The SaaS Solution

Do you really need software on your desktop or laptop? You might not for every function in your business. Popular for larger companies for some time now, Software as a Service (SaaS), also called hosted or on-demand applications, now offer small companies another alternative.

When Is It Time to Upgrade Technology?

The pace of innovation, especially in computer hardware and software, can seem blistering. But do you always need the latest and greatest?

Don’t Be a Software Pirate

Simply buying a software package doesn’t give you the right to put it on every machine in your office. In fact, even though you may not have intended it, software piracy has very real consequences. Getting caught could mean fines of $150,000 or more.

Smart Electronics Recycling

Now, you have several places to go to dispose of your old computer and phone equipment. These disposal sources are good for the environment and you can make money.

Saying No to New (Computers)

If you’re looking to save money in the short run, buying used computers may be right for you. As with anything used, you need to exercise caution about what you’re getting into; but, in the case of used computers, you can get great deals on machines that perform well and can be reliable for several years.

Video Conferencing’s Clear Improvement

As rising fuel prices and travel cutbacks continue to shake up the airline industry, business travel has become increasingly expensive. While video conferencing isn’t a replacement for face-to-face meetings, it can enhance long-distance communication and minimize travel needs.

The Remote Manager

Productivity almost always goes down when you’re out of the office. Fortunately, there are several solutions out there that can help you connect to your computer or network when you’re offsite. In fact, if you’re using a Windows-based PC or laptop, there’s one solution you may be able to take advantage of that costs you nothing.

DHL and One World: Bringing You a Global Advantage

DHL’s partnership with One World Yellow Pages helps bring your business from local to global overnight. If you’re looking for a way to promote your business, source new products or build leads online, check out One World.

How Your Website Communicates Your Competitive Edge

Often, your website is the first (and sometimes only) place that customers and prospects find out about you. It’s critical that it be a true point of differentiation for you, clearly communicating your value proposition and your competitive edge.

Building a Blog Strategy

Once you’ve made the decision to develop a blog, you need to go in with a true strategy. Publishing a blog is a long-term commitment, and you need to make sure you’re adequately prepared

Functional, Flexible Widgets

If you’re seeking inexpensive ways to upgrade your website or blog—to add valuable functionality—consider widgets. These mini-applications are easy to implement and can make your site or blog work harder than you might have imagined.

Data Storage Solutions on the Rise

Based on an increase in the availability of solutions that are simpler to set up and easier to manage, small businesses are increasingly adopting storage appliances. So what’s right for your business?

CRM Software and Small Business Do Mix

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software was once reserved for the larger enterprise systems that could best put them to use. Today, several inexpensive packages are available specifically for small business, and they offer a range of contact management solutions, such as time tracking, data management, sales tracking and tools and much more.

Get Found with Local Search Engines

Local search engines let users choose their searches by state, city or even neighborhood, which makes the process more efficient. And the pricing gives small businesses the opportunity to play on a field they might not have thought possible before.

Are Hosted Applications Right for Your Business?

During the past few years, hosted applications have become increasingly popular. Also referred to as on-demand software and Software as a Service (SaaS), a wide variety of hosted applications are now available for small business.

Web Analytics: Know Your Audience

As opposed to other types of marketing analysis (e.g., direct mail), web analytics—the process of collecting, measuring and analyzing user activity on a website—offers real-time, in-depth answers.

Accounting Software Update

If you’re a bookkeeping do-it-yourselfer, chances are you use a software package. For small business, each package offers its own advantages. Here’s what’s new for 2008 for the most commonly used small business accounting software.

Getting Personal with PURLS

As technology becomes increasingly inexpensive, every business can afford to target customers more effectively, and the web has become the great leveler in getting us there. Personalized websites (PURLs) are powerful tools that can enhance the effectiveness of any marketing program.

Getting to Know Web 2.0

What’s the difference between the World Wide Web and its new incarnation, Web 2.0? It’s all about interactivity and collaboration.

Lock Your Data Down

Keeping your computers and networks safe is an increasing challenge. Understanding the threats, and the ways in which you can prevent them from getting to you, is a great start. After that, it’s a matter of finding the right protection.

Entrepreneurs Untethered

Small business owners are increasingly abandoning their desktop PCs in favor of laptops. The reason? The value and flexibility of working anywhere.

Harnessing the Power of Podcasts

As a marketing tool, a podcast is a great way to easily educate prospects and customers of the key benefits and features of your product or service. “It’s also a way to build trust, differentiate your brand and maintain a relationship after the sale,” notes well-known digital media expert Jake Ludington.

Going Wireless

If you have a cable modem in your office, you can easily gain wireless access to the web. This inexpensive, easy-to-install and flexible technology offers the capability to grow with your company, allowing anywhere from three to 10 users to share your bandwidth at any given time. And if you feel like working in a different part of your office with your laptop, access is available within several hundred feet of your router, the hub of this broadband access technology.

Back It Up!

Whether it’s competitive data, your P&L information, customer data or any other information, a dead hard drive, a hacker or other unforeseen circumstance can leave you with no access at all. With the floppy disk all but dead, you have two real choices for robust data backup: an external hard drive or online systems.

How Often Do You Really Need to Upgrade Your Hardware and Software?

With the constant flow of new PC hardware and updates software programs, it can be difficult to keep up with all the change, not to mention expensive. So when is it really time to put money into upgrades?

One (Smart) Phone Does It All

In 2006, more estimates are that more than 60 million smart phones were sold in the U.S. In fact, according to InformationWeek, more than 200 million will ship during the next two years. Why does the smart phone appear to be the road warrior’s heir apparent to pdas and laptops? It’s all about power and productivity. These small devices, which start at under $150, enable connections to the web and intranets, letting users access e-mail, faxes, voice mail, web pages and other files; they can connect users to a speech-recognition server by phone, which allows dictation and delivery of text; run a wide range of applications; and more.

Data in a Flash (Drive)

When you need to get data onto your laptop in a hurry, swap information from one computer to another or work remotely, a flash drive can help you do the job. Prices for these miniature hard drives have gone down dramatically, while functionality and memory capacity have markedly improved.

Boost Your Bottom Line with Affiliate Marketing

If you want to bring in new dollars and extend your reach on the web, an affiliate marketing program might be right for you.

Affiliate Marketing Resources

A roundup of affiliate marketing resources.

Keyboard Logging: Who’s Standing Over Your Shoulder?

How would you feel if, every time you sat down at your keyboard, someone else knew know every stroke you took? With keyboard logging, the latest web scam, that’s not a rhetorical question.

Web Surveys Offer Fast Feedback

If you’re looking for feedback about your products, services or overall customer satisfaction, try a web-based survey. Offered by a variety of companies, web surveys are inexpensive, easy to create and a good way to get information from customers quickly.

If You Build a Blog, Will They Come?

Blogs are clearly here to stay. In fact, a recent count by BlogHerald.com puts their number at more than 100 million. But there’s a backlash: According to a BlogCount.com survey, only 39% of American readers find blobs credible. And the growing number of abandoned blogs is creating a negative perception for those that build them.

Building Your E-mail Database

If done right, e-mail communication can be an excellent, inexpensive way to reach people with special offers, news about your business and more. The problem is that we’re all constantly bombarded with spam and useless junk e-mail. But if you can effectively reach customers who’ve already used your products or services, you’re speaking to an audience that’s predisposed to read your message and respond. Here’s how to get those e-mail addresses.

Kill Your Cellphone (Or Just Swap It)

Changing cell phone carriers can mean a $125 to $250 early termination fee. If your contract has become burdensome or you’re just not happy with your service, several online “middlemen” now exist to help you make the transition without the fees.

Finding the Right Resources Online

If you’re going to make a business decision based on something you find on the web, your decisions will only be as good as the site itself. Learn how to spot online content and resources that are credible and verifiable.

Nonprofit Online Small Business Resources

Two well-known nonprofit organizations, the Edward Lowe Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, offer excellent small-business content and resources.

New Small Business Online Resources

A brief review of recent online small-business services from well-known organizations.

Will Vista Replace Windows XP?

At the time Business Watch went to press, Microsoft was scheduled to release its new Vista operating system in January 2007. Among the promises the platform offers is more help for small business—via its Vista Professional or Small Business Editions—and greater security. Will Vista quickly replace XP? Yes and no.