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SMB Success Story Abstracts Constructware Contact Information & Overview Steve Setzer Director, Marketing Communications Constructware 3780 Mansell Road Alpharetta, GA 30022 Telephone: (770) 510-0836 Email Address: [email protected] Web Address: www.constructware.com In Brief Project management and collaboration solutions for the construction industry. Fifty-plus, full-time employees. Expects sales of up to $30 million over the next 24 months. Privately owned. The Story of Success Managing construction projects is no simple task. Coordinating the design, project management and collaboration between construction companies, owners, designers and subcontractors from design and preconstruction through closeout is a daunting challenge. Multiply this by 100 or 1,000 projects per year and you begin to see the magnitude of the business challenges facing an average size construction organization. Enter Constructware’s project management and collaboration solution- and Internet-based application service provider (ASP) suite to streamline processes from design and preconstruction through project closeout. The eight-year-old firm hosts both the application and the data, which means customers don’t have to handle technology management costs. Run on a foundation of Cisco Systems routers and networking equipment, Constructware’s solution allows companies to go online to handle most of the processes traditionally associated with communicating between companies involved in a construction project. The software includes the ability to track job costs in real time over the Internet. Since migrating to the Web five years ago, Constructware has built a solid client base and now boasts more than 20,000 user licenses. Its clients include 21 percent of the top 400 general contractors in the $900 billion U.S. construction industry and the firm has grown by more than 100 percent over the last three years. InCord Communications Contact Information & Overview Tony Jerig Vice President, Technology Services inChord Communications Inc. 500 Olde Worthington Road Westerville, Ohio 43082 Telephone: (614) 543.6314 Email Address: [email protected] Web Address: http://www.inchord.com In Brief Marketing Communications. Five-hundred plus full-time employees. Gross income of more than $100 million over the next year. Privately owned. The Story of Success Marketing is the mantra of today’s business world, and inChord Communications strives to take the concept to a higher level. The organization – actually a consortium of seven separate firms – provides customized marketing solutions with a single point of accountability. InChord combines expertise from a variety of areas – such as public relations, marketing, technical writing, branding, media planning, advertising, interactive media development, and event planning – but it is the ability to mesh technology with business processes that distinguishes inChord from its competitors. The company uses sophisticated extranets to improve communication and data sharing internally and with clients, and its network includes wireless LANs. InChord is cutting internal costs and boosting productivity with networking technology. Employees can conduct research and manage purchasing, travel, and banking functions online. inChord is migrating financial reporting to its intranet to allow executives to view strategic financial information 24x7, regardless of location. All told, nearly 80% of the firm’s business processes take place electronically. The company is migrating all its offices to IP telephony and unified messaging in order to provide seamless integrated communications. And it recently rolled out the fourth iteration of its intranet to provide enhanced employee services and a greater sense of community for workers in all offices worldwide. ScubaToys.com Contact Information & Overview Larry Dague President ScubaToys.com 11441 N. Stemmons #145 Dallas, TX 75229 Telephone: (972) 406-2996 Email Address: [email protected] Web Address: http://www.scubatoys.com/main.html In Brief Multichannel scuba equipment sales and diver training. Fewer than 10 employees. Expect sales of $2 million for 2002. Privately owned. The Story of Success When Larry Dague opened a dive shop in 1998 he never envisioned his current success. He followed the advice of a group of dive students from Cisco Systems and installed a network, servers, and router to gain a beachhead online. Since then, ScubaToys.com has watched online sales grow to 70 percent of its revenues. During the last 3 years, sales have swelled by nearly 100 percent. “We completely changed our retail business model.” He explains. “Our retail outlet has become our dive training facility and fulfillment center for our Internet-based business.” In addition to a wide array of dive gear and accessories, the site offers detailed information about classes and general information about diving. The site also offers free downloads and Dague publishes an opt-in e-mail newsletter with educational tips, product specials and trip announcements Nearly 70 percent of the company’s business practices are network based, and about 90 percent of it’s sales and marketing are focused on the web. At a time when the average U.S. scuba shop pulls in $355,000 in annual sales, ScubaToys.com’s 2002 projection of about $2 million represents a 40 percent increase over 2001.