Surprising SMB Trends

Service provider prospects in the small and medium-sized business market appear to be relatively immune from economic disruption, though it would be an obvious prediction that some enterprise communications needs have decreased because of reduced headcount. 

Despite the highly-publicized wave of enterprise layoffs in November and December 2008, generally unreported is another  trend: smaller businesses are not generally participating in the waves of highly-reported downsizings. In fact, there is new evidence that hiring actually increased throughout 2008, while 75 percent of small business CEOS plan to increase hiring in 2009. That, in turn, is important for service providers as much communications service demand is created by headcount. 

A survey conducted by online payroll service SurePayroll has found that nearly four out of 10 small business owners have not seen their business negatively impacted by the down economy, and an additional four percent indicated that their businesses are actually doing better. 

Still, 18 percent of surveyed SMB CEOs have seen a significant drop in revenues while 42 percent have seen small decreases. That is not especially helpful for anybody, but does not suggest communications services will be hit by reduced headcount. 

According to SurePayroll's monthly tracking surveys, small business hiring actually increased every month between January 2008 and November 2008 (December data are not available yet). What is significant is that the U.S. economy was in recession for that entire period. 

Separately, Entrex Inc, a Chicago firm that markets information on privately held companies, conducted a survey which found 72 percent of small and medium-sized business CEOs plan to increase the number of full time employees in 2009. Also, despite all the news regarding staff reductions, the remainder of the survey respondents indicated they would maintain the current number of full time employees. 

SurePayroll surveys show that,  year-to-date, small business hiring is up 3.3 percent nationwide.

One can argue there could be some weakening of business fixed line buying, but available evidence so far is that business lines in service have increased since 1996, not decreased, though propelled by increased buying of special access circuits more than voice lines. Still, increases in the number of small businesses over the last 10 years have increased SMB voice line buying. 

In 2002, for example, there were 23.3 million small business firms in operation. In 2004 there were 25.4 million small businesses in operation. In 1988 small businesses employed 87.8 million workers. In 2004 small businesses employed 115 million workers. That doesn't mean smaller businesses will fail to take measures to contain their operating costs. It is to suggest they do not seem to be any more willing to cut back on key communications capabilities than in past recessions.

Consumer and IT Spending in Recessions: The Record

Recessions affect consumer spending unequally. During the 1990–1991 and 2001 to 2002 downturns, for example, U.S. consumers changed their priorities, instead of making across-the-board cuts.

Daily amenities such as eating out, purchases of personal-care products and apparel buying tended to suffer, according to analysts at McKinsey & Co.

But categories such as groceries and reading materials, which substituted for more expensive options, actually benefitted from higher spending, as did insurance and health care. Spending on education showed the biggest increase.

What one probably cannot glean from this particular set of data is that "communications" and "multi-channel video entertainment" spending does not change much.

During recessions, tech spending has historically fallen more than gross domestic product has, say McKinsey researchers. "Our research covering economic downturns in 50 countries over the past 13 years indicates that information technology spending typically fell five to seven times farther than GDP, with the most severe declines in hardware (which fell eight to nine times GDP and less severe ones in software and services, falling three to to five times GDP, McKinsey says.

The decline was much larger during the 2001 downturn because spending on computing and telecommunications equipment as a percentage of GDP (IT intensity) had previously soared to historic levels. A boom in tech start-ups, along with Y2K fears, promoted a spending surge on communications equipment, servers, and a range of other products.

When the economic slowdown arrived, start-ups foundered, many companies had too much tech and telecom capacity, and spending cuts across the economy were severe, McKinsey notes. Chastened by that experience, many companies have since
pressured their CIOs to manage IT more effectively.

As the economy enters the current slowdown, the growth of IT intensity is closer to its historic trend, even slightly below the 10-year average. Still, "it does seem likely that the sector’s experience could be more in line with historic trends than it was in 2001."

Broadband: Where We're Going

It's tough to maintain meaningful metrics in the communications business, in large part because the essential business inputs change over time.

Telephone company "access lines" and "basic cable subscriptions," once useful metric s, no longer adequately capture business performance. So we have the substitute "revenue generating unit."

Something along the same lines now will happen in the broadband access area, where counting "lines" once made sense, but increasingly will not capture business performance.

For starters, "average" speeds and "prices" will not be so useful as higher speeds become commonplace, rendering "average" price less meaningful than perhaps "average price per Mbps of service." Also, as wireless broadband becomes more prevalent, we routinely will begin to exceed 100-percent broadband penetration per household, in at least most households.

Broadband: Where We've Been

In 2004, the average monthly Digital Subscriber Line price was $38, compared to $31.50 in 2008. The average cable modem monthly price was $41 in 2004, down to $37.50 a month in 2008. International Telecommunications Union data also show that the trend of higher speeds and lower prices has been underway since 2003 at the very least.

In 2003, each 100 kbps of capacity cost about $11.50. By 2006, 100 kbps of capacity cost less than $6. Over that same period, capacity rose from 1.5 Mbps in the downstream to more than 4 Mbps.

In 2009, Sell to the Federal Government, If You Can

U.S. federal government spending on telecom, applications, outsourcing, services, support, network hardware, computer hardware and IT personnel will grow about 5.6 percent in 2009, after growing about 5.3 percent in 2008, representing about $80.6 billion worth of spending, says  Compass Intelligence. The annual growth rate in 2007 was 6.5 percent.

By 2012, the federal government will spend $98.5 billion on IT goods and services, Compass Intelligence says. Initiatives to support a mobile workforce, E-government, a high-tech military, cybersecurity and green technology are among the federal spending priorities.  "Federal government IT spending is expected to remain rather steady, despite economic conditions," says Stephanie Atkinson, Compass managing partner. 

 

Application spending is expected to be the fastest growing segment, experiencing annual growth between 8.6 and 9.8 percent. Telecom services spending will be driven by wireline data, including IP telephony and broadband services, as well wireless data investments.

 

The Defense segment represents about two thirds of total Federal Government IT spending. 

Suppliers not already certified to sell to military and federal agencies may miss the direct opportunity, though. It takes time to build the relationships and supply the features required by many federal agencies, and none of that can be done fast. 

On the other hand, some suppliers will benefit from indirect federal spending, as they will receive tax credits or grants as part of a government stimulus package starting in 2009, though. 

The caveat is that most, if not all of that support will go to facilities-based service providers with access networks. In many cases, those recipients also will be "carriers of last resort."

Birch Communications Flips Switch on IP Network

Birch Communications a competitive local exchange carrier that serves small and medium-sized businesses in the North Texas market, has launched an Internet Protocol network to replace the company’s current digital network.

The objective of the launch, which utilizes MetaSwitch and Zhone Technologies equipment, is to provide customers with high-performing network services, Birch says.

Atlanta-based Birch serves clients in 31 states throughout the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest.

Clearwire Sued for Patent Infringement

A Dallas-based company has filed a lawsuit against Clearwire Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corp., alleging patent infringement related to the use of six patents held by Adaptix Inc., which has filed the lawsuit.

Adaptix says its patents on multi-carrier communications with group-based subcarrier-cluster allocation, adaptive subcarrier-cluster configuration and selected loading, medium access control for orthogonal frequency division multiple access, multi-carrier communications with adaptive cluster configuration and switching and adaptive subcarrier cluster configuration and selective loading are being infringed.

As is the case with such high-profile cases, it is doubtful the issue will result in a shutdown of the Clearwire network, though that cannot be discounted as a possibility if the parties cannot agree on a settlement.