Using your network to weather an economic storm

By Mike Verdugo,
Director & Worldwide Segment Business Manager

When economies suffer, small and medium businesses are the most swiftly and severely affected. While large enterprises often have the resources to outlast a downturn, smaller companies typically have little to no margin for error. Many view economic instability as a crisis. Others see it as an opportunity.

HP ProCurve Networking understands both the challenges of current market volatility and your need to keep looking forward. Your network can help you not only push through the downturn, but also come out of it stronger than ever before. Here are our Top 10 recommendations – from a networking perspective – for small and medium businesses facing economic uncertainty:

1. Don’t panic. Now is not the time to overreact. It’s also not the time to freeze up. Your business must move forward, and your network must move forward in support of it. That said, you can be more prudent and strategic as you...
    
2. Take advantage of the opportunity. The most successful organizations are those that turn a setback into an opportunity. While many small and mid-sized businesses will struggle in this tenuous environment – some will fall altogether – the time is ripe to boost your company’s competitive positioning and profitability. Your network can be a significant enabler for these efforts – delivering new services, capabilities and efficiencies that create competitive advantages and boost revenue.

   Make sure you implement solutions that positively impact business agility and scalability (ProCurve’s standards-based solutions and modular offerings, for example). Doing so will ensure your organization can take advantage of market opportunities and grow as demand dictates.

3. Focus on network security. Business continuity is essential in uncertain economic times. Security threats that can cause network downtime can have a devastating impact on your organization. Make sure your company maintains pace and your business assets are protected by bolstering network security.

   HP ProCurve security solutions are built into our products and interoperable with third party products. This means they fortify security in your existing infrastructure and complement third-party solutions to protect your IT investment. For more information, take a look at ProCurve’s Network Security Center.

4. Seek employee productivity gains. With shrinking budgets and, in many cases, fewer employees, business efficiency is crucial. Use your network to empower your workforce. That includes automating tasks now done manually. By leveraging your network to deliver IT tools and applications that boost efficiency and productivity, your company can effectively do more with less.

   According to industry analyst Nick Lippis in the November 4, 2008 Lippis report:
   “As corporations reduce staff, remaining employees are required to increase their workload. For those business and IT leaders who view IT, networking and communications in particular as strategic, they will leverage IT to ensure that employees can increase productivity. Business leaders can choose to guide their firms into a period of huge productivity growth on the order of 5 to 10 percent during this downturn as RIF [Reduction in Force] is complemented with business processes automated through IT.”

5. Leverage your network for new business services. The biggest way your network can help boost business during the economic downturn is by delivering new capabilities and services. Networks are no longer merely utilitarian conduits. They have become business drivers and enablers. If you can tap your network to further engage your existing customers or attract new clientele, your company has a chance to grow while others contract.
    
6. Get more than one infrastructure bid. The days of indiscriminate spending are over. That’s why it’s important to look at several vendors whenever you seek new networking solutions. As Network World reports, industry analyst Mark Fabbi of Gartner advocates a balanced approach to relationships with vendors. Fabbi “concludes that enterprises would be best served by competitively bidding projects instead of adopting the ‘trusted advisor’ approach with a single vendor.”

   You also may want to reevaluate the ongoing costs of your existing infrastructure systems. While change is often associated with spending, keeping your current systems might be more costly than making a switch. This is especially true if your networking vendor has you locked into proprietary technologies and expensive service contracts, or if your vendor is not poised to survive this economic downturn. More on these points below.

7. Beware of hidden costs. Look carefully at total cost of ownership (TCO) when purchasing and maintaining networking solutions. Support, upgrade and replacement expenses can be debilitating for small- and mid-sized companies that think their budget is safe after their networking gear is installed.

HP ProCurve customers are well aware of our value proposition as it relates to ongoing costs – including the HP ProCurve Lifetime Warrantyt for most products, with next-business-day advance replacement, free software updates and free phone support. Simply put, ProCurve doesn’t believe in hidden costs.

8. Lead efforts to make your IT efficient and effective. Nothing can tether – or unleash – your business more than your network. It is a key enabler of technologies for virtualization, automation, consolidation, energy and space efficiencies, unified communications and much more. In addition, a robust Wireless LAN based on 802.11n standards can extend your network’s reach and impact while reducing costs.

   ProCurve’s secure, standards-based networking solutions are easy-to-deploy, with proven multi-vendor interoperability. For example, ProCurve Manager Plus allows you to centrally manage your network easily. The new ProCurve MSM 710 Controller enables you to manage your entire Wireless LAN. In addition, ProCurve has certified and field-tested interoperability with most IP telephony and unified communication solutions – including those offered by Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Mitel, Nortel, Siemens and ShoreTel. This enables you to roll out converged network solutions that meet the changing demands of your business.  

9. Seek safe, long-term partners. Not every networking vendor will make it through this economic downturn, and you don’t want to be left with unsupported networking gear. As an integral part of HP and as a leader in the networking industry, you can rest assured that HP ProCurve will be here to support you in both the immediate and long-term future.
    
10. Don’t give your vendor complete control. Taking advantage of new opportunities requires business agility and networking flexibility. Proprietary platforms that don’t interoperate with industry standard solutions limit your options and give too much control to the networking vendor.

The goal of any economic downturn is to first survive, then to thrive. To do that, you must look for new ways to grow your business, lower costs and mitigate risks. By leveraging your network, you can be a calming beacon as your organization navigates rough waters.

HP ProCurve offers a choice of secure networking solutions for small and mid-sized businesses that are easy to deploy and maintain without needing a large or specialized IT staff. ProCurve’s products are engineered to meet legendary HP quality standards and are backed by the ProCurve Lifetime Warrantyt. In addition, ProCurve’s extensive and affordable product line enables you to expand your network as needs – and business – grow.