SMB Market: Opinions

Until roughly six years ago, mobile computers and telephones were really separate things. "Mobile computing" meant laptops -- maybe with broadband wireless for some lucky executives. "Telephone" meant communication device. "Convergence" meant putting your cellphone into your computer bag to go through airport security.

With the increasing convenience and availability of mobile technology, small businesses are finding it easier to compete. The Small Business Mobility Report by CDW found that nearly all respondents -- 94% -- agreed that their use of mobile devices for work tasks has made them more efficient. This efficiency boost grants small businesses an opportunity to extend reach and increase productivity without emptying the piggy bank.

Data is more important to businesses today than it has ever been, doing everything from revealing trends in customer behavior to comparing sales performance across business units and regions. Comprehensive data collection provides the who, what, when and how associated with almost all organizational activity. This information is incredibly valuable to executives because it plays a critical role in strategic business decisions. As such, all businesses - big and small - must have a data backup strategy in place to protect against data loss.

As small businesses implement the latest technology to keep up with client demands, next-generation servers come to the forefront of the discussion. But what is a "next-gen" server exactly?

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are in a state of transition when it comes to juggling network needs with mobile device use. A recent CDW report on small-business mobility found that more than three-quarters of IT managers have deployed smartphones to their workforce, and more than half have deployed tablets. However, many employees prefer using their own devices: Almost 90% of IT managers recognized that employees are using personal devices for work.

Shaw reviews Cisco's Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA4500.

IT professionals implementing energy efficient solutions in the data center are realizing big savings, and many report it has been easier to do than they thought it would be. In its fourth year, the CDW Energy Efficient IT Report found that implementing energy efficient solutions is easier than the typical organization perceives. Even better, "green" initiatives are gaining respect in the IT world, with 43% of survey respondents identifying green initiatives as a top driver for data center consolidation.

If Akitio can bundle this with a hard drive and make those performance improvements, consumers might be impressed with a device that can provide them with centralized storage for their media content.

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether the "First-sale Doctrine" applies to products made outside the US ... let's hope they get it right ...

A few months ago I started writing about my saga of getting AT&T U-verse DSL service established at the new location of the Gibbs Universal Industries Secret Underground Bunker.

I'm trying to automate my beloved's business and, to this end, I need to create a system to generate receipts and trap client data. What I want to give her is a forms-based application that can run on an iPhone and or an iPad without being connected to the Internet.

It probably won’t surprise you to know that companies in Australia are using social media as a core part of their business strategy in greater numbers every day. This includes Dell, Coca-Cola, V Australia and Toyota to name a just a few high profile organisations.

Virtually every IT organisation is feeling the impact of the global downturn. But there is a silver lining. It provides an opportunity to challenge the status quo, eliminate ineffective systems and services, and make changes that management has previously refused to consider.

I hear people talking about selling solutions all the time. What they normally mean is that they want to bundle together as many products as possible to increase the sale to the customer. That to me is NOT a solution sale. It’s a drive for revenue and ultimately not something that is good business.

Australia may have been doomed to follow the world into recessions past, but some dire predictions notwithstanding, there’s a real sense of optimism on this occasion that we can ride the storm and come out stronger than many nations.

By now the holidays are becoming a distant memory and it is either the beginning of a new financial year for some, or the run to the finish for others. Welcome to 2009, a year that will undoubtedly have its share of ups and downs – hopefully more ups if some structured channel planning is put in place now.

Since my first column on Gershon (ARN, July 23), Sir Peter has departed our fair shores and left a series of challenging and optimistic recommendations in a report laid down (presumably) with some gusto on Minister Lindsay Tanner’s table. Last week, Tanner stated the recommendations would be adopted completely in full.

In the novel From Russia with Love, author, Ian Fleming, describes the waiting platform for the Orient Express as throbbing with the “tragic poetry of departure”. Whether we are the ones boarding the train or the ones standing on the platform watching others depart, the act of departure often brings feelings of emptiness, loneliness and sadness.

Business owners and managers can expect a difficult trading year in 2009, following the turmoil of 2008. There are many things they should do to help them through the unchartered waters they are likely to encounter including updating their business plan – or, if they don’t have one already, getting one done.

At just about every meeting, client catch up or industry event I attend these days, people ask me the same basic questions: “How’s business, what’s going to happen next and when/where is it all going to end?”