Laurie McCabe

Business intelligence and analytics software were once the exclusive purview of big business, and while that’s changing, many small business owners still feel as though that kind of capability is still too complicated and expensive to be within SMB means. Laurie McCabe, analyst and co-founder of The SMB Group, shares some of the results of […]

Last week we reported on Laurie McCabe and the SMB Group’s success rate in predicting small business trends in Looking Back: SMB Technology Trends for 2011. Now the SMB-Group has come out with its top 10 small business technology predictions for 2012. Ranging from affects of revenue expectations to social media, the cloud, mobile and […]

Predicting what the future holds is a basic, almost primal, aspect of human nature, and that’s certainly true with small business technology pundits, journalists and analysts. But what you don’t see very often is a prognosticator taking the time to reflect on how his or her predictions actually measured up. Small business analysts Laurie McCabe […]

Business app stores have cropped up all over the Internet. You may be familiar with ones from companies such as Intuit and Google, but there are others as well. But do small businesses actually know about and use these business app marketplaces? Laurie McCabe, co-founder of The SMB Group and a frequent contributor to this […]

How collaborative is your small business? Essentially, that’s the question the SMB-Group asked more than 800 small business owners. The results of that survey show not only the top 10 collaboration tools small business use currently, but also the 10 collaboration tools SMBs plan to adopt within the next year. The results include a range […]

According to a study conducted by The SMB-Group, a research firm that specializes in the small business market, there’s a lot more to creating a collaborative culture than a warm, fuzzy feeling. Small businesses that foster and reward collaboration and team work instead of simply recognizing individual achievements gain a business advantage over companies that […]

What’s changed about cloud computing since 2009, when I wrote What is Cloud Computing, and Why Should You Care? In terms of the basic definition and benefits of cloud computing, not much. But in terms of market trends and adoption, the landscape has changed considerably. Status Quo: Cloud Computing Basics Here’s the definition that I […]

Cloud computing was on display in full force last week at DreamForce 2011, the industry event celebrating anything and everything that routes through the cloud. Cloud computing is one of the driving forces that makes it possible for small business to afford and access enterprise-class technology and compete on a national and global scale. Dell […]

When it comes to CRM and cloud computing, Salesforce.com is an undisputed leader, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more accurate bellwether on the state of cloud computing and where it’s headed. Last week Salesforce held Dreamforce 2011, an annual conference it bills as “the cloud computing industry event of the year.” Small business […]

Recently, a client asked me for some tips about how to get the maximum mileage out of Twitter event hashtags. Creating Twitter hashtags for your business events is a great way to multiply conversations about what you’re doing, and there are also lots of ways to maximize the impact of the hashtag. I put a […]

What happened when top women business leaders from around the globe gathered to discuss breaking down gender barriers in business? Dell’s Women Entrepreneur Network event – a three-day conference recently held in Rio de Janeiro — involved inspiring stories of successful women entrepreneurs. But more important, was its focus on helping the aspiring women entrepreneurs […]

With more than 4.5 million customers, Intuit’s Quickbooks is easily the top-selling small business accounting software. And when it comes to small business CRM software, Salesforce.com sets the standard. So when the two companies decided to join forces, it seemed like a match made in, well, small business heaven. The partnership focuses on versions of […]