North ahead of the national e-curve: NEOnet.

Northern Ontarians are early adopters of the Internet, according to the recently released called Northern Ontario Computer and Connectivity Adoption Survey, June 2005. Contracted by 2005 Northern Ontario Business Award winners NEOnet (North Eastern Ontario Network Inc.), director of operations Stephane Gallant says 92 per cent of businesses in Northern Ontario have access to the Internet. The national average is 82 per cent. Of those businesses that use the Internet, 23 per cent sell online, 16 per cent higher than the national average.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Gallant contributes isolation and market size to the higher rates. For instance, a business in Toronto has such a dense market base, it would not need Internet services as Northern Ontario businesses require, due to its sparse population.

Christy Marinig, chair of the NEOnet board of directors, agrees the higher participation rates can be contributed to isolation and instant connectedness.

"People recognize what the technology can do, how it can make them more competitive and open them up to additional customers, as well as provide better customer service to their clients in terms of another service channel."

As more communities adopt high-speed Internet in Northern Ontario, it steadily becomes the norm in daily business.

Dave McGirr, NorthernTel's vice-president of business sales and strategic solutions, says his company now has 100 per cent high-speed Internet coverage in its serving territory of approximately 83,000 square kilometres.

"We found that given the geography of northeastern Ontario, the thirst from our business clients has been huge," McGirr says. "It gives them the opportunity to reach markets throughout the world instantaneously."

The term e-Business refers to everything from using e-mail to searching out competitors online, to actual transactions, according to Gallant.

For businesses, the Internet helps them communicate with clients on a regular basis in a non-intrusive way (e-mail), and is a time- and cost-saving measure to the company.

NEOnet ICT project manager Chris McLaughlin adds that Internet helps organize supply inventories and orders, which increases efficiencies, avoids duplications and saves money.

Business owner Deni Poulin of Porcupine Canvas Inc. in Schumacher says the Internet helps because he can put his list of products on his website, making the catalog available at a moment's notice for anyone in the world. He added that it has resulted in sales to people that he may not have normally had sold to.

McLaughlin says a company can choose how much information they want to provide, and at what level they want to do it.

Statistically, 95 per cent of people who use the Internet will do the research before they purchase the product.

With the client entering the business with prior knowledge, less time is spent educating the consumer, so the cost of doing one sale becomes lower.

"So businesses have to be better prepared," McLaughlin says.

Conversely, gathering competitive intelligence is easier because everything is online. He says that puts all businesses on a level playing field.

Poulin agrees it increases competitiveness, but he says they now receive a high number of requests for quotes (and not always serious ones), which can be time consuming.

On the municipal side, Gallant says instant communication has increased efficiencies in record keeping and communications. By putting out tenders online, it automatically increases market penetration as well as the size of the market.

Scott Marshall, treasurer of Iroquois Falls, says the exchange of information with the use of e-mail has been the major impact.

Although the town has a website, presently it is more of a one-way communication channel. However, Marshall says they are waiting on funding to get the Virtual Town Square Project via NEOnet, which will give them the technical ability to offer more online services, such as bill and parking ticket payment, a building permit application portal or posting tenders.

www.NEOnet.on.ca

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business