Microsoft Offers No Response On Response Point

Posted by Fredric Paul 06:51 PM ET | Jul 2, 2009

If you were wondering about the future of Microsoft's Response Point small business VoIP system, you can keep wondering. The system's future has been in doubt for months, and the company declined to clear up the confusion at a meeting with Voice over IP resellers this week.

Read all of "Microsoft Offers No Response On Response Point"

Comment on this blog entry

Small Businesses Hold Back On Tech Spending

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:43 AM ET | Jul 2, 2009

If you're a small business desperately trying to hold the line on your IT budget, you're not alone. A new CDW survey reveals that fewer SMBs expect technology budgets to improve in the next 6 months.

Read all of "Small Businesses Hold Back On Tech Spending"

Comment on this blog entry

AT&T And CDW Offer Subsidized Netbooks To SMBs

Posted by Fredric Paul 07:37 PM ET | Jul 1, 2009

Wanna buy a netbook real cheap? How about $199? No problem. All you have to do is sign this little 2-year contract for 3G data services...

Read all of "AT&T And CDW Offer Subsidized Netbooks To SMBs"

Comment on this blog entry

How To Say No -- And Live With Yourself: Wednesday's Woman

Courtesy of Business Know-How 12:35 PM ET | Jul 1, 2009

The following is an excerpt from the book Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success, by Claire Shipman, senior national correspondent for ABC News' Good Morning America, and Katty Kay, Washington correspondent and anchor for BBC World News America.

Read all of "How To Say No -- And Live With Yourself: Wednesday's Woman"

Comment on this blog entry
Business Know-How | Women in Business

HP Access Discovers The Virtues of "Free"

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:03 AM ET | Jul 1, 2009

HP Access, the company's assistance program for small and midsize business, has dropped its $49 price tag and is now free to buyers of qualifying HP products. Ironically enough, at that price the program actually has some value.

Read all of "HP Access Discovers The Virtues of "Free""

Comment on this blog entry

Dell's Adds Ultraportable Notebook To Its Vostro Line For SMBs

Posted by Fredric Paul 08:50 PM ET | Jun 30, 2009

Question: What's smaller than a notebook but bigger than a netbook? Answer: An ultraportable, like Dell's new 3.36-pound Vostro 1220, with a 12.1-inch screen.

Read all of "Dell's Adds Ultraportable Notebook To Its Vostro Line For SMBs"

Comment on this blog entry

Are SMBs Facing A Crisis Of Cloud Confidence?

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:53 AM ET | Jun 30, 2009

Cloud computing is often thought of as the perfect option for small businesses. But a new survey shows that small businesses share many of the cloud computing concerns of their larger competitors, including security, availability, and speed.

Read all of "Are SMBs Facing A Crisis Of Cloud Confidence?"

Comment on this blog entry

Online Sales Tax Brouhaha Hits More SMB Amazon Affiliates

Posted by Fredric Paul 08:34 PM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Amazon.com has dropped affiliate relationships with small businesses in North Carolina and Rhode Island as the states prepare to implement new laws requiring the company to collect online sales tax.

Read all of "Online Sales Tax Brouhaha Hits More SMB Amazon Affiliates"

Comment on this blog entry

Receivables-Based Credit: An Alternative Financing Option

Posted by Gayle Kesten 10:20 AM ET | Jun 29, 2009

From increasing interest rates to the need for higher credit scores, many small business owners have felt the strangle known as the credit crunch.

Read all of "Receivables-Based Credit: An Alternative Financing Option"

Comment on this blog entry
Economy

How To Find People To Follow On Twitter

Posted by Gayle Kesten 12:37 PM ET | Jun 26, 2009

Of my 271 followers on Twitter, *maybe* 10% are people I actually know. The rest is a group joined together based on common interests -- small businesses, entrepreneurs, tech tools, and the like.

Read all of "How To Find People To Follow On Twitter"

Comment on this blog entry
Internet | Marketing | SmallBizResource | Startups

How Long Should Your Business Keep Its Computers?

Posted by Fredric Paul 10:18 AM ET | Jun 26, 2009

When does buying new PCs for your business become cheaper than NOT buying new PCs for your business? According to Intel, it's when those PCs reach the ripe old age of... 3.

Read all of "How Long Should Your Business Keep Its Computers?"

Comment on this blog entry

How To Make Your Public-Speaking Engagements Interesting And Unforgettable

Courtesy of Business Know-How 11:35 AM ET | Jun 25, 2009

After the waitress poured my coffee in the Washington Hilton Hotel's restaurant, I turned to the lady beside me at the counter and asked, "Will you pass the cream, please?" She answered, "No, I won't."

Read all of "How To Make Your Public-Speaking Engagements Interesting And Unforgettable"

Comment on this blog entry
Business Know-How

PODCAST: Social Networking, Web 2.0 And The Consumerization of IT - Best Practices For SMBs

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:31 AM ET | Jun 25, 2009

Earlier this month, I got the chance to be a present a video Webinar on how small and midsize companies can best take advantage of the latest changes in technology. While I was in Pittsburgh for the video shoot, I also recorded an audio interview with Maurice Saluan from Zenith Infotech, where we discussed many of these same subjects in a more casual forum. You can listen to the podcast here.

Read all of "PODCAST: Social Networking, Web 2.0 And The Consumerization of IT - Best Practices For SMBs"

Comment on this blog entry

Shustir.com Co-Founder Shu Kim: Wednesday's Woman

Posted by Gayle Kesten 02:00 PM ET | Jun 24, 2009

Shu Kim's family emigrated from Seoul, South Korea, to New York when she was only three; ironically, a work assignment took her back many years later. In retrospect Kim realized the time she spent in her birthplace helped her tap into her entrepreneurial roots.

Read all of "Shustir.com Co-Founder Shu Kim: Wednesday's Woman"

Comment on this blog entry
Women in Business

How To Protect Your Small Business From Identity Theft

Posted by Gayle Kesten 03:28 PM ET | Jun 23, 2009

With friends, family, and co-workers like these…In the spirit of opening your eyes but not inducing paranoia, when small businesses fall victim to identity theft, someone they know is more often than not the guilty party whose tampering has a direct impact on their credit standing.

Read all of "How To Protect Your Small Business From Identity Theft"

Comment on this blog entry
Internet | Security | SmallBizResource | Software | Startups

13 Twitter-Speak Translations

Posted by Gayle Kesten 01:56 PM ET | Jun 22, 2009

"What the heck IS this Twitter thing?" The frequency with which small-business owners and entrepreneurs continue to ask me that question -- as recently as two hours ago by one of the dads at an end-of-the-year school function, and last week during two interviews for profile pieces -- signals to me that, a) word is truly getting out beyond those of us who live in this social media cocoon, and, b) people assume way more is involved with Twitter than is actually the case.

Read all of "13 Twitter-Speak Translations"

Comment on this blog entry
Internet | Marketing | SmallBizResource | Startups

Cost-Conscious Buyers Force Verizon Business To Repackage Web Center

Posted by Fredric Paul 07:08 AM ET | Jun 22, 2009

When the economy seemed strong, plenty of companies were willing to pony up for the full multimedia version of Verizon's Web Center contact center service. But now, not so much. So Verizon has come up with Web Center Voice, which leaves out the multimedia, and half the cost.

Read all of "Cost-Conscious Buyers Force Verizon Business To Repackage Web Center"

Comment on this blog entry

Big Businesses Like Verizon, But SMBs Choose Cablevision's Optimum Business

Posted by Fredric Paul 03:15 PM ET | Jun 19, 2009

J.D. Power and Associates' new 2009 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Study shows that rankings of satisfaction with telecommunications providers varies according to company size, with smaller and larger companies preferring different providers.

Read all of "Big Businesses Like Verizon, But SMBs Choose Cablevision's Optimum Business"

Comment on this blog entry

New All-On-One Panda Security Solution Targets Small Businesses

Posted by Gayle Kesten 11:20 AM ET | Jun 19, 2009

In the same spirit that multifunction printers consolidate four separate space-hogging machines into a single piece of hardware, unified threat management (UTM) solutions combine multiple types of security products into one package that aim to keep customers' networks safe.

Read all of "New All-On-One Panda Security Solution Targets Small Businesses"

Comment on this blog entry
Security

Small Business Optimism Is Tougher Than The Great Recession

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:56 PM ET | Jun 18, 2009

In the face of the unrelenting torrent of bad economic news, leave it to small businesses to keep pushing. According to a new study, 70% still foresee growth in their business this year, and almost half of those actually plan to hire new workers!

Read all of "Small Business Optimism Is Tougher Than The Great Recession"

Comment on this blog entry

9 Ways To Decide What You Should Sell

Posted by Janet Attard, Courtesy of Business Know-How 09:23 AM ET | Jun 18, 2009

Are you thinking about launching a new business? Do you have some new product or service you want to sell? Are you pretty sure the product or service will be a big hit if you can get enough money to get started, or get the time and resources together to add it to your existing offerings?

Read all of "9 Ways To Decide What You Should Sell"

Comment on this blog entry
Business Know-How

New Company Targets Web-Based Malware And Blacklists

Posted by Keith Ferrell 05:52 PM ET | Jun 17, 2009

Dasient, a security startup started up by former Google engineers, among others, is targeting malware that has your Web sites targeted, as well as monitoring your sites for their presence on blacklists. That last, as any business that's been blacklisted can attest, can be deadly.

Read all of "New Company Targets Web-Based Malware And Blacklists"

Comment on this blog entry

TwiddleMuff Maker Margaret Light: Wednesday's Woman

Posted by Gayle Kesten 12:05 PM ET | Jun 17, 2009

Not everybody is fortunate enough to know their grandparents. Margaret Light was, and not only did they provide her with a sense of stability while she was growing up -- her family moved every few years -- but one also served as the catalyst for a business that's now in its third year.

Read all of "TwiddleMuff Maker Margaret Light: Wednesday's Woman"

Comment on this blog entry
Women in Business

Spiceworks 4.0 Adds Visual Mapping, Twitter, And More

Posted by Fredric Paul 10:20 PM ET | Jun 16, 2009

The latest version of the popular free IT management tool for SMBs adds the ability to visually map your company's IT network, Twitter integration, and 3rd-party management plug-ins from Microsoft, LiveOffice, Intel, and Trend Micro.

Read all of "Spiceworks 4.0 Adds Visual Mapping, Twitter, And More"

Comment on this blog entry

Craigslist Gets "The Weird Al" Treatment

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:25 PM ET | Jun 16, 2009

If eBay is the spot for small businesses to start selling, Craigslist is where companies go to buy and sell stuff before they're even companies. And now Weird Al Yankovic gives the ubiquitous online marketplace his special breed of love -- in a Doors-themed video with Ray Manzerak on keyboard.

Read all of "Craigslist Gets "The Weird Al" Treatment"

Comment on this blog entry
Marketing

Latest bMighty Features for Small Biz

Exclusive Research for Small Biz




Explore the Small Business Resource Blog

A QUICK UPDATE FOR OUR VISITORS
As some of you may know, we have been a thriving division of CMP Technology, which is owned by United Business Media (UBM). We have recently formed a powerful new business unit directly under UBM called TechWeb to serve the information and business needs of 10,000,000 business technology decision-makers like you that use our websites, attend our events, utilize our services and read our magazines. To learn more about TechWeb and how we can help drive your business, go to techweb.com/aboutus.