Small Business Computing Staff

ITBusinessEdge: Training is Important for SMBs, Too ITBE SMB tech columnist Paul Mah shows how something as simple as an overlooked need for training can trip up small businesses when they’re deploying new technology. “Some of you might recall that I wrote on McAfee’s Security Quickstart Service for SMBs a couple of weeks ago. In […]

Entrepreneur: ‘Caller ID’ for Your Website Entrepreneur magazine’s John Arnold shows how you can use tools such as those from Netfactor to glean information about the identities of anonymous visitors to your site, and why that is both a good thing, and a risky thing. “If you think you need online forms to collect contact […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): SonicWALL Goes Hard on Security The new products support and expand the company’s line-up of network security appliances. They begin shipping next quarter. “Keeping up defenses against the onslaught of security threats means rethinking security. SonicWALL has annouced a new product line up designed to meet the challenges of evolving threats and […]

Small Business Labs: McKinsey on The Internet of Things The current McKinsey Quarterly features an article on possible applications of RFID (radio frequency identification) and other emerging technologies that embed Internet connectivity into dumb devices. “The McKinsey Quarterly’s article The Internet of Things (registration required) does an excellent job of summarizing the topic. For those […]

BlackBerry: The Power of Mobile Peripherals Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry smartphones, shares research on how add-on options for the company’s products can extend the benefits they deliver and increase return on investment. “FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE FACTORY FLOOR and out in the field, corporate workers the world over consider the […]

PCWorld: Broadband Adoption Jumps in U.S. The 2009 numbers are way up from 2008, despite the recession, but take note of the fine print. If you want to reach older, black and Hispanic Americans on the Web, don’t count on them having rich media-friendly broadband connections. “Broadband usage has increased significantly over the past two […]

PCWorld: Jive Adds Idea Management App to Collaboration Suite The new module in Jive’s ‘social business software’ allows customers that may have been using stand-alone virtual brainstorming tools to now integrate idea management with the product’s other collaboration functions . “Jive has developed an idea generation and management application to its SBS collaboration suite, adding […]

Small Business Trends: Trackur Gives SMBs A Free Social Media Tool What are others saying about you or your brand online? Trackur helps you keep tabs. This free version lets you search on one keyword – if you want to track more than one, you have to pay. “A couple of weeks back I raved […]

ITBusinessEdge: Symantec – Implement These Security Practices ITBE’s SMB Tech columnist Paul Mah with a timely reminder of the security best practices you need to have in place even when your automatic virus protection is up to date. “I came across an interesting security piece on Symantec’s Web site titled “antivirus software and the illusion […]

InformationWeek SMB: Cloud Security Alliance To Tackle Cloud Standards Cloud computing has much to recommend it but raises all kinds of issues around data security, privacy and best practices. This initiative should help allay concerns. “Members of the standards body include Novell, Microsoft, Dell, Rackspace, Qualys, HP, Intel, Cisco, McAfee, Salesforce.com, and Symantec. Novell and […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): ShipGooder Revamps Shipping Rate Service The new site uses geolocation to identify your point of origin and doesn’t require zip code, only city name, to calculate rates. “The revamped site lets users price out a given package shipment from FedEx, UPS, DHL, the U.S. Postal Service, and local messenger and delivery services. […]

Entrepreneur: Viral Marketing for the Rest of Us Small biz marketer Adam Boyden shows how small businesses can successfully mount viral marketing campaigns they might think are beyond their capabilities. “Viral marketing campaigns are internet word-of-mouth initiatives that use social networks to increase lead generation and brand engagement. They work across any online platform and […]