We just received word today that we are one of 10 companies selected as "finalists" in the 2008 Dell/National Federation of Independent Business Excellence Award. We were competing with over 200 companies worldwide.
From the NFIB web site web site:
"Established in 2004, the Dell/NFIB award program honors small businesses that instill the spirit of innovation and apply information technology to improve customer service. Each entrant must show how it has used information technology to drive a significant change or develop a competitive advantage in delivering superior customer value and experience."
This award feels especially relevant on a personal level. We have worked hard here at Glance to use technology to create and deliver a tool that makes life easier for small and medium-sized businesses like us. Using Glance, our customers can demo their products, meet with customers and workers, connect and collaborate online with anyone -- with just a click.
Our vision has been to avoid the slippery, seductive slope of "feature creep," which we feel plagues too many high (and low!) tech products.
A simple tool is an oft-used tool.
Simple tools enjoy a virtuous circle: Simple means there's less that can go wrong, making them inherently more reliable, which gives people the confidence to use them frequently, which makes them valued.
Most web conferencing services work only on PCs. Glance works on PCs and Macs, and even Linux folks can join sessions.
Most web conferencing services also require that everyone use the same browser technology. Glance works equally well with several different browser technologies and automatically chooses the best. So you're much more likely to have everyone connect, so your meetings start on time.
Finally, most services depend upon a single co-location facility. Glance has completely redundant facilities on the East and West coasts. Should one location experience a problem, the other is there to keep the service running.
The field of web conferencing services seems to be getting more and more crowded. But I believe our competitive advantage has been and continues to be our unshakable commitment to a tool that remains elegant in its simplicity and valued for its dependability.
Our customers say it best: "Glance's user interface is simple. We simply click to demonstrate our software to anyone, anywhere - reliably and fast." [Tony Mirante, Founder and President, Technicon Ecommerce Solutions]
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