Sure small businesses benefit greatly from the proliferation of Web 2.0 offerings like Zoho’s online office suite and Mozy’s backup solutions. But software as a service (SaaS) provider 19Marketplace hopes that many small business owners will instead prefer one-stop shopping for hosted brand-name applications. In partnership with SaaS infrastructure provider Jamcracker, 19Marketplace today unveils Workplace2go, an on-demand, pay-as-you-go offering of applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server and WebEx WebOffice.
Of course, you could cherry-pick hosted applications for your small business more cheaply — start with Google Apps for Your Domain and add Yugma for web meetings, for example — but many small business owners don’t have the time to put together their own suite of applications from across the web. And going with software they’ve heard of from companies like Microsoft, WebEx and McAfee provides some comfort that they’re making a good decision.
Workplace2go requires just a single sign-on for users, and offers one gloriously simple phone number for customer support. Those are two things you definitely wouldn’t get if you cobbled together your own Web 2.0 workplace to go.
I can see the benefits from a service like this, but I could never see myself using it. The web 2.0 services available nowadays are not only powerful, but often free. I think it is a matter of comfort, like you say, and time (one-stop shop).
Cheers,
Aidan
http://www.MappingTheWeb.com
My first reaction to this was why would anyone want such a thing? But then I realized that not everyone enjoys evaluating and choosing software. It could be a big win for people who’d rather focus on other aspects of their business.
aggregation and consolidation is a sign of market’s maturity and perhaps, its time for online app to get settled.
We cannot contradict that even though at a very initial stage, Web 2.0 has completely altered the way small companies market online. Small businesses can make apparent use of these tools if used effectively. I have penned few points on how web 2.0 benefits the small business on http://bhopu.com/2007/11/24/Small-Business-benefits-from-Web-2.0
Thanks
Parul
The successful business owners I talked to just don’t have the time, and really the desire, to search the web for free services. They are also concerned about the viability of a company that provides free services. At the end of the day, a business has to make money to sustain itself and no one understands that better than business owners.