Compass Intelligence Reveals Results of First Quarter 2011 Small Business Online Portal - Verizon Leads The Way

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass Intelligence has released their rankings of 49 Small Business vendors for first quarter 2011 in their Small Business Online (SBOnline) Information Portal. Companies are ranked in terms of their ability to provide relevant online experiences to Small Businesses. The focus of the research is Small Business-specific buying and learning experiences on business-to-business websites and includes more than 20 facets of this process.

"The Small Business market is a fast growing market segment challenged in that they don't receive the same service as large business customers and have similar but more advanced buying behavior to that of the consumer segment. The web is increasingly becoming the go-to method to make purchasing decisions, and businesses focusing on the small business segment are starting to take note," said Kneko Burney, President & Chief Strategist at Compass Intelligence.

Compass Intelligence research shows that a key challenge for top ranked vendors this period is finding a balance between delivering a number of capabilities to small businesses while also offering a simple, seamless online experience. Finding this correct balance is still a challenge for most vendors, even the top ranked. Through strong updates to page consistency, scores have improved in all 3 areas over the last 6 months; Verizon continues to extend the lead above the other vendors. Sean Rowe, portal researcher at Compass Intelligence adds, "2011 appears to be the year of redesigning existing web pages to be more consistent throughout the portal experience. A number of vendors throughout 1Q have made navigationally friendly changes, which increase the usability of each portal."

The SBOnline Information Portal is a private, customized information environment providing actionable competitive intelligence, real-time perspectives, expert videos & insights, feature/function analysis, and quarterly rankings.

Key findings include:

• 1Q 2011 Top 10 rankings - Verizon, AT&T, Cbeyond, Cisco, Dell, HP/3Com, Windstream, Intuit, Qwest, and Charter .
• Best Practice this period: Many vendors are focusing on consistent design and easier navigation by utilizing the same look and feel to all pages within the business portals and across the entire site.

To download a free summary of our Small Business research and view a summary video on this research, click here: http://tinyurl.com/2bwz7a5

About Compass Intelligence

Compass Intelligence, a global consulting and market analytics firm, specializes in segment and vertical market intelligence for the high-tech and telecom industries; and offers clients a tailored research experience through excellent customer support. Compass Intelligence provides subscriptions and research reports, insight videos, forecasts, competitive analysis, market data and expert recommendations on multiple markets. Find us on http://www.compassintelligence.com or follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CompassIntel).

For Interview or Other Requests
Kneko Burney
President & Chief Strategist
[email protected]

Sean Rowe
Portal Researcher & Marketing Associate
[email protected]

SOURCE Compass Intelligence