Drew Robb

For related articles, visit Internet.com’s new Cloud Computing site. It seems like only yesterday that a one gigabyte (GB) hard drive was considered massive. These days, half a terabyte (TB) is the norm, even for small businesses. Here’s a perennial trend you can count on: you will always need more small business storage. “SMBs are […]

Is Your Next Small Business Server a Blade Server? Remember Don Johnson’s cell phone on Miami Vice? Mobile devices have certainly gotten a lot smaller since then. The same thing has happened with monitors, laptops and countless other gadgets. So it was inevitable that it would also happen to small business servers. Enter the blade […]

According to research firm Gartner, approximately one million servers in North America should have been replaced in the past year or two but weren’t due to economic concerns.  The likelihood, therefore, is that many small business servers need to be changed out for newer, more powerful models. Obviously, if your existing small business servers are […]

Color inkjet printers utterly dominate the printer market. While Herbert Hoover once promised a“chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” most small businesses have bought into the marketing campaign of “an inkjet on every desk.” And it could be costing them a fortune. “The ‘razor and blade’ scenario remains alive and well […]

From its humble beginnings back in 1991, Linux has grown at a rapid rate. International Data Corp. (IDC) pegged Linux operating system revenue growth at 23.4 percent in 2008. IDC projects that by 2012, Linux operating system revenue will cross $1 billion for the first time, reaching as much as $1.2 billion. Not bad for […]

Running a Linux open-source operating system can potentially offer substantial savings over running Windows. Small business owners looking to cut costs may be tempted to take a closer look at Linux. And while the OS has a lot to offer, incorporating it into your company’s IT infrastructure isn’t for the uninitiated — you need to […]

Over the last five years, many companies have proclaimed their SMB-friendliness through various press releases, conferences and new product lines. Yet when you looked closely, you’d usually find a catch such as “prices starting at $50,000.” These firms were dumbing-down their high-end gear and calling it a small business version – though typically at a […]

A few years ago, small businesses began trusting companies such as SalesForce.com and Mozy.com with basic tools for contact management or data backup. By letting the service provider host the hardware and software on its premises, companies freed themselves from the necessity of buying all their own gear, finding a space for it, powering and […]

While open source software has been around for years, it often required specialized IT skills and a lot of babysitting. That, combined with a general lack of applications, was enough to keep most small businesses at bay. But thanks to the ongoing financial malaise, which appears to be acting as a catalyst toward adopting open […]

The economy’s in the toilet, and things might get worse before they return to normal. That means tighter belts for the next 12 months at least. About the only thing that’s accumulating faster than the national debt is the amount of data small businesses need to store and protect. “The downturn in the U.S. economy […]

Professionals in the computer business are used to dealing with the many challenges associated with cooling servers and other computing equipment. And even they have a hard time. Now consider the plight of average small business owners. No matter what line of business they’re involved in, they’ve had technology thrust upon them. Servers, networking gear […]

With so many simultaneous demands and responsibilities, it’s all too easy for a small business owner – even one fortunate enough to have an IT department – to let tech maintenance fall through the cracks. Maintaining hardware and software, implementing new applications and end user tech support is a big challenge. One or more of […]