CDW Technology Self-Assessment Tool Available for Small Businesses
New Online Tool Based On CDW's Business Rearview Mirror Survey Helps Small Businesses Compare Their Information Technology Strategies and Use With Businesses Nationwide
VERNON HILLS, Ill. - October 10, 2007 - CDW Corporation (NASDAQ: CDWC), a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government and education, today published its online Small Business Technology Assessment Tool, which allows small business owners and information technology (IT) managers to compare their companies on key aspects of IT strategy and management with how successful mid-size businesses report they were when they were smaller than 100 employees. Users receive instant scores presented alongside national results of CDW's Business Rearview Mirror Survey, which was first reported in August.
CDW's Business Rearview Mirror Survey and Report, based on a July 2007 survey of 152 mid-size business leaders who have successfully grown their firms from small businesses, is designed to share lessons learned from their early growth with current small business owners. Key findings of CDW's Business Rearview Mirror Survey Report included:
- Employee recruitment/retention and managing IT are top small-business challenges. Given 14 choices and a write-in opportunity, 52 percent of the successful entrepreneurs responding selected recruiting/retention, followed by 38 percent selecting "managing IT to our best advantage."
- Small businesses that view technology as a strategic or competitive investment tend to grow faster than their counterparts - 61 percent of those holding that view reported double-digit average annual growth over the past 5 years, compared to 43 percent of those who "spent just enough" to ensure employees can do their jobs.
- A business owner's understanding of technology's usefulness correlates positively to the company's growth - 73 percent of those rating themselves "total geeks" reported double-digit average annual growth over the past 5 years, and 48 percent of them said their companies reached 100 employees within their first 5 years, compared to 33 percent of all survey respondents.
- Almost all small-business owners are very involved in IT decisions, but leaders of the highest-growth small businesses (greater than 20 percent average annual growth) are more likely to rely on others to manage the IT details; 49 percent of them had dedicated IT staff at the 100-employee milestone, compared to 24 percent of all responders.
- Successful business principals offered lessons learned from their growth experiences:
- Integrate IT into business strategy early - 18 percent of respondents said that failure to do so had been their biggest IT mistake over the years
- Understand as much as you can about technology and how it can serve your business - 65 percent of responders agreed or strongly agreed that IT was a key contributor to their growth beyond 100 employees
- Capture the full advantage of technology you acquire, through high-return applications and employee training - 21 percent of respondents said that IT in production or project management had the most impact on their bottom line, and 18 percent pointed to supply chain management
CDW's Small Business Technology Assessment Tool is based on the CDW Business Rearview Mirror Survey and compares users' responses with a national population of successful mid-size businesses on key attributes such as:
- Size, longevity and growth rate
- Growth challenges
- Business/IT strategy, investment and key applications
- Owner involvement and knowledge of IT
- IT staffing and outsourcing strategies
"CDW's Small Business Technology Assessment Tool enables business owners and their IT staff to understand how they might improve their competitiveness and growth," said Mark Gambill, vice president of marketing at CDW. "We know that small-business owners are interested in learning from other businesses through surveys, success stories and benchmarking. CDW's online evaluation tool encourages that by helping small businesses look at IT from a value-add perspective."
The Small Business Technology Assessment Tool is online at ConduIT@CDW (www.cdwconduit.com), CDW's online resource for small businesses and the IT professionals serving them. Please note that access to CDW's Small Business Technology Assessment Tool is free of charge but requires registration on the ConduIT@CDW site, which is also free.
For a complete copy of CDW's Business Rearview Mirror Survey Report, please visit http://newsroom.cdw.com/rearview.
About CDW
CDW®, ranked No. 342 on the FORTUNE 500, is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. CDW is a principal source of technology products and services including top name brands such as Acer, Adobe, APC, Apple, Cisco, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Panasonic, Quantum, Samsung, Sony, Symantec, ViewSonic and Xerox. CDW's direct model offers customers one-on-one relationships with knowledgeable account managers and access to approximately 820 on-staff engineers and advanced technology specialists who customize solutions for customers' complex technology needs. CDW also provides same-day product shipping and post-sales technical support.
CDW was founded in 1984 and as of June 30, 2007, employed approximately 5,880 coworkers. In 2006, the company generated sales of $6.8 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements about the expected timing, completion and effects of the proposed merger between CDW and a subsidiary of VH Holdings, Inc. (which upon closing of the merger will be controlled by investment funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC and Providence Equity Partners Inc.) and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, each of which is qualified in its entirety by reference to the following cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. CDW may not be able to complete the proposed merger because of a number of factors, including, among other things, the failure of financing or the failure to satisfy the remaining closing conditions. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements are described in the reports filed by CDW with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including without limitation CDW's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and the definitive proxy statement dated July 13, 2007, relating to the special meeting of shareholders that was held on August 9, 2007.
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