Verizon's new one-stop Web portal for SBs

NEW YORK, US: The newly redesigned Verizon Small Business Center Website - which now features powerful online collaboration tools, advanced Web-based business software applications and interactive professional networking - is open to serve small businesses across America at www.business.verizon.net.

"Small businesses need a lot more than e-mail and Internet access to be competitive, especially in today's challenging economy," said Monte Beck, Verizon's vice president for small-business products and services. "We built the Verizon Small Business Center to offer small businesses leading-edge technology tools and business resources to assist them in becoming more agile, productive and efficient - all appropriately scaled for the needs and budget requirements of a small business, and all conveniently integrated on a single Web portal.

"What we've created with the new Verizon Small Business Center is similar to what an information technology department would build for a large corporation, but at a fraction of the price," said Beck.

The centerpiece of the new business portal is the Verizon Collaboration Center, powered by Cisco WebEx technology, with voice and Web conferencing that enables users to collaborate with peers, clients and vendors in a virtual environment that works like an Intranet. Licensed users can share documents and calendars, discuss ideas, set goals, and manage projects and business operations. With the Verizon Web Meeting add-on, users can meet online - in real time - with co-workers, partners, suppliers and customers.

"With the Verizon Collaboration Center, small businesses can embrace today's most innovative collaboration technologies to solve problems collectively, accelerate decisions, increase productivity and create customer value," said Subrah S. Iyar, chief strategy officer, collaboration software group, Cisco. "Since this is all done online, travel costs are reduced and operating efficiency is increased."

The Verizon Collaboration Center is a hosted service available anytime there is Internet access. It does not require any hardware or software investment. There is also no need for in-house IT support, which helps small businesses save even more. Since the service is Web-based, all that is required is a computer (PC or Mac), an Internet connection and a Web browser. A Verizon Collaboration Center user pack for one to five employees costs $24.99 per month, with other discounted rates available when even more users are added.

"The small-business sector is a very important segment of Verizon's customer base," said Beck. "We have, and will continue to develop, more business tools - like the Verizon Small Business Center - for the small-business marketplace."

Small-business expert Steve Hilton, vice president at Yankee Group, said, "If you look to the future of small business, you see communications technologies playing an increasingly important role in the day-to-day operations of an efficient, well-run enterprise. Verizon is making a strong move to arm small businesses with more of the technology tools they need to thrive by providing a convenient, centralized online portal."

Verizon offers a broad range of products and services for businesses of all sizes. Some businesses may qualify to enroll in the Verizon Business Link Rewards program, which enables companies to earn and redeem points for various items such as gift cards and certificates at leading retailers, meals at top-rated local restaurants, and tickets to professional sporting and entertainment events.

Over the next few months, the Verizon Small Business Center will offer informative free webinars every other week. The first webinar takes place April 21 with Shankar Iyer, senior director of business communities for Cisco Systems, who will discuss how small businesses can maximize the use of new technology to accelerate business processes, which can help to cut costs and lead to greater efficiencies.