Archive: July 2008

July 31, 2008

Just The Three Of You: Your IT Consultant, You and Your Direct PC Vendor

Traditionally you have a direct relationship with your IT consultant and he (or she) is your liaison to your PC...

July 30, 2008

Reaching Your Customers Via Text Message: The Time Is Now

39% of small businesses are using text. This is definitely a growth from previous years. What does this mean for...

July 30, 2008

Subscriptions. It's Not Only for Hosted Applications

We know that one of the big draws for software as a services, is that you don't have to pay...

July 30, 2008

Lenovo's New ThinkPads - Special Order for Small Businesses. Definitely Worth A Look

I wrote about Lenovo's new line of notebook computers here but will go into them a bit more in this...

July 30, 2008

Is Your Customer Service Good Enough? Have Multiple Cusotmer Service Channels.

Technologist David Strom writes in his 14 July 2008 newsletter, you need multiple communications paths for your customer service department,...

July 30, 2008

When Your Telephone System Helps The Environment

In Mobile, Alabama a construction company, White-Spunner Construction, built its new headquarters with a commitment to going green. They didn't...

July 29, 2008

Is Your Small Business Growing To A Mid Sized Businesses: Advice from HP

I recently spoke with Urs Renggli, Director of Worldwide Small & Midmarket Business for HP. Urs' challenge is helping mid...

July 29, 2008

Do You Know the Power of API's?

You know how important it is to use programs in your business. You use QuickBooks, Microsoft Office and dozens of...

July 27, 2008

MagicJack - Virtual Telephone Line For the Mobile Professional

I was recently speaking to a friend of mine and he told me to cal his "MagicJack" telephone line. I...

July 26, 2008

The Lenovo ThinkPad Evolves For Small Businesses

Buying a desktop computer might not be that difficult as things are not that innovative. However, buying a notebook computer...

July 26, 2008

Can Your Security Technology Be Breached With No Technology

Securing your physical business property and data (computer network, mobile devices, etc) is very important. However, paying for advanced security...

July 26, 2008

Are There Myths of Software As A Service?

I was reading a recent Business Week article about software as a service, from Gene Marks, a respected technologist who...

July 26, 2008

NetBooks: Will These Small, Low Cost PCs Be On Your Next Shopping List?

We've read about the emergency of "NetBooks" - notebook computers that are smaller, cheaper and less powerful than existing notebook...

July 26, 2008

Using Technology To Save Gas (and when gas prices go down tips are still relevant!)

I got an email that Microsoft was running a contest (it ended 5 July) for small businesses to win 5,000...

July 26, 2008

Creating and Managing Your Own Loyalty Rewards Program

When you visit your local super market you get points or discounts when you give them your member card. When...

July 26, 2008

Using Technology to Manage Time Better and Get Paid For It

Earlier this month Timeslips by Sage launched an update to its product. Keeping track of time spent on projects/clients is...

July 26, 2008

Windows Vista: Should You Give It Another Look? Microsoft Offers An Incentive.

Microsoft has kick started an advertising campaign focused on getting businesses, especially smaller businesses to buy Windows Vista. Sales of...

July 24, 2008

Download FireFox: It Beats Itself and Microsoft Internet Explorer

I've been using Mozilla FireFox for several years and like it very much. I started using it just because of...

July 24, 2008

Lessons In Email Newsletter Frequency: How Much Is Too Much

A successful email newsletter is not very difficult to publish. You need to know what your audience wants (rich information...

July 21, 2008

All In One Network Appliances. Know Your Options.

All in one network appliances, sold by Microsoft (Small Business Server), Network Integration Technologies (Nitx - now owned by IBM),...

July 20, 2008

9 Simple and Effective E-Commerce Sales Booster Ideas

Enabling sales online is easy. Very easy. You can use PayPal or any one of hundreds of ecommerce solutions from...

July 20, 2008

Power Point Presentations: Let It Be An Experience (Learning From Al Gore)

I've sat through dozens and dozens of presentations (probably lots more) and many of them are traditional boring, bullet point...

July 18, 2008

Pay-Per-Click Advertising for Peanuts

Getting started in online advertising can be a bit intimidating for a small business owner - there is just...

July 18, 2008

Downloading Microsoft Windows Updates Can Be Bad For Your Health

Earlier this week I downloaded a regular supply of Microsoft updates for Windows XP. As has been the usual case,...

July 16, 2008

Time is Money. How Are You Tracking Yours?

Time spent on client work is directly tied to revenue for service based professionals. If you don't have a reliable,...

July 16, 2008

Are You Collaborating Creatively?

Mind mapping has traditionally been associated with creative types like writers and designers to brainstorm or organize research in a...

July 15, 2008

When Technology Embarrasses Us! :)

Technology is a useful tool - but sometimes it can be downright embarrassing - or shall I say - how...

July 15, 2008

Is Online Marketing Confusing You?

If online marketing is confusing, you're not alone. Every time I think I'm an expert in online marketing - I...

July 15, 2008

Email Marketing Providers: How to Choose

Email marketing is key for promoting your business. After an effective website, an informative and well designed email newsletter...

July 15, 2008

Can Social Networking Improve Internal Collaboration?

There are (at least) dozens of hosted applications for smaller businesses, however many companies struggle with getting employees to adopt...

July 14, 2008

Is 1.5 TeraBytes of Storage Too Much?

Seagate recently launched 1.5 TB hard disks for notebook and desktop computers. I think it's too much. What I mean...

July 14, 2008

Should Your Face Be On Your Web Site?

This tip and 8 others are on my friend Jeff Wuorio's latest insight, which he shares at Connectit. For those...

July 14, 2008

Email Archiving: Just as Important as Archiving Paper Records

Every business person knows you must archive important paper records your business generates or receives. Contracts, documents, HR information -...

July 14, 2008

Maximize Productivity With Hosted PBX

As we’ve been writing for some time now, your telephone is not just a tool for answering and making phone...

July 14, 2008

Green Communications 2008: The Case Studies Conference

Going green is no longer just an annoying column in a newspaper but is a critical part of smart business...

July 12, 2008

OQO Model 02: Moblity Like You've Never Experienced

If you haven't used the OQO Model 02 Ultra Portable Computer and you are a mobile road warrior always looking...

July 11, 2008

Be Environmentally Conscious AND Get Some Money Back

Well, we know we can't just throw that old computer in the dumpster...but until recently many of us mainly...

July 11, 2008

IT Support: Is a Managed Service Provider for You?

Q&A with Kevin Hart, CEO of Managed Systems When you think about IT support in your business, do you mainly...

July 11, 2008

Face-to-Face Meetings...No Traveling

No, it's not another story about gas prices (although it is one of our suggestions for using technology to...

July 10, 2008

"Lead Generation" Dilemma: Locking or Un-Locking PDFs

So you are looking to get some leads for your sales team and you decide to create a great PDF,...

July 10, 2008

Is Your Web Site A Reflection Of Your Company

Web sites are quite easy to build, even though studies show that half or more of smaller businesses still do...

July 10, 2008

Move Your Business to the Cloud

Jonathan Sapir, CEO of SilverTree Systems, Inc. "If something is a good idea, it's going to happen. And so, you...

July 8, 2008

Online Marketing: Are Your Campaigns Under Control?

With so many tools available today for small and medium sized businesses to market online, it's not too difficult to...

July 8, 2008

Making the Move to a New Web Host Provider

Eric Mandel, CEO and Founder, Blackmesh Selecting Your New Web Host [Editor's input - Sometimes you simply need to find...

July 7, 2008

Online Backup: So Many Viable Choices. Which One Is For You?

I've been using Carbonite's online backup solution for several months now. At $50 per year for unlimited storage it's a...

July 5, 2008

Windows Home Server - For Home Based Businesses With Small Networks

Recently Microsoft launched the Windows Home Server which is an ideal hardware/software tool for home users with multiple computers (and...

July 5, 2008

LinkedIn: It's Much More Powerful Than You Think

I've been using Facebook - well passively using it - to keep track of people in business and of a...

July 4, 2008

Is Email Keeping You Down. An IBMer Skips Email for Social Tools

Email is nice, but then again, it becomes not so nice when your email box is completely flooded with emails...

July 4, 2008

Keep Your Laptop Bagged At the Airport: NEW TSA Rules

The NY Times is reporting that the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is working with companies to develop laptop bags that...

July 3, 2008

As Gas Goe$ Up, Use Technology To Communicate

As gas prices go up, companies that used to rely on vehicle (or air planes for that matter) travel are...

July 3, 2008

Why Open Source Works, Tech Partners Are Essential and ERP Is a Must

In a recent Knowledge @ Wharton Podcast, Tom Hanrahan, Director of Linux Interoperability at Microsoft, speaks with Wharton Legal Studies...

July 3, 2008

Data Ownership, Access and Location. It's A Mystery.

When I look at the growing toy collection of my children. Fond memories come to mind - of their growth,...

July 3, 2008

Are Your Files and Emails Secure Enough?

When you send files via the Internet or just a plain email you might not give much thought to...

July 3, 2008

SaaS Spells Relief for Small Business

John Magee, VP of Symantec Corporation As small businesses feel the pressure to survive in the current state of the...

July 3, 2008

Email Marketing: Why More Of You Don't Do It

If you look at the top 2 or 3 major email marketing services for small businesses, collectively they have no...

July 3, 2008

Sending Text Messages Won't Be Dull Again

Being able to text customers who opt in to receive messages from you can be a very powerful form of...

July 2, 2008

Leveraging Social Media for Ecommerce

Kevin Sproles, CEO of Volusion The continued growth of online shopping over the past years has drawn many new small...

July 1, 2008

Virtual Chat Agents: Artificial Intelligence, Real Sales

Q&A with Glenn Russell, Co-founder and CEO of UpSellit How does traditional chat (no face) differ from avatar based chat?...