Not Necessarily News

Posted: 04/2000

Overheard ...
... at January's Pacific Telecommunica-tions Council (PTC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. "I've seen certain phrases find their way into papers, like 'the permanent nature of demand.' As an economist, that drives me crazy. Is there an ability to overbuild? Oh, yes, indeed! It is not a God-given right that demand for bandwidth should continue to go vertical."
Robert Stuart, managing director global telecom industry investment, CIBC World Markets Corp. (www.cibcwm.com  )

Numbers Game

Small businesses and telecommuters seem to be a good mix. According to International Data Corp. (www.idc.com), approximately 9 million Americans will telecommute this year, and more than half of them will work for small businesses (those companies with fewer than 100 employees). Additionally, 25 percent of all U.S. small businesses employ at least one telecommuter.

To ensure these employees are as productive at home as they are in the office, small businesses are increasing the amount of support they provide to them. One way small businesses are supporting telecommuters is by offering remote access to the corporate LAN.

• 29.1 = percent of businesses with fewer than 100 employees offering remote access to telecommuters.
• 17.3 = percent of businesses with fewer than five employees offering remote access to telecommuters.
• 31.1 = percent of businesses with five to nine employees offering remote access to telecommuters.
• 28.6 = percent of businesses with 10 to 19 employees offering remote access to telecommuters.
• 37.2 = percent of businesses with 20 to 49 employees offering remote access to telecommuters.
• 54.4 = percent of businesses with 50 to 99 employees offering remote access to telecommuters.

Source: "U.S. Small Business LAN Owners' Use of Remote Access Technology for Telecommuters, 1999," published in February by International Data Corp. (IDC, www.idc.com).

Editorial Cartoon by Lance Sterling