By : SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
Source : http://online.wsj.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Small-business owners in need of IT support may soon find it at Best Buy Co.
Next week brings the expected closing of the world's largest electronics chain's deal to buy Mindshift Technologies Inc.
Mindshift, of Waltham, Mass., was founded in 1999, and provides IT services to more than 5,400 small and medium-sized businesses throughout the U.S.
Best Buy has more than 1,100 big-box stores. But the retailer and other traditional chains face the prospect of becoming showrooms for online-only competitors. Some shoppers visit a mall or big-box location to check out merchandise and then find lower prices on the Web, sometimes while using smartphones right in the store's aisles.
A spokesperson for Best Buy didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.
Via email, Mindshift spokeswoman Lisa Masiello said the company currently has no plans to make changes to its prices or list of services, which include simple cloud-based email as well as more advanced services such as virtual servers and desktops, VoIP solutions, and overall IT management.
Demand for outsourced IT services among small businesses has been growing in recent years. Overall, the IT outsourcing market in the U.S. is expected to grow 1.9% to $40.6 billion in 2012, up from $39.8 billion in 2011, according to research firm IDC.
Small businesses in many cases can't afford to employ large numbers of full-time IT professionals. At the same time, office technology has become more complex and diverse, and the threat of viruses and worms has increased.
Best Buy's acquisition of Mindshift compliments its 2002 purchase of Geek Squad, a provider of IT support services to consumers, according to Jeff Roster, a retail analyst for research firm Gartner Inc. "It's a really interesting cross-sell opportunity," he says. "An owner of a small business is likely coming into their stores already" to look for electronics and other products, he adds.
Mindshift, meanwhile, is likely to gain more than just access to Best Buy's massive customer audience. It could also benefit from the electronics chain's legal muscle.
Case in point: Best Buy has disputed more than a dozen geek-themed trademarks in the past decade, The Wall Street Journal reported in June, citing federal records.
For example, earlier this year the Richfield, Minn., company threatened online rival Newegg.com with legal action, arguing that its Geek On advertising slogan sounded too similar to Geek Squad. Newegg responded, according to WSJ, by posting a cease-and-desist letter on Facebook.
Source : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204552304577114760715912888.html
Source : http://online.wsj.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Small-business owners in need of IT support may soon find it at Best Buy Co.
Next week brings the expected closing of the world's largest electronics chain's deal to buy Mindshift Technologies Inc.
Mindshift, of Waltham, Mass., was founded in 1999, and provides IT services to more than 5,400 small and medium-sized businesses throughout the U.S.
Best Buy has more than 1,100 big-box stores. But the retailer and other traditional chains face the prospect of becoming showrooms for online-only competitors. Some shoppers visit a mall or big-box location to check out merchandise and then find lower prices on the Web, sometimes while using smartphones right in the store's aisles.
A spokesperson for Best Buy didn't immediately return messages seeking comment.
Via email, Mindshift spokeswoman Lisa Masiello said the company currently has no plans to make changes to its prices or list of services, which include simple cloud-based email as well as more advanced services such as virtual servers and desktops, VoIP solutions, and overall IT management.
Demand for outsourced IT services among small businesses has been growing in recent years. Overall, the IT outsourcing market in the U.S. is expected to grow 1.9% to $40.6 billion in 2012, up from $39.8 billion in 2011, according to research firm IDC.
Small businesses in many cases can't afford to employ large numbers of full-time IT professionals. At the same time, office technology has become more complex and diverse, and the threat of viruses and worms has increased.
Best Buy's acquisition of Mindshift compliments its 2002 purchase of Geek Squad, a provider of IT support services to consumers, according to Jeff Roster, a retail analyst for research firm Gartner Inc. "It's a really interesting cross-sell opportunity," he says. "An owner of a small business is likely coming into their stores already" to look for electronics and other products, he adds.
Mindshift, meanwhile, is likely to gain more than just access to Best Buy's massive customer audience. It could also benefit from the electronics chain's legal muscle.
Case in point: Best Buy has disputed more than a dozen geek-themed trademarks in the past decade, The Wall Street Journal reported in June, citing federal records.
For example, earlier this year the Richfield, Minn., company threatened online rival Newegg.com with legal action, arguing that its Geek On advertising slogan sounded too similar to Geek Squad. Newegg responded, according to WSJ, by posting a cease-and-desist letter on Facebook.
Source : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204552304577114760715912888.html
