SMBs

Hosted email seats will grow 40 percent within next four years

Paul Mah — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:02:32 -0400

A new study conducted by the Radicati Group says that the number of hosted email seats will grow almost 40 percent by the year 2012. Reasons for the fueled growth include a changing attitude of IT toward hosting, as well as the continual evolution of the technology for the better. While smaller businesses are likely to "go the hosted route," large enterprises also might be open to consider it for regional offices, according to Sara Radicati, CEO of Radicati. Where SMBs are concerned, they are expected to switch from standard SMTP hosted email services to a more advanced suite of hosted messaging services over the next four years.

For more on hosted email services:
- check out this Network World article

AMD unveils enterprise PCs

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:40:09 -0400

So, you're a microprocessor vendor that's struggling to catch up to the competition: What are you to do? I can't say that "release enterprise-class machines" is the first thing that comes to mind, but you've got to give AMD points for originality. The company has just announced a wholly unexpected hardware line of a different sort, starting with the descriptively-named "Business Class desktop." Inside you'll find--what else?--an AMD CPU of your choosing, be it a dual-core Athlon X2, a triple-core Phenom X3 or a quad-core Phenom X4. The company will be selling the machines, which are aimed squarely at small and medium-sized businesses, via a troupe of enterprise vendors, including Acer, HP, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens and Lenovo. If that's not enough for the AMD fan in you, you'll be pleased to hear that the company plans to launch a similar AMD-branded laptop during the second half of the year.

For more on the new PCs:
- see this Engadget story

Dell refreshes Vostro laptops

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:16:56 -0400

Sure, old Walt Mossberg might not like Dell's Vostro line of SMB-tailored PCs much, but maybe you do. If you count yourself among Vostro's fans, you'll be pleased to hear that Dell is giving it's Vostro laptops a much-needed refresh. There's a new 13.3-inch model (the Vostro 1310), a new 15.4-incher (the Vostro 1510) and a reworked 17-inch model (the Vostro 1710). All sport a slot-loading optical drive, are thinner and lighter than their predecessors, include 10GB of online storage, are delivered bloatware-free and start at $599. The 1310 and 1510 are available now in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and May 1st in the Americas. The 1710 is scheduled to arrive in mid-May.

For more on the new Vostros:
- see this press release

IT Innovation in SMB space requires creativity

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

CIOs at small and mid-size companies are struggling to leverage budgets to fund risky but potentially rewarding IT projects. J. Marc Hopkins, manager of information technology at a large medical practice headquartered in Ohio, writes about his experience justifying a risky business intelligence (BI) project in CIO magazine. He reveals that getting a green light on these initiatives can be more of an art than a science. But the effort is worth it, if SMBs are to join their large enterprise brethren in reaping the rewards of innovation. "[In my environment] traditional project planning and ROI measurements are ineffective in calculating the value of BI because calculating the potential value of unknown information is similar to a prospector digging for gold," he writes. Hopkins offers readers a few tactical suggestions that helped him eventually secure the funding for his BI project. Among his recommendations: start small in order to make the project more financially feasible. In this case, Hopkins broke the project into multiple cascading sub-projects, each of which built on the success of its predecessor; each step was used to fund the subsequent steps. He also recommends focusing on the end user: "finding the information is insufficient to generate value; it must be accessible to the parties who can best utilize it," he writes. In the end, Hopkins says the company has delivered more than $1 million in benefits to date with an investment of $125,000 in hardware and software.

For all the details on how he sold the project to his CFO:
- read the article in CIO

ALSO NOTED: Apple becomes the number 3 seller of laptops in the U.S.; Can SMBs rely on VoIP?;

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Apple becomes the #3 seller of notebook PCs in the U.S. Article

> Can SMBs rely on VoIP? Article

> Asus Eee PC available for pre-order. Article

> The Wall Street Journal discovers l334 speak. Article

> A look at the OLPC XO's user interface. Article

> Palm CEO responds to Engadget's open letter. Article

> The tiniest USB Bluetooth receiver. Article

And Finally ... Behold! The Zune phone. Video

Mossberg gives thumbs down to Dell Vostro line

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Remember Dell's Vostro line of desktops and laptops tailor-made for the SMB market? Perhaps you've found yourself wondering how the machines stack up when compared to offerings from other vendors, or even when compared to the rest of Dell's lineup. The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg apparently found himself wondering the same thing and decided to take the Vostro 1500 laptop for a test drive. His thoughts? The machine apparently offers "nothing special, nothing particularly tailored for small business at all," with the lappie itself being characterized as "a Plain Jane, rather bulky and heavy laptop". What's more, Dell shipped the 1500 with no security software and the bug-ridden IE6 ("about the least secure web browser you can buy"), for no explicable reason. So, is there anything good about these machines? Mossberg plainly states that Dell's SMB support network is "just about the only small business innovation" to be found here, though he admits that "only time will tell" whether or not the support is up to snuff for SMBs.

Tell us how you really feel, Walt:
- check out this scathing video review

IBM Targets SMBs with Blade Server System

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

IBM is jumping on the bandwagon, and is taking a closer look at small and medium sized companies. Last week, Big Blue said that it would begin building blade server systems for SMBs--companies with fewer than 1,000 employees. IBM, which currently sells BladeCenter chassis for large enterprises, says that it will start packaging modules for management, networking and storage for smaller firms.

For more information on the blade servers:
- see this article from CIO

Open-source: A reality in the midmarket

Tue, 15 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

For many companies today, open-source is much, much more than just Linux. While 90 percent of companies with revenues below $500 million will use Linux by the end of 2007, other open-source applications like Apache, Firefox, and other Web and application tools, database systems and development tools also have caught on. The benefits are clear: lower costs, flexibility, integration and security. A survey by CIO Insight finds that four of five midmarket companies plan to expand the use of these open-source tools as well. Even small businesses are deploying open-source software, including database systems, middleware, programming languages, virtualization software, wikis and business intelligence applications. This year, companies are spending, on average, more than half a million dollars to install and maintain open-source systems, and nearly half of small and mid-sized businesses have adopted a full-fledged open-source architecture. What's more, open-source is redefining what it means to work in IT. Nearly all CIOs at SMBs allow their staff to participate in open-source projects; many also follow the open source model to develop their own software.

Read more about the rise of open-source:
- read the article at CIO Insight

ALSO:
- read this on how open-source has grown up
- this on how open-source can be risky
- and this on whether open-source security is good enough

Survey: Does hosted IT benefit small businesses?

Tue, 15 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

A new survey of small business decision-makers from BizTechReports.com found that small businesses that use a hosted IT infrastructure are more likely to spend a smaller percentage of their annual revenue on technology than are their counterparts who manage IT internally. The report found that SMBs that outsource also are twice as likely to use new technologies such as software as a service (SaaS) applications. The study also found that businesses that rely on hosted IT don't have as many security issues or technical failures. Also noted was the fact that the rapidly shrinking shelf life of hardware makes investing in the technology a lot less appealing for SMBs. Outsourcing SMBs also added e-commerce applications to those business twice as often as companies that manage their own infrastructures, the study found.

Read more survey results:
- read the article at Small Business Computing

ALSO: read this on why hosted infrastructures are a cost-saver for small businesses

Smart mobile security

Wed, 02 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Beyond the obvious ways of securing mobile technology and the corporate data that resides on it, some enterprises are going a step further, using a combination of smart card technology and public key infrastructure (PKI). Managed PKI services can help alleviate the administrative and financial burden for enterprises while delivering the level of security required. Combined with smart card technology, it's also an effective approach to securing remote access without having to incur infrastructure changes or high costs. And it comes in pocket-sized, fully encrypted devices. This technology, when combined with a managed PKI service, allows fully encrypted, secure access to enterprise networks from any location, without data ever leaving the boundaries of the corporate firewall. This level of security also allows much more freedom for remote functionality than ever before.

Read more about smart mobile security:
- read the article at CIO Canada

ALSO:
- read this on bolstering mobile security
- this on why mobile security is Job One
- this for best practices in managing mobile devices
- this on why a mobile security effort is a mandate
- this on balancing mobile functionality with security
- and this for mobile security tools for SMBs