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Internet Monitor: BT falls short with IT fitness check

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6th Nov 2006
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Telecoms giant BT seemed to have come up with a brilliant idea with an online IT calculator to help business assess whether they are getting a good return on their technology and communications spending.

But the IT Healthcheck fails to live up to its promise. Set up as a result of a study which found that the average small/medium sized business can spend £17,000 a year on IT and communications, BT built an online survey around the metaphor of a gym work out.

The user is presented with a fitness machine panel that asks a series of questions to establish the size and type of your business and its annual IT spend.

That's pretty much it - except that anyone working with technology, such as a new media organisation - will find that they are not catered for by the survey.

Disappointingly, there appears to be only two results pages, one informing you that you are underweight and that you may not be making the most of technological opportunities, or one advising you that you're overweight and that could benefit from some IT help. The accompanying blurp mentions that BT Business now provides a tailored IT management service called IT Manager, starting from £37 a month.

There's a surprise.

The accompanying IT health tips maintain the fitness metaphor and recommend things like "cutting out the fat" and trying an IT "detox".

Another suggestion is not to do it on your own - and get a comprehensive support service.

The IT healthcheck is a very clever piece of online marketing, but represents a missed opportunity. If the telecoms giant had looked just a little bit further that trying to pick up sales leads for its new service - which in itself sounds quite innovative - it could have generated a lot more goodwill and kudos by providing a more targeted quiz that gave people more specific suggestions about where they might be experiencing bottlenecks and IT weakpoints.

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By Stewart Twynham
08th Nov 2006 23:28

Another result...
Actually, I ran through the test using three of my clients as examples, and each one came up with the words "HEALTHY"... so I must be doing something right!!

I suppose my concern here is the suggestion that a £37 per month support service is going to deliver some amazing strategic IT advice right into the heart of a small business, whatever the size or complexity.

I agree that a more detailed set of questions and a better breakdown of the results more relevant to the size and scale of business would make far more sense... I just happen to feel that there is more to IT than support!

Stewart

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