Finding A Niche In Verticals

IT SERVICES ON THE MOVE
Transportation is another niche to consider. The transportation industry is diverse, made up of trucking, couriers, taxi companies, and local transport operations—at least in the small to midmarket space. For most segments of the industry— particularly long-haul (more than 450 miles) and short-haul trucking—IT is a critical component of doing business. According to a study by the Small Business Research Board (SBRB) conducted at the end of 2006, the three most important priorities for small transportation companies going into 2007 were to increase revenue, reduce expenses, and improve productivity—three goals that can be directly correlated to the judicious use of IT.

“Clearly for the transportation industry, there’s a need for technology solutions that allow for greater productivity and monitoring of the drivers and trucks,” says Gregg Steinberg, president of BusinessToday Inc., a company in Buffalo Grove, Ill., that provides small to midsize businesses with information via a magazine, seminars, and the SBRB.

Mobile and handheld communications devices
and GPS-enabled fleet management technologies that track the location of drivers and trucks are commonly deployed at small transportation companies. To beat the high cost of fuel—a major drain on revenue growth these days—companies are turning to route optimization software, Steinberg says. Such software is used by transportation companies to determine the shortest or lowest-cost routes, taking into account such factors as tolls, traffic patterns, and restricted streets. The top vendors and products include ALK Technologies Inc. (PC*Miler), Maptuit Inc. (FleetNav), ProMiles Software Development Corp. (ProMiles XF), Prophesy Transportation Solutions Inc. (Prophesy Mileage and Routing), and Rand McNally & Co. (IntelliRoute).

Transportation management systems (TMS) that tie together customer information, shipping orders, dispatching, personnel scheduling, billing, and equipment inventory and maintenance records are also used by transportation companies to improve efficiency and productivity. Accellos Inc., Ayers Rock Software LLC, Surround Technologies Inc., and TMW Systems Inc. are among the TMS vendors that specifically target small to midsize trucking companies.

MAKING MONEY AT NONPROFITS
Nonprofits are yet another niche vertical that represents a huge opportunity for channel partners. Todd Lant is the director of corporate IT at Blackbaud Inc., a Charleston, S.C.-based provider of software and services to the nonprofit industry. There are more than 1.5 million U.S.-based nonprofits, and according to Lant they share numerous challenges—donor retention, managing relationships with supporters, and establishing new methods of fundraising.

“IT is becoming an increasingly significant component in success or failure for these [nonprofit] organizations,” Lant says. The Internet is growing in importance as a means to efficiently communicate with, and engage, constituents. It also provides a way to deploy IT applications via the software-as-a-service model. Fundraising efforts—the heart of most nonprofit organizations—need to adapt to the Web. Blackbaud offers a Web site management system called Blackbaud NetCommunity that personalizes greetings and information based on the interests of individual supporters. “Donation options are customized based on giving history,” he says. “People have come to expect such an experience.”

Blackbaud offers a number of applications for nonprofits, including a CRM package, a financial management system, and fundraising and marketing management tools. Since 1981, Blackbaud has focused exclusively on the IT needs of nonprofits, and Lant says the company has no plans to move into other niche verticals. “We have significantly invested and continue to invest in bringing the best in technology and services to the marketplace,” he says. Like Blackbaud, channel partners that focus on a vertical niche can then carve out a niche of their own.

MEGAN SANTOSUS is a freelance business and technology writer in Natick, Mass.

Many niche verticals have industry associations that offer members advice, directories, and information about IT and general business issues.

• CONSTRUCTION FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: http://www.cfma.org
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDUSTRIAL & OFFICE PROPERTIES: http://www.naiop.org/index.cfm
• NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NONPROFIT ASSOCIATIONS: http://www.ncna.org
• TRUCKLOAD CARRIERS ASSOCIATION: http://www.truckload.org