Is it just us or did everything get faster, better integrated, scalable, on-demand, unified and more social this year? Don’t let the buzzwords bog you down — it’s been another year filled with products and services that help you more efficiently run your business.
Is it too much of a good thing? No way. More choices mean more chances to find products that help your company grow and allow you to streamline your operation and better allocate resources.
In our the never-ending quest to help you find those special offerings, we again ask you to nominate the products that made the biggest impact on your business this year. Based on those nominations — and a little input from JupiterWeb’s Small Business Channel editors and contributors — the finalists will emerge for this year’s Small Business Computing Excellence in Technology Awards.
As in past years, your business continues to be the target of both big vendors and smaller players promising innovative ways to make your operation more efficient. While that means more choices, it also means you must know which big companies have just stripped down large enterprise products and called it an SMB offering and which really “get it.” And you need know those small vendors will be around for the long term.
While we strive to help you make those decisions all year, now it’s your turn. Please take a few minutes to nominate your favorite hardware, software/services, security and e-commerce products across 24 categories. This year, we’ve added a voice over IP (VoIP) category and expanded Data Backup to include both PC and network-based products and services.
We’re betting you’re eager to help. Whether it’s at a local Chamber of Commerce meeting or a local watering hole, small business owners have always been quick to offer advice to their colleagues. In that spirit, please recommend the best products you bought, leased or subscribed to this year.
To be eligible, products must have been either released or significantly upgraded between January 1 and October 31, 2006. We don’t expect you to make a nomination in each category, but we encourage you to nominate in as many categories as you feel comfortable.
We’ll keep the nomination process open until Nov. 14. On Nov. 28, we’ll post a list of finalists so that you can vote your favorites. Polls close at midnight EST on January 10, 2006. On January 24, 2006, we’ll announce the winners.