International Business and Technology Blog

Renowned for its technology and ability to deliver, Ocean Optics has every reason to be confident of its global success. To make sure the Ocean Optics brand is showcased at its best, management decided to invest in its online footprint. As a Florida exporter, the company took advantage of the innovative Florida Online Global Program and in mid-2018, Ocean Optics boasted its first 2 fully localized websites for target export markets; Mexico and Brazil. IBT Online is proud to have helped them get online globally.

With headquarters in Florida, Ocean Optics was eligible for Enterprise Florida’s Online Global Program. As a public-private partnership, Enterprise Florida Inc. (EFI) is the principal economic development organization for the state. Working with IBT Online, EFI initiated an innovative program to help Florida companies with global ambitions get the right sales and marketing tools: international, fully localized websites and social media marketing.

This is the third in our 4-part Service Company Exporter Series that explores the challenges service companies face when exporting and what tools and support service companies might benefit from. Previously, we looked at the importance of the U.S. economy’s service sector as well as the most common barriers to export faced by manufacturing and service firms.

This blog compares the barriers to export faced by manufacturing and service firms, with the export assistance activities provided by U.S. state export assistance programs. As identified in the previous blog, service companies typically experience more export barriers than manufacturing companies and these export barriers tend to be more complex. 

As service firms engage in the exporting process, they often seek the assistance of state and federal export assistance programs to help them navigate the complexities of exporting. Thus, understanding whether state export assistance programs are providing the appropriate export assistance activities to service firms is important for both parties as they seek to bring more U.S. services to international markets.

Japan is a stable and large economy with a population that is tech-savvy and modern - a dream destination for any exporter. The people of Japan are well connected (91% use the internet!) and are avid social media users. 

Use online tools to your advantage to be found, understood, and transact your business in Japan – one of the most internet-aware markets in the world. 

Hosting websites is a massive, technological, fast evolving and growing global business. Website hosting is all about managing and optimizing the rapid rise in the number of websites: there are over 1.8 billion websites today compared to just 3,000 in 1994. These zillions of webpages compete for prized online real estate, to attract the more than 6 billion targeted internet users worldwide. To succeed, companies, organizations and individuals demand that the website hosting service providers deliver for their websites the four key S’s of website hosting success: speed, security, scalability and support.

The hosting industry is yet another deeply technological subject for those concerned to master and manage. At IBT Online we want the best for our clients online business and this includes getting the best hosting experience in global markets. Service delivery from hosting providers ranges from good (5) to bad (1) (see below for criteria). We see averages of 4 in home markets, but 2 when it comes to global website hosting! The IBT Online Global program best practice for website hosting, is to get our clients a top 5 score in all their markets.

Brazil - The largest economy in South America and with exciting potential for further growth. No wonder exporters have Brazil firmly in their export destination sights. While its size and potential growth are tempting, it is not for the inexperienced exporter. Brazil is a difficult market to enter, subject to a history of complex protectionist policies.

But for the persistent exporter, Brazil holds out the trophy of a lucrative and growing market. Use online tools to your advantage to be found, understood and transact your business in Brazil – one of the most internet-aware markets in the world. The infographic below will help you grasp and understand the potential of Brazil’s online environment, social media, and ecommerce.

This is the second in our 4-part blog Service Company Exporter Series that explores the challenges service companies face when exporting and what tools and support service companies might benefit from. Previously, we looked at the importance of the service sector for the U.S. economy. The current blog compares the most common barriers to export faced by service companies versus manufacturers.

At IBT Online we deliver innovative and high-quality websites and online marketing for international businesses. With offices in Europe and the US, helping companies navigate the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is fundamental to our business.

This blog post sets out how you can implement a DIY strategy for dealing with GDPR and how IBT Online can help you get ahead of the game in digital trustworthiness.

The world wide web was invented 30 years ago and in just one generation has spread to every corner of the Earth and even beyond. The United Nations is debating including access to the web as a fundamental human right. But the risks of the web’s ubiquity are also increasingly clear. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the greatest challenge so far for companies as they scramble to tame their wild west websites. At the core of GDPR is the recognition that online personal data has a value. Who owns it and how should it be treated?

The ability to access the internet is increasingly seen as a fundamental human right. Tim Berners-Less, one of the inventors of the WorldWideWeb and a director the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) notes that “The power of the Web is its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”.  Accessibility for the disabled, is a growing concern. While the United Nations set out guidelines as far back as 2006, countries have been slow to adopt them. But the tide now looks to be turning. The European Union (EU) implemented the accessibility best practices in 2010. In 2017, over 400 U.S. companies were served with lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because their websites were not deemed accessible to the disabled. Websites are increasingly  recognized as public places, and therefore need to be more mindful of public accessibility. Today, more than 4 billion people use the web for: “education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, access to information and more” (Source: United Nations). To be denied access to the web is an impediment to normal life and life’s opportunities in our 21st century world. Companies need to take note.

If the U.S wishes to maintain its global stature, it needs to support its service exporters more as they compete in international markets. Traditional federal and state export assistance programs need to acknowledge the economic shift in favor of services and adapt their resources and activities to support the growing number of U.S. service companies that are looking to export. This blog series will discuss the different resources service exporters need compared to manufacturing exporters and will make suggestions on how U.S. state export development programs can address the exporting needs of service firms.