Dan Muse

When it comes to small business software, what’s in a name? Microsoft apparently decided there’s no sense being too literal. Today, the Redmond, Wash.-based company announced the availability of a beta version of its latest small business accounting software. And while still aimed at small businesses, Microsoft has, somewhat ironically, removed the “Small Business” from […]

No, dual-core-based servers aren’t for every small- and mid-sized business. But some smaller companies rely on complex software to run their businesses, and those companies are recognizing the benefits of running demanding applications such as databases, supply chain management, customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning on servers equipped with processors designed to boost performance […]

In a move that might get the attention of small businesses currently using consumer-grade instant messaging networks, IBM yesterday announced plans to ship Linux client and server versions of its Lotus Sametime 7.5 instant messaging product. “The big theme is choice,” said David Marshak, IBM Lotus’ senior product manager for Real-time Collaboration, who added that […]

Online sales are jumping. Jupiter Research predicts that online retail sales will grow from $81 billion in 2005 to $144 billion in 2010. That, to be sure, is a good thing. But are you prepared to grow with the market? As small e-commerce shops mature and establish themselves as viable ongoing businesses, many are experiencing […]

Oracle wants to convince businesses that it will continue to support its JD Edwards EnterpriseOne suite, which it inherited when it acquired Peoplesoft. IBM wants to get is i Series servers into more small businesses. And it also wants to dispel what it sees as a misconception about Windows servers being more affordable. Again that […]

In the Web 2.0 era, why should the data in your database records be static? It shouldn’t, if you ask database vendor FileMaker. With today’s release of FileMaker Pro 8.5, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based software vendor is looking to make integrating live Web data with its database application a point-and-click process. How you will implement […]

The adage goes, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” That’s the thinking behind Intuit’s recently announced QuickBooks Merchant Service for Web Stores, which is designed to help small businesses accept and process credit card payments online and to manage Web store finances and merchant accounts using QuickBooks accounting software. It’s not a […]

If the thought of signing up for a Web-based application suite leaves you feeling a little isolated, you’re not alone. When you commit to running your business with an on-demand service, it’s understandable that you might feel more secure with a familiar name, face, phone number and street address to go along with the commitment. […]

Dell’s storage news today has a little something for everyone: Some NAS, a bit of DAS and a serving of tape on the side. The announcement of new network-attached storage, disk, tape and management products come under the theme of making storage simpler for businesses of all sizes, Howard Shoobe, senior manager of PowerVault disk […]

When it comes to running a successful small business, few things are as critical as an effective sales force. Whether they are full-time employees, part-time reps or channel partners, keeping track of the incentives and commission structure you’ve set can help keep you organized and your sales team motivated. Looking to help you manage the […]

In today’s world of technology threats, you can drive yourself crazy and/or broke purchasing and setting up separate products for firewall, virtual private networks and antivirus protection. Recognizing this, vendors have been introducing unified threat management products that offer multiple security options in one device. The latest comes from Check Point Software Technologies, which today […]

When it comes to storage, says Howard Shoobe, senior manager at Dell’s Enterprise Storage group, there are two kinds of people: “Server-centric and storage-centric.” While storage-centric people are concerned about storage management, utilization and server consolidation, server-centric customers are looking for ways to extend a server. That is, they want it to be easier to […]