By John Eckberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Companies big enough to worry about information technology but too small to hire somebody to manage those issues have a new option through a venture between Cisco Systems and Cincinnati-based PC on Call.

"Most of time, IT providers tend to focus on Fortune 1000 firms, so the small- to medium-sized businesses are underserved," said Mark Wilson, vice president of marketing and product management at PC on Call, where 103 people are employed.

"In focusing our attention within the small and medium businesses, we continue to see the challenges of how businesses can adopt technology to increase productivity or reduce costs."

The company plans regular seminars to focus on the core information technology needs of groups and companies within the Ohio corridor of Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.

The first occurs at 8 a.m. Tuesday at the Metropolitan Club, 50 E. RiverCenter Blvd., Covington.

"Reducing Costs by Leveraging Technology" will be hosted by Joe Diodata, director of small and medium-size initiatives for Cisco, based in San Jose, Calif. To register, call (888) 696-0696.

"The big issue in small- and medium-sized businesses is that customers are uneducated," Wilson said.

"We spend a lot of time helping them understand their exposure, their risks and how to adopt technology."

Many companies, rather than seek technology, software and approaches that bring revenue streams over time, instead tend to focus on components.

"They spend more time around the bright-fix component versus integrating it into their business," he said.

PC on Call has embarked in a new direction as well. The company was created to bring personal computer repair to homes. Businesses are now the niche getting much attention from PC on Call.

The focus on small- and medium-size businesses came in 2001, when executives such as Wilson came from General Electric to rejuvenate PC on Call. Wilson was vice president at the GE Capital IT solutions division.

Others came from the GE Appliance division and the GE Capital NetSolutions group.

Seminars are also planned for Tuesday evening in Columbus and Wednesday in Cleveland.

E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com