Getting connected
One of the biggest challenges an SME faces in managing communication between offices in different locations is access to the firm's network. "The two most important assets a business has are its people and information," according to Dave Austin, senior product manager with networking software firm Citrix. "A huge challenge when opening up branch offices is ensuring that these two assets stay connected and that employees in the branch office do not somehow feel like second-rate citizens from an IT perspective."
A wide area network (WAN) can help make Francois at your firm's office in Bordeaux feel as much a part of your company as Frank back at the Blarney headquarters. A WAN allows different local networks - no matter where they may be - to be connected as one with the same access to applications, allowing employees to access data at the same pace. In the past WAN technology was only available to larger firms due to costs constraints but, as is often the case with technology, the price is coming down and allowing SMEs to also reap the benefits of connectivity.
Communication tools
In addition to the increasing availability of technologies such as WAN, existing systems used by SMEs are starting to deliver a higher-quality service. "Like most things in life, the tools are getting better; it is getting easier and less expensive as each year goes by," says Leo O'Leary, general manager of indirect channels at telecoms provider BT Ireland.
The staff at the Dublin-based headquarters of dotMobi, the company that controls the .mobi internet domain, use tools easily accessible to SMEs to help improve communication. "We use [Microsoft] Outlook and webmail so that we communicate with each other even though we have offices in different time zones," says James Pearce, chief technology officer of dotMobi. In addition to the standard benefits that come with email, applications such as Outlook have calendar functions and task managers, allowing firms to schedule tasks for staff in multiple locations.
"We also use smartphones so that we can access our mail while we're on the road. [VoIP technology] Skype is another useful tool; we use it for inexpensive intra-company voice communications and quick messaging," says Pearce.
Virtually there
For staff in different geographic regions, collaborating on projects is becoming more straightforward due to developments in communications technology.
"One of our client's head office is in Australia, with a subsidiary based in Ireland," says Paul Connell, managing director of Pure Telecom. "They use a data room to allow for easy access to information from both offices, removing the physical gap between locations." A data room, also known as a virtual data room, is a secure storeroom based on the internet that enables firms to provide users with access to information no matter where they are located.
Virtual systems like data rooms enable employees thousands of miles apart to work together on projects. "These IT applications help to keep remote staff in touch with headquarters, enabling the efficient functioning of these virtual teams," says Matt Burke, head of solutions design and consultancy at communications software firm Damovo. "They also help to reduce travel times and costs, keeping employees as productive as possible, while also allowing them to maintain good customer service."
Removing barriers
Communication between offices in Ireland and overseas may be getting easier, but the tools enabling this development are in some cases removing the need to set up an overseas office altogether.
"I have a friend who has an architect's practice in Dublin. They do a lot of business in Germany," says Connell. "The management debated whether or not they should open an office in Berlin and spent an afternoon on the topic. Eventually my friend asked who would be willing to move to Germany, and the matter was shelved."
Technology such as data rooms and VoIP means that businesses based in Ireland, such as this architect's practice, can deliver information and communicate with staff at a job site overseas without needing to up sticks and establish an office in every territory in which they do business. In the past, failing to make such a move could have harmed a firm's chances of succeeding on an international scale, but the tools available today means an SME in Ireland can communicate with and manage staff on-site anywhere in the world.