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A Real, Virtual Company - Oxymoron?
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Posted at Apr. 07, 2008 05:35 PM CST | | | | Andy Zimmerman, Global Managing Director, Communications Industry | | | One of the startups that presented this afternoon has only twenty people, no office, few engineers, mostly open source community, no sales force, yet millions of users and thousands of customers. They really define a virtual company. | | | What can companies learn from this example? | | | Viral marketing, open source, nurturing a developer community are a few thoughts that I had. | | | 
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Comments Posted by:
Jason
on
April 09, 2008 10:35 AM CST  | It isn't just small, virtual companies that are counting on consumers to drive technology into the enterprise. Apple took the same approach with the iPhone and it appears to be working. |
Posted by:
harris
on
April 08, 2008 12:59 PM CST | Technology is not only allowing companies to spread their products and messages globally and and more affordably, but it is making it possible for new companies to exist in the first place.
As CEO of a company that is founded on a lot of these principles, I can say that generally these are companies with passion, creativity and fiscal responsibility. Five years ago people wanted to visit your office and sit in your conference room...they thought we were crazy! Today, we offer clients a higher level of service that is literally produced across the globe and at a greater value than our more traditionally-oriented competitors. Most companies employ these principles to some extent, and those that don't start embracing them may not be around in another five years. |
Posted by:
Jenna
on
April 08, 2008 08:52 AM CST | I think it is amazing how technology has enabled people to work virtually. Gone are the days of the 9 to 5 world, allowing people to work when it is best time for them so they can juggle their personal and business lives much more effectively.
At first, the virtual world seemed to be a bit isolated. I often wonder if there is some issues with having professional work relationships. With the advent of internal social networks, the ability to post pictures, the increasing number of devices to get info (mobile phones, PDAs, laptops) are enabling people to develop relationships faster than before.
Does anyone have any ideas on how their companies have helped to use technology to build relationships with employees working virtually? |
Posted by:
Cassandra
on
April 08, 2008 08:47 AM CST | At some point there will be a tipping point where Virtual Companies will be swept into larger conglomerates - we've seen this with web applications. How do we help our communications operators prepare to integrate and innovate with these Virtual companies without damaging the strengths that these companies come to the table with?
Can a major Communications company take on a Virtual Company without killing it's free spirit? |
Posted by:
Molly
on
April 08, 2008 07:15 AM CST | This was an interesting panel for sure. These young CEOs all believed that developing their products outside of the enterprise (vs. first trying to sell to the enterprise) would give them more freedom, speed and agility to continually improving their products. They talked about consumers adopting their products in a personal setting and then bringing them to their work setting. The CEOs of these disruptor companies seemed to all agree that this consumer support along with providing a superior user experience are key to getting traction. |
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