Brendan Dunphy, Director at Max.net email Brendan

1) What is your vision for Max.net?

I really see great potential to take benchmarking to the next level by utilizing the latest in web 2.0 technologies. If you are familiar with Facebook, LikedIn or Twitter then you will have a good idea of the sort of ways you can communicate, collaborate and share via these services. We want to bring that level of interactivity to benchmarking via Max.net, bring into the 21 century and the ways people want to work today. Benchmarking is no longer just for large corporate and a tool for consultants – it can be used much more widely in the future enabled by the web.

2) What is your forecast for 2009?

That’s a difficult one! Sticking close to home and what we do at Max.net, given the downturn its going to be a challenging year where we need to balance short-term business needs with developing our vision and this is always a challenge, even in a less hostile economy. On the more positive side I think we will continue to build a presence in new sectors via Trade & Industry Associations in the UK and in domains such as sustainability and innovation, both personal interests of mine!

3) How can benchmarking help during the downturn?

We all need to make better business and investment decisions, even us at Max.net! In order to do that we need better data to base those decisions on and benchmarking can help to provide that. It is not a panacea but focused on the right challenges it can bring clarity that is simply not there today. Simplifying and accelerating the benchmark process is key to its wider use and we can help with this.

4) Will sustainability be a hot topic in 2009?

Unfortunately I think sustainability will have a lower profile in some sectors given the economic challenges they face. But overall it is not going to go away and it is a crucial issue for all of us. At the moment we are still lacking a coherent approach to sustainability and therefore the common metrics that will make progress tracking and performance comparison easier. These should become established in 2009 in markets like the UK providing a platform for us to get more involved. Max.net is working with thought leaders via the UK’s CBI, PSL and others to make sure it can add value.

5) And what about innovation, your other interest?

Innovation continues to be something I focus on via other channels such as Frost & Sullivan (where I am Innovation Thought Leader), Science for Humanity and HowToFarmLightning™: sustainable innovation. Establishing a Max.net enabled innovation benchmark has been a goal for a while now. Max.net will be a pilot customer for the EU sponsored inv3olve SME innovation benchmarking program and this will help us to better understand current best practice and maybe contribute to this initiative later next year. I also collaborate with the NESTA in the UK and this is a great way to connect and partner in the UK innovation scene, government, business and social, so expect to see more involvement from Max.net here in 2009!