Tech solutions for small and mid-size firms

Small and mid-size businesses must make smart investments to stay competitive, but like every enterprise, they will face tightening IT budgets in 2009. There are cost-effective, state-of-the art options available to CIOs that could be well suited for mid-market companies. According to eWeek.com, small and mid-size companies should explore cloud computing as a way to access enterprise-class technology with minimal up-front investments, easy scalability and access to a wide range of web-hosted services.

Another option is virtualization; virtual servers and virtual desktops allow firms to host multiple operating systems and multiple applications locally, and in remote locations. Virtualization will also allow companies to save money on energy costs and reduce expenses on hardware resources. Another recommendation includes turning to open source software. There are no licensing costs, upgrade costs or initial software purchases. And don't forget online social networking as a way of connecting your business with certain social media audiences and other platforms.

For more advice:
- see this eWeek.com article [1]