Study to allow Canadian SMEs to compare IT performance to industry peers

Companies in the Canadian Plastics Industry with fewer than 500 employees are eligible to participate in a study about how networking technologies impact overall company performance. The “Net Impact SME” study , launched by Cisco Systems Ltd. on Nov. 9, 2005, is focusing on small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), defined by Cisco as any company with fewer than 500 employees.
Specifically the study is focusing on the impact networking technologies have on reducing operating costs, improving customer satisfaction and boosting competitive advantage.
Once the results are compiled, Cisco will create an interactive tool, which will allow Canadian plastics processors, moldmakers, raw materials suppliers, equipment vendors, among others, to compare the performance of their networking systems to their colleagues in the Canadian industry, as well as those in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
But it’s not limited to plastics; Cisco is targeting SMEs as a whole, which will allow Canadian plastics firms to compare themselves with firms in other industries. Plus, more countries will be added to the survey throughout 2006, broadening the range of data available for comparison.
Cisco launched the study on Nov. 9, 2005, with the assistance of its partners the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, the Momentum Research Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Cisco’s “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.
Companies that implemented the best practices identified in Cisco’s “Net Impact: Europe eGovernment” study experienced an average three to seven 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 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 the French one at http://www.netimpactstudy.com/sme_fr.html.