Small Business Computing Staff

By Tom Dinome For a complete list of this year’s SBC 50 businesses, see ‘The SBC 50,’ December 2001 SBC. Steven Zuckerman, M.D.Employees: 5Location: Baton Rouge, La.Principal: Steven ZuckermanBusiness: Neurology practiceTech: Uses handheld device to fill prescriptions, transmit billing codes, and check patient’s insurance coverage.URL: None Making his hospital rounds, carrying a handheld computer, and […]

By Robert J. Wagman and William C. Gillis As business travel becomes increasingly complicated and fraught with security concerns, businesses may turn to technology to replace in-person meetings and conferences. When the New York Stock Exchange re-opened after the September 11 hijackings, stocks in companies that make videoconferencing equipment soared. Teleconferencing and webcasting are now […]

By Ellen DePasquale Ask any small-business owner these days whether they’ve automated their accounting process, and the answer across the board is bound to be an emphatic, ‘Of course.’ Whether it’s off the shelf, through an application service provider, or customized, they’re using it. Whether they’re taking advantage of the information that software could provide […]

By William C. Gillis For a complete list of this year’s SBC 50 businesses, see ‘The SBC 50,’ December 2001 SBC. ArchivesOneEmployees: 90Location: Watertown, Conn.Principal: A.J. Wasserstein, presidentBusiness: Records-management serviceTech: Uses scanners and bar codes to track the location and movements of client records.URL: www.archivesmanagement.com Here’s the tale of the tape: 1,500 customers, 1.7 million […]

By William C. Gillis For a complete list of this year’s SBC 50 businesses, see ‘The SBC 50,’ December 2001 SBC. Sussex & ReillyEmployees: 50Location: ChicagoPrincipals: Sean Conlon and Frank ParkinsonBusiness: Residential real estateTech: Agents use handhelds to coordinate scheduling and provide clients with feedback from potential buyers.URL: www.sussexandreilly.com In 1990, when Sean Conlon immigrated […]

By William C. Gillis You’ve probably heard plenty of jokes about computers that never work and computer manuals that seem to be written in Japanese. But consumers who purchase “gray market” products have actually had these experiences, and it’s no laughing matter. The gray market is a legal, multi-billion dollar industry in which independent distributors […]

By Tom Dinome For a complete list of this year’s SBC 50 businesses, see ‘The SBC 50,’ December 2001 SBC. TrendSourceEmployees: 26Location: San DiegoPrincipal: Rodney MollBusiness: ‘Mystery shopping’ firmTech: Collects, organizes, and gives clients online access to results from thousands of undercover shopping trips.URL: www.trendsource.comHow different is the service between two similar restaurant chains? Is […]

By Amy H. Blankstein For a complete list of this year’s SBC 50 businesses, see ‘The SBC 50,’ December 2001 SBC. Senator TheaterEmployees: 30Location: BaltimorePrincipal: Tom KiefaberBusiness: Movie theaterTech: Automated ticket sales and e-mail marketing efforts represent the future for this historic movie theater.URL: www.senator.com When audiences flocked to the Senator in 1939, owner Frank […]

By Michele Marrinan Peter Swan used to buy pet food and supplies on line at Pets.com. Swan, an assistant professor of business logistics at Pennsylvania State University, was amazed at how low the prices were. ‘They had free shipping for a while, and I couldn’t believe the prices they were offering,’ he says. ‘They were […]

(See profiles of selected SBC 50 businesses elsewhere in this month’s feature stories) Aaron Equipment CompanyEmployees: 85Location: Bensenville, Ill.Principals: Gerrold and Leslie CohenBusiness: Manufactures and sells heavy machinery for variety of applicationsTech: Sells online, new, used, and reconditioned equipment, and business acts as an online forum for people to purchase or sell used equipment.URL: www.aaronequip.com […]

By William C. Gillis In the days following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Americans slowly resumed their daily routines and got back to work. For those businesses affected physically and economically by the disaster, getting back wasn’t so easy. Hundreds of businesses in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas were faced with […]

By Tom DiNome As if there weren’t enough happening in the technology sector to raise business concerns, now two major players, Hewlett-Packard and Compaq, are merging. We already know that the Compaq brand-name will be phased out, but the long-term effects of such mergers are rarely clear. The September 4 announcement has analysts, technology manufacturers, […]