. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more – or just to discuss what we could do for you.

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