Tag Archives: Best Buy Co. Inc.

About 1074 days ago Tools on Managing Technology

Five Ways to “Green” Small Business Tech

our beautiful site

The “green IT” movement brings an interesting layer of complexity to the IT function. Depending upon your political and/or social interests you will either embrace the extra work required to implement a successful green IT program or you will grudgingly check it off your “to-do” list like any other part of your job.  For small businesses like the one I work for, a PR agency based in Silicon Valley, the process of greening your IT can have its challenges, but it also has valuable rewards. If you are just getting started, it will be important to secure buy-in for the transition from the top.  This means you must have a strategy and ROI figures to rationalize the plan. The following tips should help smooth the process. Energy savings and power management One of the easiest and most all-encompassing areas to achieve cost savings is through energy and power management programs by replacing inefficient equipment with products carrying the now popular Energy Star seal.  Most people think of refrigerators and washing machines, but everything from light bulbs to electronics to building materials comes with the Energy Star seal.  Another tip I’ve been trying to evangelize throughout our offices worldwide is for employees to forget the screensavers and instead set their laptops to go into sleep mode after 20 minutes of non-use.  This will both protect your data and save a considerable amount of power.  The average cost of electricity was 12 cents per watt in the U.S. in 2009.  The average laptop uses 15-45 watts of power per hour.  Using a screensaver uses the same amount of energy as general operation, but sleep mode only consumes 1-6 watts of energy. What does this mean to a 20-person business? Here’s the math. Figure everyone in the organization spends a minimum of two hours per day away from their desks in meetings, on the floor assisting clients or out of the office on sales calls which breaks down as follows: 20 employees x 2 hours per day x 5 days per week = 40 hours of energy savings per week. (This accounts for the 20 minutes required for a laptop to go into sleep mode.) This translates into an average savings of $72 to $216 a week or $3,744 to $11,232 annually based upon the example shared. Trading in and greening up The transition to a green IT environment does not happen overnight and the cost savings are realized over time. In most cases we’re talking about swapping out desktop computers for laptops, trading in outdated servers for low-power blade servers, even implementing software that automatically turns off copiers and printers at a certain time and/or makes sure that standby modes are set correctly.  Every little update makes a difference, even if the changes occur over a series of months or even years.  The key is patience.  My company is simply following the lifecycle of products when it comes to going green with big-ticket items and we are still realizing the benefits.  One step at a time. Recycling office electronics Computers and printers create hazardous waste, so this is an absolute must, but it is a task that can take on a life of its own.  Being based in the Silicon Valley, we have turned to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) for guidance in the disposal of electronics. First step is to make sure the equipment is cleared of sensitive business information before doing anything with it.  Some green recyclers will do it for you, but you need to do your homework to verify that they follow through on their promises.  For smaller items like laptops, printers and cell phones, I have found Best Buy to have the most comprehensive recycling program. Donating office equipment A simpler path for many organizations — once equipment is “clean” – is donating it to local nonprofit groups. Nonprofits such as The Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries or even local schools and churches accept and often resell used equipment without any charge to the company making the donation.  I have also found the website www.greatnonprofits.org to be quite helpful.  It allows you to sort by geography and need. Inspire a green workforce One of the biggest lessons I learned in implementing a green IT strategy is that unless you find a way to involve everyone in the company, you cannot be successful.  If you and/or your senior management aren’t ready to swap out the electronics yet, then begin with baby steps.  There are a lot of things a company can do at little to no cost that will have a positive impact on both the Earth and the staff. Institute a company-wide recycling program for cans and plastics.  Place recycling bins throughout the office.  Establish a place in the vending or kitchen area for sorting recyclables before they leave the building. Use recycled paper for internal and/or rough drafts.  If possible, set office copier defaults to print on both sides of paper to reduce paper waste. Consider programs that allow employees to work from home part of the time –the goal being to reduce carbon emissions as well as the need for space which reduces energy requirements.  Our office has created a “hoteling” program to facilitate reduced work space while promoting a telecommuting program.  Hoteling refers to several fully functional work areas for telecommuters to use when in the office. There are so many things we can do to help our planet. It’s all about taking that first step. Your IT department can actually lead the charge in engaging all employees to strive for greater sustainability. Linda Wilson is the IT director of The Hoffman Agency, a global public relations firm with 120 employees.    

About 1172 days ago Search Engine Optimization

Online Retail: Getting the Right Product in Front of Your Customers

After surviving the bust at the end of the ’90s, online retail has done quite well in the first decade of the new millennium. From being just 0.6 percent of all retail in early 2000,online commerce has now grown to account for nearly 4 percent of all retail in the United States. In this article, we review some technology trends that are likely to further accelerate this trend. Our focus will be around looking at technologies that help consumers find the right product easily as well as help retailers put the right merchandise in front of customers. While most of these technologies trends apply to a wide spectrum of applications, their impact on online commerce deserves a special mention. Many of these technologies have been around for a while, but it’s only now that they are gaining wide adoption. Semantic Web and structured data The semantic Web and structured data will make product search dramatically better. Last year, Google made two subtle announcements that have the potential of completely transforming how users search for products.  The first affected Google’s organic (or unpaid) results, when the company launched what it called rich snippets, using microformats and Resource Description Frameworka (RDFa) standards. Google was late to the game, as Yahoo had already announced similar support a year ago. The second change applied to Adwords, Google’s paid search program, when the search engine started listing richer product listing ads from retail advertisers, displaying an image of the product, the price, and many other attributes. These ads will be priced on a “cost per action” basis, as opposed to the standard “cost per click” model that’s offered for all other Adwords advertisers. It is interesting that Google’s rich snippets were first rolled out only for 2 applications, one of which is closely related to online commerce: • Providing a summary of reviews, when searching for products or services.• Distinguishing between people with similar names, when searching for a person.  Similarly, Google’s CPA program was also rolled out only for product searches. Search-engines are already a very important tool for online shoppers, and a Nielsen study had found that more than one third of shoppers use search engines. Richer snippets and richer ads will make search engines even more important to shoppers, and consequently to retailers. According to Yahoo, “enhanced search results” drive 15 percent more clickthroughs for many websites.  With results like that, it’s no wonder that adoption is picking up among websites. In the same blog post, Yahoo reported an increase of more than 400% in the RDFs structured data driven by Search Monkey. Best Buy recently released their entire product catalog in RDFa, perhaps becoming the first Fortune-500 company to join this trend, and has reportedly seen strong results. Recommendations and personalization engines Recommendations and personalization engines are now available as plug and play components. Outside of search, one of the most important ways for shoppers to discover products has been through recommendation engines. Personalization and recommendation engines have been around for a while and have been a strong driver of sales. For example, Amazon’s recommendation system was said to account for up to 35 percent of sales in 2006. Recently, the adoption of recommendation engines has increased substantially because of the emergence of third party services that are easy to plug into your ecommerce store. For instance Urban Outfitters has seen a triple digit percentage increase in sale by using a solution offered by Baynote. Other companies like Mybuys and Certona also deliver hosted solutions for personalization. Creating application programming interfaces (APIs) Creating APIs that distribute products across the Web is easier. Over the last few years, the Web is increasingly becoming a collection of Web services that can be accessed through APIs. Retailers like Ebay and Amazon have for a long time used APIs to expose their data to the external world, primarily to affiliates and partners who then sell these products at other places on the Web. Now many traditional retailers are jumping into the fray, utilizing services that make it easier to create and manage APIs.  For instance, Best Buy recently launched Best Buy Remix powered by API management infrastructure from Mashery. In addition to these, in one of my previous columns I had written about how the real time Web is becoming an increasingly important tool, and how companies like Dell are using it to increase their online retail sales. The increasing adoption of these technologies sets up online commerce for an exciting new decade, for shoppers as well as for retailers. Vijay Chittoor is a co-founder of Six Times Seven. He was previously director of product management at Kosmix. A former McKinsey consultant, Chittoor is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.  He shares his thoughts on technology at his blog.    

About 1848 days ago Business Software

Just What Is a “Vista Capable” Computer?

our beautiful site

At a recent Gartner conference featuring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, a woman interviewing Ballmer onstage put him on the defensive about the problems with Windows Vista, lamenting that she had to go back to using XP. “It’s safe, it works, all the hardware is fine, and everything is great,” she said. There are also reports of customers who had problems with Vista on “Vista Capable” stickered computers, and when they called Microsoft tech support for assistance, were told to reinstall XP. Originally touted by Microsoft as the operating system breakthrough we’ve all been waiting for, Vistas’ merits have yet to be proven. It’s not just that it came out with more than the usual share of problems and bugs or that it initially lacked many of the drivers it needed in order to function with various hardware components. The fact is, many computers bought new last year carrying the “Windows Vista Capable PC” sticker weren’t very capable at all. Some businesses that then invested in “upgrading” these newly purchased systems from the stock Windows XP to Vista ended up spending even more to “downgrade” back to XP in order to simply get back to doing business. The current ongoing legal battle against Microsoft is an attempt to create a class action suit to address this very problem, and at the moment anyway, it’s working. What a computer needs to be Vista ready Microsoft has finally gotten some of the issues cleared up, and its service pack release did fix many of the bugs, but there are still many questions about what a computer needs in order to be considered truly “Windows Vista Capable.” How can you know if your computers are truly ready to run Vista? According to the Microsoft recommended requirements a computer must meet in order to run the no-frills Vista Home Basic version, and therefore qualify for a “Vista Capable” sticker, it must be equipped with a “modern” CPU (at least 800 MHz, dual-core), 512MB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-class graphics processor — not a very high-end piece of equipment these days. For the full Vista eye-candy experience, you’ll need a much better graphics card than standard motherboards carry. By Microsoft standards, the real sticker to look for is the one that says “Windows Vista Premium Ready,” supposedly containing everything one may need to take advantage of the Vista extras. But according to computer techs, that still may not be enough. Here’s the scoop on what you actually need to run Vista. “Vista has a lot more capabilities and makes far better use of RAM than previous versions of Windows,” says Perri Naccarato, owner of The Computer Guys, a computer service and repair shop in Saugerties, NY. “So it does have specs that require higher end hardware.” Higher level capabilities require upgrading computers While the Vista Basic version will run on lesser hardware, anyone who wants to install and use the higher level capabilities of Vista will need to opt for the more loaded system. Naccarato recommends making sure that, at the bare minimum, any computer that will be running Vista should have at least 2 GB of RAM, a dual-core processor, and a video chipset that will run Direct X10. He says that you might get by with a video card that has 64 MB, but more is better. Some techies take it a step further still. “In the end, any computer with a modern dual-core processor can have Vista working at its very best,” says Ish Matos, a “Double Agent” ranked computer tech with Geek Squad, the support arm of Best Buy stores. “The key is to have at least 3 GB of RAM and a powerful video card with at least 128 MB RAM, preferably 256 MB. Vista is all visual — hence the name — so it relies a lot on the video card and the RAM to accelerate the graphics speed.” First attempts at replacing something we depend upon are often fraught with speed bumps, mistakes, and resistance to change. Once things settle into place, Vista may finally grow into the system both Microsoft and its customers would like it to be. “In my experience, Vista’s not the worst thing in the world to deal with,” says Naccarato. “I remember hating XP when it first came out years ago. It had multiple problems at first. I think this whole Vista problem will all shake out the same way.”

About 1878 days ago Business Software

Using SaaS to Save on IT Spending

our beautiful site

Could the current economic downturn be the nudge that pushes software-as-a-service (SaaS) into the mainstream? Some small business owners and software vendors think so. With major economic indicators dropping and anxieties rising, business owners are looking for ways to cut back on spending, including what they fork over for computers, software, and IT services. That new-found fiscal conservatism plays nicely into the strengths of SaaS products that are delivered over the Web on a pay-as-you-go, on-demand basis. “The appeal of SaaS is that you get 80 percent of the functionality for maybe 10 percent of the lifecycle cost. How can you argue with that?” says Andrew Hyde, CFO at Speakeasy, a Seattle provider of Internet phone and data services. Small businesses are moving toward SaaS, says Ray Boggs, an analyst at IDC, the technology market researcher. “It’s a very real minority,” Boggs says. Historically, hardware accounted for a bigger chunk of small companies’ IT spending, but over time that’s switching to software and services, and SaaS is playing into that, Boggs says. Small business owners that Bogg surveyed for a March 2008 IDC report on SaaS aren’t particularly keen on moving applications “into the cloud,” but they are interested in having business functions handled remotely, he says. “It’s almost like a different person was answering the survey,” he says. At Speakeasy, Hyde knows a thing or two about on-demand software. Previously, he was part of the management team that founded Salesforce.com, the pioneering SaaS provider. At Speakeasy, Hyde was instrumental in a decision earlier this year to replace the spreadsheets that the 330-person company used to calculate sales commissions with Web-based software from Xactly, a SaaS-only sales incentive management software vendor. The decision was a no-brainer. The IT staff at Speakeasy, was too busy working on higher-priority projects to build something from scratch, so commercial software was the only way to go. And software-as-a-service was the cheapest option, Hyde says. The many faces of SaaS In addition to sales incentive management software, Speakeasy — which was privately held until a recent acquisition by BestBuy — uses SaaS for sales force automation and some IT management functions, Hyde says. SaaS makes sense in any economic environment “for companies that are cash careful,” he says, “and it’s more appealing to companies today when there’s a little belt tightening.” On-demand software has become an option for all types of business functions including: Sales and customer relationship management Accounting Videoconferencing Human resources IT service management E-mail Content delivery platforms Besides savings on software costs, SaaS-delivered software can shave spending on hardware and staffing too since a company doesn’t need to own computer servers or hire an IT staff to run it. That’s significant because, while overall spending might be down, demand for competent IT professionals is still high, which is keeping salaries high, says Siamak Farah, founder and CEO of InfoStreet, an Encino, Calif., company that sells an SaaS-based suite of business productivity tools. “SaaS is a godsend for any size company. But for small businesses, finding good technical people has been more difficult than in years past,” Farah says, “and when you do [hire] people, they’re more expensive. So you get desperate and don’t get the best people.” SIDEBAR: SaaS Resources Want to find out more about SaaS? Here are a few resources: SaaS Showplace — A resource center with information on SaaS applications, vendors and industry news run by THINKstrategies, an SaaS consulting firm. SaaSWeek — A weekly digest of SaaS industry news and trends published by ebizQ, a business information website. SaaSCamp — A website devoted to the SaaS industry that features news, blogs, and forums, and is run by a group of SaaS consultants and researchers. SaaSCon 2008 — The virtual headquarters for Computerworld’s annual SaaS industry convention. Although the convention took place in late March 2008, check out the website for names of SaaS software companies and industry news.

About 1938 days ago Computer Security

IT Security: How Much $$ Should You Spend?

our beautiful site

Small and mid-sized businesses typically spend 5 to 10 percent of their IT budgets on security, according to research by Gartner. That’s a bigger slice of the IT pie than for large enterprises, which typically spend 3 to 6 percent of IT money on security, notes Adam Hils, principal research analyst at Gartner who specializes in small and mid-sized business security. “The smaller companies have overall IT budgets that aren’t as large,” he explains. Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest spenders on IT are mid-sized businesses, around the 500 to 1,000 employee range. “They want to be able to compete with larger companies,” Hils notes. “And, especially if they’re in finance or healthcare, they need to be able to offer the same types of security guarantees to their customers as big companies do.” Statistics like these can be helpful for comparing your company to overall IT practices. But figuring out how much of your particular IT budget should go for security requires taking many factors into account, such as your industry, how dependent your company is on technology, and the possible consequences of a security breach. In addition to considering these factors, here are some steps that can help you ensure your IT security spending is on track: 1. Aim for compliance. Increasingly, a review of government regulations or other standards that affect your company may help determine what security you need and how much it will cost. The Sarbanes-Oxley, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) impose data protection requirements on public companies, health care companies, and those that receive federal funds, respectively. In addition, a growing number of companies find they must also adhere to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard as a prerequisite for processing credit card payments or other financial information. “Starting in the middle of last year, we see companies like Visa and MasterCard targeting smaller retailers for compliance,” Hils says. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. “Unlike some of the government regulations, PCI is a very useful standard,” notes Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS Institute, a leading provider of information security and training. “It’s very specific, and incorporates a lot of best practices many companies should be following.” 2. Look for a single solution to multiple problems. Security threats take many forms and come from many different sources. Where once guarding against viruses and hackers seemed sufficient, companies are now faced with spyware, Trojans, staggering volumes of spam, and wrongdoers eavesdropping on wireless networks. Rather than addressing each of these individually, more and more small companies are seeking out unified threat management, single boxes which supply a range of security solutions, filtering spyware, keeping out hackers, and fighting off viruses at the same time. “This way, as future needs change, you’re buying new software licenses rather than new hardware,” Hils says. He predicts that by 2010, 90 percent of small and mid-sized business security purchases will be multi-faceted solutions such as these. 3. Expect more security for less cost. As the large security players acquire smaller companies and fold in their offerings to these multiple solutions, overall costs for security are going down, Hils says. Another price-reducing factor is Microsoft Forefront which has entered the security market and provides affordable security options for small companies. Though Microsoft may never dominate corporate security the way it does so many other areas, it’s still forcing competitors to lower their prices, Hils says. “Microsoft is a big factor in getting [small and mid-sized businesses] more bang for the buck.” 4. Get expert help. It’s tough, if not impossible, for a small or mid-sized business to have the in-house expertise needed to stay up to date on security. “Even if you have full-time IT staff, can they focus on security enough to stay in the loop on the latest threats and products?” Ullrich asks. “Before you deploy an antivirus, you should do some tests to seek which one will work best for you. Independent consultant can help with this, and you get the benefit of what they’ve learned working with other companies similar to yours.” A consultant can also help you understand how adding a new security element will affect your network, he adds. “Whatever you do, don’t just go to Best Buy and grab something off the shelf.” In general, Hils says, “Companies need to figure out if they simply want adequate security, follow all the best practices, or perhaps be on the cutting edge of security technology.” Hils estimates that about 60 percent of small and mid-sized businesses simply want adequate security. The problem, he says, is that, while most companies believe they’re at least up to that level, “Some are falling below the line.” How can you tell if your company is among them? “One sign to look for is how much spam you get,” Ullrich says. “The more spam you get, the more penetrable your boundary is. And, since spam often carries viruses, it increases the possibility that your company is already infected.”

About 1938 days ago Antivirus Software

IT Security: How Much $$ Should You Spend?

our beautiful site

Small and mid-sized businesses typically spend 5 to 10 percent of their IT budgets on security, according to research by Gartner. That’s a bigger slice of the IT pie than for large enterprises, which typically spend 3 to 6 percent of IT money on security, notes Adam Hils, principal research analyst at Gartner who specializes in small and mid-sized business security. “The smaller companies have overall IT budgets that aren’t as large,” he explains. Perhaps surprisingly, the biggest spenders on IT are mid-sized businesses, around the 500 to 1,000 employee range. “They want to be able to compete with larger companies,” Hils notes. “And, especially if they’re in finance or healthcare, they need to be able to offer the same types of security guarantees to their customers as big companies do.” Statistics like these can be helpful for comparing your company to overall IT practices. But figuring out how much of your particular IT budget should go for security requires taking many factors into account, such as your industry, how dependent your company is on technology, and the possible consequences of a security breach. In addition to considering these factors, here are some steps that can help you ensure your IT security spending is on track: 1. Aim for compliance. Increasingly, a review of government regulations or other standards that affect your company may help determine what security you need and how much it will cost. The Sarbanes-Oxley, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) impose data protection requirements on public companies, health care companies, and those that receive federal funds, respectively. In addition, a growing number of companies find they must also adhere to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard as a prerequisite for processing credit card payments or other financial information. “Starting in the middle of last year, we see companies like Visa and MasterCard targeting smaller retailers for compliance,” Hils says. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. “Unlike some of the government regulations, PCI is a very useful standard,” notes Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS Institute, a leading provider of information security and training. “It’s very specific, and incorporates a lot of best practices many companies should be following.” 2. Look for a single solution to multiple problems. Security threats take many forms and come from many different sources. Where once guarding against viruses and hackers seemed sufficient, companies are now faced with spyware, Trojans, staggering volumes of spam, and wrongdoers eavesdropping on wireless networks. Rather than addressing each of these individually, more and more small companies are seeking out unified threat management, single boxes which supply a range of security solutions, filtering spyware, keeping out hackers, and fighting off viruses at the same time. “This way, as future needs change, you’re buying new software licenses rather than new hardware,” Hils says. He predicts that by 2010, 90 percent of small and mid-sized business security purchases will be multi-faceted solutions such as these. 3. Expect more security for less cost. As the large security players acquire smaller companies and fold in their offerings to these multiple solutions, overall costs for security are going down, Hils says. Another price-reducing factor is Microsoft Forefront which has entered the security market and provides affordable security options for small companies. Though Microsoft may never dominate corporate security the way it does so many other areas, it’s still forcing competitors to lower their prices, Hils says. “Microsoft is a big factor in getting [small and mid-sized businesses] more bang for the buck.” 4. Get expert help. It’s tough, if not impossible, for a small or mid-sized business to have the in-house expertise needed to stay up to date on security. “Even if you have full-time IT staff, can they focus on security enough to stay in the loop on the latest threats and products?” Ullrich asks. “Before you deploy an antivirus, you should do some tests to seek which one will work best for you. Independent consultant can help with this, and you get the benefit of what they’ve learned working with other companies similar to yours.” A consultant can also help you understand how adding a new security element will affect your network, he adds. “Whatever you do, don’t just go to Best Buy and grab something off the shelf.” In general, Hils says, “Companies need to figure out if they simply want adequate security, follow all the best practices, or perhaps be on the cutting edge of security technology.” Hils estimates that about 60 percent of small and mid-sized businesses simply want adequate security. The problem, he says, is that, while most companies believe they’re at least up to that level, “Some are falling below the line.” How can you tell if your company is among them? “One sign to look for is how much spam you get,” Ullrich says. “The more spam you get, the more penetrable your boundary is. And, since spam often carries viruses, it increases the possibility that your company is already infected.”

About 2303 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

Where to Buy Computers

Is 2007 the year your business will buy new hardware? Despite this year’s twin Microsoft releases of Office 2007 software and the Vista operating system, there’s no evidence that 2007 will be a banner year for small and mid-size businesses in terms of hardware purchases, says Michael Speyer, senior analyst with Forrester Research, of Cambridge, Mass.  “It depends very much on where companies are in their hardware cycle,” he says.  “In certain areas, we might see an uptick over last year, like in purchases of storage and PCs,” or laptops, which continue to grow in popularity.  But for many companies, he points out, upgrading to Vista won’t require new hardware. Moreover, small and mid-size businesses often take a wait-and-see approach to new technology purchases. But if 2007 is your company’s year to buy, where should you look? Shop Around Online and Offline The number of options for buying hardware for business use is overwhelming. In addition to traditional brick-and-mortar electronics stores, Web-based shopping venues hawking computer equipment have mushroomed. Meanwhile, small businesses continue to show a strong preference for buying direct from manufacturers like Dell. Value-added resellers (VARs) are an  alternative for those who seek customized hardware. But prepare to pay more for this option. You’d better shop around, as the old song goes, and preferably online first, to get the best price and selection. In fact, some hardware items may be hard to find anywhere but in cyberspace. While the venues for buying hardware seem nearly endless, here are some to consider: Online Comparison Shopping Try sites such as Yahoo Shopping, Amazon, CNET Shopper, or Pricegrabber to sniff out the bargains. Relatively easy to use, these sites allow for easy price comparisons of like products from literally hundreds of vendors, and include vendor reviews, which may or may not prove reliable. Online Computer Stores Newegg, a computer geek’s paradise, has won a slew of awards for its prices and selection, including Forbes’ Best of the Web 2004 and Computer Shopper Shopper’s Choice awards in both 2004 and 2005. Other popular e-tailers include TigerDirect and CDW. Electronic Megaretailers Circuit City, Best Buy or CompUSA. All three have locations nationwide, the option of eyeballing the merchandise before buying, and in-store warranties for those who desire them. Moreover, it’s often easier to return items or seek repairs through a traditional store. Computer Shopper readers rated Best Buy their favorite brick-and-mortar electronics store; many of its locations now feature Geek Squad 24/7 on-site troubleshooting services. CompUSA offers TechPro on-site service. Deep Discounters If bargain-basement prices are a top priority, don’t rule out sites like Overstock.com or Buy.com. Because they are often reselling overstocked items or cancelled shipments from other retailers, they can offer real bargains, especially to those who already know what they want. Direct Buys Going straight to the source remains a very popular option: according to a February 2006 survey by Forrester Research, Dell was named as the most popular computer and equipment vendor by the 700-plus small and mid-size businesses surveyed. Value-Added Resellers. VARs are companies that take computer components and build unique, customized units for their clients. Often, they link hardware and software from different vendors to do this. Since VARs specialize in custom design, they can also design training programs, database development, and consulting and research services. In fact, the line between services offered by VARs and big-name consulting firms, such as Accenture, is quickly blurring. However, VARs are more likely than consultants to work for smaller businesses. And, according to a June 2006 Forrester Research report, small and mid-size businesses are increasingly seeking out VARs instead of consultants to meet their needs.

About 2334 days ago Wireless Networks

Why You Need a Computer Network

our beautiful site

If your employees are happily tapping away on individual computers that aren’t connected via a network, it might be tempting to leave things the way they are. But without an office network, you may be depriving your business of significant productivity without even realizing it. An office network makes it much easier for employees to share files and information — especially if you start storing data on a central storage server that is hooked into the network, says Chey Cobb, certified information systems security professional and author of Network Security for Dummies. “If you have a central storage server, everybody can get to the information on that server rather than having to go sit at the machine with a USB thumb drive or a disk, burn information, and walk back to your other machine,” Cobb says. “It’s basically convenience.” Benefits of an office network An office network enables a host of other benefits: Storing data on one central, networked server frees up local storage space on individual computers. It also makes backups of your company data easier and simpler — as long as everyone is storing their data to the storage server, you only have to back up that one machine. A network also makes printing much less complicated because you don’t have to purchase extra printers and connect one to each computer. Just connect your printer to the network, and all machines will be able to print to it. In the past, small business owners might have shied away from networks out of fear that they would be too difficult to set up and maintain. Today, experts say, that’s no longer a reason to hold back. “There are hosts of different organizations or individuals who can do this very simple network setup for you,” says Michael Speyer, senior analyst at Forrester Research, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., research firm. “If you go buy your products from retail outlets like Circuit City or Best Buy, they have services like Firedog or Geek Squad, who will come and do it for you. It’s not nearly as much of an issue as it was five years ago.” Networks need to be maintained Maintenance of a small-business network requires just a bit of a basic knowledge, which easily could be found in one of the hundreds of guide books on the subject. Don’t worry if you can’t afford a dedicated information technology staff, but do designate one person as network administrator. “I would suggest that if you’re a very small company, you make it one person’s job to look after the network,” Cobb says. “You can’t have everybody in the company going in and fiddling with the different configurations.”

About 2365 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

An Entrepreneur’s Holiday Wish List

our beautiful site

One day I walked into Best Buy and members of the sales staff started throwing boxes of PDAs, digital cameras, iPods, cell phones and notebook computers at me. Each box was wrapped in a soft bubble that floated in the air. They had given me a huge net to catch all the gadgets and gizmos they were throwing at me. But then I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock blaring and realized I was only dreaming. Sigh. Sometimes I think about technology being a great gift for an entrepreneur, one that can help circumvent the hassles of running a business 24/7, starting out cash-poor, and often crisscrossing the country to meet clients, venture capitalists, and even to woo prospective employees. Certainly, this holiday season there are a number of hot items that may make a small businessperson’s dreams come true. Here are some of my picks for the entrepreneur’s holiday wish list. HP Photosmart A716 Compact Photo Printer Whoever said, “a picture is worth a thousand words” was a very wise person, but little did they know about HP’s new compact photo printer at the time. This little wonder helps you seal the deal with prospects or clarify problems with customers. Instead of looking at an e-mail or squinting at a screen, print a photograph of your new product, new hire or new design for your client — whenever you want. While your competitors are struggling with crude descriptions or waiting in line for photos to develop — you’ll be signing contracts in January 2007. Where to find it: HP.com Lenovo 3000 Series Notebook. Notebook computers are vital tools for mobile entrepreneurs. They need their offices to travel with them and often a reliable, feature rich, powerful but economical notebook is the perfect choice. I did an extensive search for a notebook and am perfectly happy with the Lenovo 3000 N100.  Costs range, of course, depending on the specific model you buy. If you are looking for a gift that has Bluetooth and WiFi, 4-in-1 card reader, plenty of USB ports and S-video, too, the Lenovo 3000 series is what you should consider. Where to find it: Lenovo.com 80 GB iPod — for business not pleasure Over the past several months, I’ve been using my Apple iPod and really like it to store my favorite music from today and yesteryear. Of course, Apple makes several versions of iPods and now is joined by Microsoft’s Zune and so many other brands in making portable “MP3” players. But guess what? iPod’s are not just for music but are perfect business tools to store data, educate yourself through podcasts and carry your own entertainment for when you travel on business. The 80 GB version can store up to 20,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or 100 hours of video — or any combination of each. Where to find it: iPod.com BlueTie hosted e-mail While just about everyone business has e-mail, I bet there’s at least one (if not more) business owners in your life whose business could use help in managing their e-mail. If they’re stuck using a free e-mail service, or find that their e-mail is always down, have them check out BlueTie. It’s a low-cost, hosted e-mail service that not only manages e-mail but does it quick and with powerful features. There’s even a free version. If you type in “dinner with Ramon, tomorrow,” it knows when tomorrow is, who Ramon is (if he’s in your address book) and that dinner is not at 3:00 p.m. but later. If you or someone you know lives or dies by e-mail, Bluetie just might be their life preserver. Where to find it: BlueTie.com Between my business card scanner, notebook computer, wireless broadband and all of my other gadgets, I’m ready for business this holiday season. But every entrepreneur — even me — can always use the next latest, greatest technology tool. Don’t have a GPS system? Maybe you’ll get one this holiday season. Ramon Ray is an author, speaker, technology writer and former small business technology consultant. He publishes Smallbiztechnology.com, a website that helps small and medium-sized businesses strategically use technology as a tool to grow their businesses.

About 2456 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

Where to Buy: Getting the Right Deal on Computers and Equipment

our beautiful site

To keep up with the fast-paced changes in technology that are impacting U.S. companies, allowing workers to become more mobile and commerce to be conducted 24/7, business owners are going on a shopping spree. A survey published in February 2006 by Forrester Research of 700 IT decision makers at small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. found that they plan on replacing an average of 26 percent of their PCs in 2006. More than a quarter of those new PCs will be laptops and many will represent a major upgrade over the firms’ current technology, the report found. The question is: where to buy? There are value-added resellers, a discount electronics stores or and a plethora of computer websites. The options are greater than ever before, but a growing number of computer sales will be researched and completed over the Internet. But even online, shopping requires multiple visits, specs checks, engine searches, slogging through peripheral paraphernalia, and eye-catching prices for products that may no longer be on store shelves. Before you start browsing for new PCs, check out these ten options. Yahoo Shopping filters sort price and offer “highest ranked” items on the search engine. While some “reviews” are written by ax grinders, they give a sense of whether a seller is legit. One key asset: ability to compare products side-by-side. Amazon or eBay are both great resources and a way to double-check prices. Amazon has better product pictures, but too many links. With eBay, it’s let the buyer beware – if inspection is out of the question, purchases are only as good as online promises. At the least, stick with sellers who garner the most positive feedback. Best Buy has brick-and-mortar stores nationwide, and online prices are backed up by in-store warranties. Online purchasers can pickup goods at store branches near you. The website has few filters, so have your hardware in mind before logging on. Circuit City offers to have online orders in a local store branch within 24 minutes of checking out. If not, you get a free $24 gift card. Not exactly free pizza, but with current gas prices, it amounts to a free trip home. Offers free shipping and “lowest price” guarantees. It’s worth giving their Web page a look to compare prices. Staples and Office Depot can both be found offline in malls across America. From furniture to hardware, their value is the weekly deal. Both websites are a bit of a slog, with too much information to make an easy decision online. It’s worth visiting the stores, if only to take a test drive. Frys, located in nine states, has been a cornucopia for gamers and tech geeks for years. What was once a parts store has turned into a bona fide bargain basement. Costco is a membership-only store offering everything from gas to bulk grapes, but it occasionally has tech bargains ripe for picking. The website offers more gear than offline stores. The trick is navigating to find them on a website that leaves much to be desired. CompUSA is a mega-retailer with stores nationwide, featuring Mac and PC deals and on-site repairs in many locations. Encountering epic repair lines makes you long for the Westinghouse repairman. But they frequently offer “package” deals on computer products that may suit your business needs. MacMall has only three locations nationwide, but its website bills itself as the ‘#1 Apple Direct reseller. Its sister site is PCMall, which offers 40,000 items online. Dell Computer was listed in the Forrester survey as the most popular computer and equipment vendor by small and medium-sized business IT executives. Dell, by and large, offers low prices on wide ranges of computer items. But many grumble about returns. However, they wouldn’t be one of the most successful online retailers if they didn’t deliver.