Dan Muse

Trend Micro says that according to its research, 85 percent of small and mid-sized businesses want a vendor to advise them of security threats and provide guidance. Going a step further, 72 percent say they want only limited involvement in responding to outbreaks of spyware, spam, trojans and other forms of malware. In short, it […]

Gone are the days when attacks to your network were made by malicious hackers out only to prove their prowess. Today, it’s more purposeful, more pointed and even more potentially devastating for businesses — especially small businesses. “Hacking has become financially driven, and that requires sophisticated defenses against those threats,” says Mark Stevens, chief strategy […]

The computer industry loves to use labels such as small business, mid-market and enterprise — terms that probably mean little to you. They also tend to be applied somewhat arbitrarily. That is, what one vendor describes as a mid-sized company is a small business to another. So when you hear talk of Intuit’s QuickBooks Enterprise […]

When WebEx announced its intention to buy Intranets.com, the reason was clear: The company that arguably brought Web-based meetings mainstream wanted to reach the small business market. The sale of Intranets.com was finalized last month and today the results of that small business focus are beginning to emerge. The most obvious one is that Intranets.com […]

Promising to lower the cost and simplify the installation of its software, Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of two new programs aimed at small businesses. The Small Business Platform SKU, is designed to add a small businesses flavor to the Microsoft Open Value licensing program by consolidating the purchasing, use and management of the […]

Sure, you know that threats to your security abound, but what are you doing about it? Things won’t be getting any less complex in the future, and small business need to plan accordingly. Whether you need to develop your own security knowledge or locate resellers that you know have proven expertise, Symantec Corp. today announced […]

Large and mid-size businesses now view the Linux operating system and open-source software as viable alternatives to Windows and licensed applications. Whether or not small businesses are fully on board is arguable. However, what’s clear is that open source is opening up new non-Windows options for small businesses — especially now that applications are beginning […]

The adage “information is power” especially applies when it comes to dealing with your customers. Whether you’re trying to prospect for new customers or service (and grow) your existing ones, the more you know the better. While larger companies have in recent years embraced customer relationship management software, small businesses also benefit from knowing which […]

If good marketing is all about generating leads and effective selling is all about qualifying those leads, where does CRM software fit in? Before the Call thinks that the CRM application should be where leads, sales collateral and market intelligence come together — the end result being that salespeople can focus on only the best […]

Timing, they say, is everything. When it comes to IM security, timing has been an odd thing. It’s been hard to get an exact read on how pervasive IM-borne threats are, making it difficult for businesses of all sizes to decide when to add protection. While vendors such as Akonix, FaceTime and IM Logic have […]

When Microsoft announced availability and pricing of the much-anticipated Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 and Office Small Business Management Edition 2006 earlier today it wasn’t alone. Since the software giant made its intentions known last November, it has been building support from OEMs, retailers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and service providers. Doug Leland, general […]

Small business owners are the proverbial jacks of all trades. It’s not uncommon, for example, to be a bookkeeper on Monday and a graphics person on Tuesday. While programs such as QuickBooks bring accounting to non-accountants, most image-editing applications remain a challenge for those who don’t spend most of their time doing graphics-related tasks. Whether […]