The cost of not knowing what the problems in your company are is significant.

QLBS.com executive director Keith Phillips believes analysis is a powerful tool that delves into the core of what's wrong.

“Our target clients are government and corporate sectors who have a need to be able to verify strategies and target resources. With this software they can then measure improvement,” he says.

One such client is New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

QLBS.com developed the Q100 software, an assessment engine that uses questionnaires and benchmarking, as a business development tool.

Q100 can be used to assess growth and risk assessment in startup businesses as well as quality improvement and brand performance in corporate companies.

Growth assessment looks at the basic capability and structure of the business and assesses what's missing and what will stop growth points.

Phillips says many businesses make the mistake of moving to the export market without adequate analysis.

“A company needs to know how its business will measure up against international businesses. It's like a plane taking off for a long-haul flight and not knowing how much fuel it will require.”

He says the weakest area in New Zealand business is future vision and marketing, essential for economic development.

“Most businesses are extremely well managed from a fiscal point of view but are really slack on marketing.”

QLBS.com was started in 2000 as a consultancy business but soon found the need for rigor in order to be able to deliver best value to clients.

Chief executive officer Margaret Mulqueen says QLBS.com identified its target market early on.

“From the beginning we knew we wanted an international business. We targeted the incubator market early on and that sharp focus meant we successfully penetrated all the key incubator associations around the world,” she says.

That penetration extends as far afield as Iran, Canada and China.

This year QLBS.com is focused on developing key relationships with partners in Singapore, leveraging that to move into the Malaysian market. “We focused on Singapore before driving into Australia where we now have strategic alliances. The plan is to break into the UK by the middle of the year,” says Phillips.