Tag Archives: Seattle

About 1844 days ago E-Commerce

How to Banish Blog Spam

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And you thought spam was an e-mail problem. Spam, those unwanted messages hyping miracle drugs, cheap knockoffs and cut-rate loans, has become the bane of blogs. In fact, some experts believe spam is a bigger problem for blogs than it ever was for e-mail. That spells trouble for companies that have made blogs part of their customer service or marketing programs. Now, not only do small businesses have to work to keep their blogs in the public eye, they’ve also got to work to keep spam from giving them a public black eye. But by following some simple steps, companies can block spam from creeping onto their blogs in the first place. Spam in blogs is often called comment spam because that’s where it shows up, in the section of a blog set up for readers to post comments. Spammers use software programs to sniff out blogs and post advertisements or links directing traffic to the spammer’s website. Anti-spam software to the rescue Matt Mullenweg knows spam. Mullenweg co-founded Automattic, the company that makes the popular WordPress blogging software and created Akismet, an anti-spam program that’s built into WordPress.com blogs. Akismet is also available as a software add on to blogs hosted elsewhere, including other well-known free blogging sites such as Blogger and TypePad. Akismet is an adaptive filter. When comments are sent to a blog they pass through mathematical algorithms that determine if it’s a legitimate or spam. If a comment gets through that’s really spam and a blogger marks it as such, Akismet “learns” from its mistakes, Mullenweg says. According to Mullenweg, 90 percent of comments that pass through Akismet are spam. He estimates the software has blocked 5.5 billion pieces of spam since WordPress and other blogs started using it in 2005. Though software programs like Akismet block spam, they haven’t stopped it. “Spam on blogs and the Web is where spam on e-mail was 10 years ago,” Mullenweg says. Akismet isn’t the only anti-spam software out there. Companies can also use so-called CAPTCH programs, short for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. The popular programs, which can be seen on many websites and blogs, require someone to take a simple test to prove they’re not a machine before they can leave a comment. In programs such as reCAPTCHA, the test is typing in a sequence of squiggly letters or numbers. Other software that blocks spam includes Bad Behavior, which analyzes the method and software being used to deliver a comment to a site to determine whether it’s spam, and, Spam Karma 2.3, which works on WordPress blogs. Common sense solutions to block spam Anti-spam software is a blog’s first line of defense, but there are other tactics. Blog experts and IT professionals also recommend that companies: Check comments before approving them. According to Mullenweg, some off-shore spammers pay programmers to post what look like genuine comments. The solution: use a blog’s comment moderation feature to check out comments before the go live. Or authenticate people before allowing them to leave a comment by requiring them to sign up for a user name and password. Turn off comments. Not all blogs need two-way communication. Digital Forest, a 14-year-old Seattle, Web hosting and server co-location business, uses a blog to keep customers apprised of the status of the company’s servers. When customers e-mail or call the tech support line they’re directed to check the blog for information on maintenance and system updates, says Chuck Goolsbee, a Digital Forest vice president. “We train our customers to look there, so if there’s a problem, people go there first,” Goolsbee says. Disable pings and trackbacks. Pings and trackbacks were originally intended to notify Blogger A that Blogger B had written something about them. But spammers use them to plant links to their own Websites in order to up their click-through rates. If trackbacks are a problem, don’t use them, Goolsbee says. “When you design a system you have to take into account how it can be abused,” and the creators of blog software didn’t, he says.

About 1874 days ago Business Software

Using SaaS to Save on IT Spending

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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 1905 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

Not All PCs Are Created Equal — Part I

As the use of computers has moved from competitive advantage to competitive requirement for any small business, the dependency upon everyday computing tools such as PCs, the Internet, the mobile phone, has grown to unprecedented levels. Think about what your business day would look like if you had no access to your computer, no access to the Internet, and no access to your mobile phone. Few small businesses would truly be able to operate under these circumstances. It is absolutely paramount for all businesses to consider investments in technology at the same level of any other structural business investment, and rely upon “business grade” products rather than making do with consumer-oriented tools. An area where the differences between consumer and business product lines are very remarkable is the PC market. Not all PCs, in fact, are equally suited for business purposes and the choice of hardware you make could mean the survival or demise of your business. In this two-part column, I will review the five essential areas of differentiation between consumer-oriented and business-oriented PCs, offering practical guidelines for your next business PC purchase. Today’s PC are, in general, affordable and powerful. Software is becoming cheaper and the choices are incredible. What is not always evident, though, is that consumer PCs are designed with emphasis on entertainment and multimedia capabilities, but not necessarily built to guarantee the consistent levels of reliability, security, manageability, and computing power that businesses need. Reliability is essential for business A business PC must be as reliable as possible. Imagine if you were ready to make that key presentation to your investors and your laptop did not turn on. The most delicate part of a PC, be it a laptop or a desktop, is still the hard disk drive (HDD). With its magnetic plates spinning sometimes at more than 10,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and minuscule reading heads hovering at fractions of a millimeter above the disks, the likelihood of malfunction is actually quite high, making it the most common element of failure. In laptops, due to the shaking and small impacts they frequently have to absorb, HDDs are even more prone to stop working. Replacing a failed HDD can be very time consuming and often comes with substantial loss of data. Imagine reinstalling the operating system, all the software, and restoring your data from the backup — providing you do have a back up. Business-grade PCs today offer a feature called “Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks” (better known as RAID) that provides great protection from HDD failures. RAID has been very common in servers for many years, and it is now affordable enough to be a must-have feature in PCs. In its most basic configuration — called mirroring — RAID allows the computer to write the same data concurrently and identically on two HDDs. If one of them fails at any time, the PC continues to operate seamlessly with only one drive. When the failed drive is replaced, the system automatically copies back the information on the new drive, restoring the original configuration. Simple, effective, inexpensive, fast. Higher levels of security built in It is a day just like any other: wake up early to get ready for the Wednesday conference call with the East Coast, brush your teeth while the familiar aroma of the brewing coffee is starting to pervade your pad. A glimpse at your desk, though, tells you that something is not how it should be: you’re quite sure you left your computer on last night, but now it’s off. Press the “ON” button and there it is, the blue screen of death and the iconic message of doom: “can’t find bootable media.”  Your heart sinks, and your day is magically gone. You spend an hour trying to make sense of what has happened, calling the help desk, cancelling your appointments, only to realize that during the night a virus has entirely erased your hard disk and before doing that has sent itself to all addresses in your contact book. Double hit: lost all your data and made lots of people angry! The Seattle proposal, your contacts, the project plans, your clients information, even your kids pictures were all on your hard disk and now they are gone. Gone for good! What about the backup? Well, it never made it off the “to do list.” To limit the chances for this doomsday scenario, it is of course paramount to have up to date anti-virus and anti-spam software installed, plus a good backup routine. The last generation of PCs designed for business, like the ones based on Intel’s vPro platform, can provide a higher level of security directly built into the hardware, capable to isolate malignant software code before it reaches even the operating system. This does not replace anti-virus software, but dramatically enhances the likelihood to catch malware before it strikes. In the second part of this article, which will publish next week, I will review how PCs designed for business use offer overall more productive computer experience, better manageability. and simpler maintenance. I will also go over the newest features offered in more mobile business-oriented laptops. Andrea Peiro is a recognized authority, author, analyst and speaker on high-tech marketing and use of information technology in small and mid-sized businesses. He has been frequently interviewed and featured in such media outlets as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Inc. He can be reached at us.andreap@gmail.com.

About 1934 days ago Telecom and Wireless

Wi-MAX: A Viable Alternative to DSL or Cable?

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NewsCast, a British photojournalism company that specializes in photography syndication and online image libraries, has one less headache to worry about in its Manhattan bureau. Uploading and downloading images, a task that requires a lot of extra bandwidth due to the size of the files, has become a lot easier over the last year since the company switched to Wi-MAX to connect to the Internet. Wi-MAX — a loose acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access — is a telecommunications industry standard that can provide wireless connectivity over long distances. A related technology, Wi-Fi operates within a much smaller range. The standard is roughly divided into two solutions; Mobile Wi-MAX and fixed Wi-MAX. NewsCast uses fixed Wi-MAX as its broadband provider. “It’s the greatest thing since the invention of white bread,” says Jim Sulley, NewsCast’s director of photography. Before, NewsCast had a T-1 line that cost $800 a month for 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) of bandwidth and the service was riddled with technical difficulties disrupting the flow of business. “It was that last mile that was killing us. There were so many problems with the T-1 line. I couldn’t be happier with WiMAX,” Sulley says. “It’s much more reliable. It’s faster. And the cost is much lower. We’re on the ‘Five for Five’ plan. We get up to 5 mbps for $500 a month.” Sulley says his business often needs that extra burst of bandwidth due to the nature of what they do; they move large numbers of image files online. Does it sound too good to be true? If your business is located in one of the major metropolitan areas in the country where fixed Wi-MAX is available (New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, to name a few), then this technology can be a viable alternative to other forms of Internet service, such as DSL, Cable, or T-1 lines. Otherwise, you may have to wait. Wi-MAX: sooner or later “Wi-MAX is extremely limited in the United States right now and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. It may have some effect by 2010. Mainly it will compete against that last mile of DSL and Cable typically in suburbia where they still aren’t fully rolled out,” says William Clark, a research vice president from Gartner. Mark Tauschek, a senior research analyst from Info-Tech, a research firm based in Ontario, Canada, is more optimistic. He agrees the real rollout won’t happen until 2010, but does believe 2008 will be a big year for Wi-MAX. “There are a few things coming together this year that are going to make Wi-MAX ubiquitous,” says Tauschek, who points out the following: Sprint is committed to Wi-MAX.Sprint has already committed itself to the 2.5 GHz spectrum with the FCC, with the understanding it would be used for WiMAX. So despite recent headlines of Sprint’s delayed deal with Clearwire (the other company heavily committed to creating a nationwide Wi-MAX network in the United States), upheavals in upper management, reports of expected layoffs and even the possibility of moving its corporate headquarters back to Kansas from Virginia; don’t count out Sprint’s long term commitment to Wi-MAX. Industry support for Wi-MAX.  By mid-year, laptops will be shipping out with Intel chip sets that support Wi-MAX. Competitive pricing. It’s an industry standard, which means no royalties. “It also makes it very cookie cutter to stamp out in volume. Prices will drop fast,” points out Tauschek. From Sulley’s story, it’s clear it’s already beating out T-1 lines handily in pricing. A technology that’s worth the wait According to Maravedas, a telecom research company based in Montreal, Canada, there are some 500,000 Wi-MAX users in the United States right now. Maravedas predicts that number will grow to 10 million by 2013. Those figures exclude the Sprint deal, which if it goes through would mean a coast-to-coast Wi-MAX network available to 100 million users. In addition to competitive pricing, here are some other possible advantages to using Wi-MAX as a fixed broadband provider. Covering the last mile — and 69 other miles.  Wi-MAX carries at a range as far as 70 miles. Critics complain the signal weakens the farther out it goes and is really optimal up to about 10 miles. Even so, as a broadband solution it would be advantageous for businesses divided among several floors in one building, across a corporate park of buildings, or connecting employees who live in relative close proximity to the office. Here, there and everywhere worldwide.Wi-MAX has already hit critical mass in some countries and is quickly gaining steam in others. Eighty percent of Canadians have access to Wi-MAX now. Gartner predicts there will 48 million Wi-MAX connections globally by 2010. For the overseas business traveler, a universal standard across borders for connectivity could make life a lot easier on the road. Positive response where deployed.Sulley’s story about his experience switching to Wi-MAX is just one man’s opinion. But here are some numbers that indicate he’s not alone in his satisfaction with his new broadband choice. Clearwire serves the town of Kirkland, Wash., a suburb of Seattle and only a couple of miles from Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash. corporate headquarters. It has picked up no less than 90,000 subscribers in just the past six months. Drawbacks to Wi-MAX Clearly the biggest drawback to Wi-MAX right now is availability. But there are others to consider: If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.Very few businesses are without a broadband option. For the most part DSL and cable lines have been dropped down to the last mile. The telecommunications and cable companies aren’t going to walk away from years of investment deploying that infrastructure. Since it’s already in place, that means adding a new user is virtually free for them and pure profit off the customer. Traditional broadband providers can afford to get in a pricing war when the time comes. Security. Since penetration is still low, it remains to be seen just how easy or difficult it will be for hackers to target Wi-MAX networks. Industry watchers see potential vulnerabilities in the standards making it possible for “man-in-the-middle” attacks, denial of service attacks, as well as weaknesses in encryption that could contribute to data leaks. Other emerging options.The first option that comes to mind would be a fiber optic network (FiOS). Because it involves rolling out that last mile of fiber building by building, deployment is slow. But a “lit building” is highly coveted office space. The fiber optics lines are already wired into the building and very user friendly for tenants, who receive lightening fast, reliable connectivity. Verizon is heavily pushing FIOS. Despite those obstacles, “I’m bullish on Wi-MAX,” says Tauschek. One thing he may not be taking into account is the bears: the ones plaguing Wall Street these days. A slow down in the economy could easily turn that last mile into the long mile for any new broadband provider trying to break into that market.

About 2330 days ago Data Security

Preventing Credit Card Fraud on Your Website

My husband, who owns a one-year-old retail website, describes credit cards as both the cornerstone of his company’s payment systems and the potential crack in the foundation that could bring the whole business tumbling down. While his company is geared largely to technophiles whom you’d expect to order with a guaranteed third-party payment service like PayPal, fully 90 percent of his customers buy their gifts with American Express, MasterCard or Visa. So far he’s been lucky; out of the hundreds of credit-card transactions he processed last year, not one was bogus. But like other online merchants, he worries about what will happen if somebody does make a fraudulent charge, starting a chain of events that typically doesn’t end well for the seller. The biggest such threat: “chargebacks” or credit-card charges that buyers dispute. Buyers typically win those disputes. If someone successfully uses a lost or stolen credit card in person, the issuing bank is usually liable for the amount.  But in online transactions, also known as “card-not-present” sales, the merchant typically takes the loss. (And even if a bank does agree to assume responsibility for a disputed charge, the incident can return to haunt the seller later. Some merchant service providers — that is, the companies that process the transactions for the banks — assess fees against merchants with too many chargebacks or even threaten to terminate their services.) E-commerce merchants have recently gotten savvier about handling card-not-present transactions, according to the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), a Seattle-based retail-industry association that focuses on fraud prevention. Before 2005, fraud occurred five times more often online than it did in “card-present” sales, according to the MRC’s annual survey. But 2006 MRC research indicates that fraud now occurs at about the same rate online and in person. While that’s positive news, it certainly doesn’t mean that online merchants can relax their vigilance about potential credit-card rip-offs. The following technologies and best practices can go a long way toward keeping any e-commerce business safer from fraud: Use Address Verification Service (AVS). These systems run during the credit-card authorization process, matching the billing address provided for the sale against the billing address on file for that account . The method is useful, but far from foolproof: One industry study indicated that AVS technology identified up to 40 percent of transactions as problematic — many times the number of actual fraud cases. That can be frustrating for e-merchants, who sometimes have to turn the AVS off to enable legitimate transactions. Request Card Verification Codes. If you’ve ordered merchandise online or over the phone in past few years, you’ve probably had to provide not only your credit-card account number, but a short security code as well. If you’re not requesting the same information from your own customers, this is the time to start. Card Verification Codes appear only on the actual credit cards, not on statements, receipts or other documents. So when customers give you correct three- or four-digit verification codes, that means they’re probably holding the actual credit cards, not just stolen account numbers. Again, it’s not perfect protection. Providing the right code doesn’t, of course, guarantee that the person using the card is authorized to do so — only that the card itself is valid. But it’s still another layer of security that can thwart some fraudsters.   Watch for red flags, especially in first-time orders. Among them:  Billing and shipping addresses don’t match (although if the item is being sent as a gift, the shipping address may well be different). Mail goes to a post-office box rather than standard business or residence address. Customer can’t be reached by phone; number is missing or incorrect. E-mail goes to a free Web account rather than one connected with an Internet service provider. Order total is surprisingly large for your business. Order is being shipped overseas (when most of your business is domestic). Of course, none of those circumstances necessarily means that somebody’s trying to rip off your website. But if you find several of them associated with a single order, it’s probably a good idea to investigate further before accepting the charge and shipping off your merchandise. Anne Stuart, a former Inc. senior writer, is a Boston-based journalist who specializes in covering business and technology. For More Information: Authorize.Net Fraud Prevention Center, online security white papers; useful fraud FAQ and glossary. http://www.authorize.net/resources/fraudprevention “Five Tools You Can Use to Prevent Fraud,” article, About.com Retail Industry Guide. http://retailindustry.about.com/library/uc/02/uc_fraud1.htm “Preventing Credit-Card Chargeback: Anti-Fraud Strategies,” article, Taming the Beast e-commerce resource site. http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles2/card-fraud-strategies.htm Fraud Prevention Techniques: Credit Card Fraud, by David Montague (Trafford Publishing, 2006)

About 2361 days ago Search Engine Optimization

Changing the Way People Search

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Now that Google is a verb, it would seem the story of search has been written, published and put on the shelf. But don’t put that book away just yet. Dozens of start-ups are working hard to re-write it, both with Google’s help and without it. Much of the new technology in search focuses on the flood of multimedia content that Google’s underlying technology doesn’t address. Search engines for video, audio and even three-dimensional still images are coming to market and changing the way users think about search. One search start-up has optimized its engine for mobile users, and opened a new platform for content providers to make their sites more accessible by mobile users, too. Others are trying to improve the search experience for online shoppers. At DEMO 2006 in February, a conference showcasing new technologies and companies, 10 of the 69 start-ups on stage had developed new concepts in search. At DEMOFall seven months later, half a dozen more unveiled search plans. What this means for small business As companies change the way that people can search the Web, small and mid-size businesses need to keep abreast of the new techniques. Searching the Web is one of the key ways that potential customers find companies with which they want to do business in the 21st Century. If new types of search technologies take off, businesses may need to reassess how they describe their products online, how their websites optimize search and/or advertise on search engines and what type of multimedia content they feature on the Web. Start-up Transparensee, based in New York City, is designed to improve search results by understanding the meaning of data fields in structured data (as opposed to Google’s emphasis on random, unstructured data). Using this kind of “fuzzy” logic, Transparensee allows users to weight various parameters; if they say they’re looking for a 10X optical zoom camera with 5 megapixels of resolution, they’ll get to see the 12X cameras with 6 megapixel resolution if those models are in their price range. In multimedia search, Pluggd, of Seattle, Wash., offers HearHere, a search service that lets podcast listeners avoid irrelevant content by taking them straight to the segment of an audio or video feed that relates to their search request. Nexidia, of Altanta, recently introduced a “developer edition” to let content sites add audio indexing similar to HearHere’s search. The company is already well established in audio analysis for enterprise and government needs, such as analyzing call center conversations and finding interesting segments of surveillance recordings. Sonic Foundry Sonic Foundry, of Madison, Wis., also provides audio search through Mediasite.com, its “rich media” database of expert lectures and presentations. “We believe search lies at the heart of efficient, Web-based communication,” says Sonic Foundry CEO Rimas Buinevicius. “Finding a specific document or phrase has become a necessary part of working and learning.” That may also influence the type of content that companies may want to feature on their websites in order to attract traffic and potential customers. Reaching mobile customers Search also has become an important part of the mobile experience. Rather than paying $1 to $1.50 per 411 call, mobile users are trying out free mobile text services. Start-up 4INFO, of Palo Alto, Calif., has taken its mobile text-message search service a step beyond those offered by Google and Yahoo; the company recently debuted an open development platform that lets any content provider create 4INFO-searchable content. Revenues from advertising embedded in the search results are shared between 4INFO and the content provider. Potential customers also are finding easier paths through the search thicket to the products they want. FatLens, of Mountain View, Calif., which recently rolled out an event search site that sells tickets, also has created a site, TheFind.com, which does comparison shopping searches without relying on advertising dollars to influence the order of the results. According to Jupiter Media Metrix, 82 percent of online shoppers use search sites to find what they want, but 85 percent of them are dissatisfied with the experience. If sites like TheFind.com ease their pain, small companies should be able to compete with major retailers to sell their products on an equal footing.

About 2391 days ago Business Software

The Hidden Costs of Open Source

When businesses hear the term “open source” software, it often translates into another word: free. And while open source code technically is just that — free for all to use — it doesn’t mean that there are never any costs associated with deploying open source. To understand the payoffs of utilizing the growing array of open source applications, experts say it pays for small and mid-size businesses to do their homework on the cost analysis front. “The philosophy of open source is more about freedom — to look at the code, modify it, and that there’s no copyright,” says Michael Goulde, senior analyst for Forrester Research, of Cambridge, Mass. “Companies can save money on their expenses, especially if they don’t need all the bells and whistles that a commercial software package has. An open source package might have all they need.” Still, he warns that there are hidden costs of open source and small and mid-size businesses “can get in over their heads really quickly.” Many businesses say cost is not even a factor when moving to open source. They simply pick the best technology for the job. But companies should consider the following before committing: No. 1: Packaged open source comes with a price Some open source software comes shrink-wrapped in a box just like commercial counterparts. For instance, Red Hat Linux subscriptions and training can cost thousands of dollars. Or SugarCRM, a popular open source customer management program, costs from $40 to $75 for the Commercial or Professional versions. It charges $855 to host and manage the application with a monthly maintenance fee. Sometimes migrating to open source — as with any IT overhaul — could mean that a company needs to buy new hardware.  Still, Bruce Perens, a longtime open source evangelist and vice president at Source Labs, of Seattle, an open source provider, says most small and mid-sized businesses don’t need commercial open source products. The Ubuntu OS, for example, is not difficult to install and is free. “You can run it and not get a support contract and not pay anyone,” he says. No. 2: Support isn’t always free Open source communities are known for being supportive and helping with problem solving — for free. In fact, experts say the support offered by open source communities is often better and more in-depth than commercial software companies’ “1-800” numbers. Yet when it comes to using community-developed open source applications, being able to get on-demand technical support is a concern for some small and medium-size businesses. “Support is always a concern, no matter what kind of product it is,” says Bernard Golden, CEO of system-integrator Navica, a San Carlos, Calif. systems integrator and author of Succeeding with Open Source. In this case, businesses can hire a local company to provide open source support or to manage updates just like they might when using Microsoft Windows. Red Hat support packages for Linux can cost anywhere from $349 to $18,000. Goulde adds that small businesses should seek outside support if IT administration is not their strong suit: “When they start trying to download it themselves and support it themselves and stay on top of all the changes, that gets hard. They need somebody to guide them.” No. 3: Consultants can cost you True, open source code is free. But, if a small business doesn’t have an information technology staff to research, implement and maintain it, the firm might need help, Golden says. “If they don’t have a lot of tech savvy, they should find a partner or service provider who is open source aware and supportive,” he says. When a vendor installs open source, it also has terms of service to stand behind. Free downloads don’t. Perens says if a small business wants to get its feet wet, at the very least, there are free open source products out there that mimic off-the-shelf packages, such as Open Office. “The people who really needed supported open source, are the larger businesses,” he says. “If you’re getting big enough that you need support outside of your company, get it locally and find a local consulting firm that is willing to support Linux. The price corresponds with the level of support.”

About 2422 days ago Business Software

Does Open Source Software Make Sense for Your Business?

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Despite its technical mystique, open source software holds a lot of appeal for small and medium-sized businesses. And no wonder: It’s free. Free as in no off-the-shelf, licensing, or upgrade fees having to be paid to a software maker. And although open source code is by nature developed by a collaborative community of programmers, experts say it’s becoming more mainstream and that non-technical end users can increasingly take advantage of open source software.  “The open source folks are coming from a small business background — they wrote this software for themselves and they have an affinity for the small and mid-size users,” says Bruce Perens, a long-time open source evangelist and vice president at Source Labs, a Seattle-based company that offers support for open source deployments. “When I wrote my open source software, I was a one-person consulting business and the needs of small businesses were paramount to me.” Still, many businesses have concerns about using open source, such as worrying about whether or not it comes with tech support, how to deploy it, or how to even start researching the possibilities. So how can small and medium-sized businesses evaluate whether open source software is right for them? Experts offer this advice: Step 1: Evaluate your business needs Whether you need a simple word processing program or a customer relationship management (CRM) application, small businesses need to approach evaluating open source software solutions the same they would commercial software, says Bernard Golden, CEO of Navica, a San Carlos, Calif. system-integration company, and the author of Succeeding with Open Source. “The thing that makes sense is to look at their needs and what functionality they are looking for — then they can see whether open source fits their needs,” Golden says. “I would ask are there things you need to do for your business or would like to do but feel you can’t do because of the cost of software? In those cases it would make sense to look for open source alternatives. In almost every category of software there are open source packages that are very capable.” Step 2: Explore open source options Companies in the business of developing Web applications or software are probably already dabbling in open source — or even developing it. But you don’t have to be a high-tech firm to delve into open source. For instance, Perens points out that there is an open source package that is free to download and compatible with Microsoft Office, dubbed OpenOffice. Mozilla’s Firefox is an open source Web browser that is growing in popularity for its tabbed browsing and ability to block pop-ups. Or a business can try Thunderbird, a free open source e-mail program by Mozilla. Open source repositories that IT staff can check out include SourceForge.net, Codehaus, or Freshmeat.net. Although some Linux open source operating systems, such as Red Hat, come packaged with a price tag just like Windows, Perens says small businesses don’t have to necessarily plunk down the cash. The small business users who are less tech savvy could start with Ubuntu, which boasts the tagline: “Linux for human beings.” Perens says the Ubuntu OS is easy to install and use. It’s updated every six months and includes server and desktop software that can be installed from a single CD. Step 3: Determine if you need outside help If a small or medium-size business already uses outside consultants to deploy, manage or support their IT system, they can consider doing the same when it comes to open source — especially if they are concerned about not having someone to call if something breaks. “Vendors and consultants use open source to add value, but the SMB doesn’t have to be concerned as long as the reseller is standing behind it,” says Michael Goulde, a senior analyst with Forrester Research, of Cambridge, Mass., who’s written several reports on the trend toward enterprise use of open source. “It’s tempting to do it yourself because it’s free. SMBs can get in over their heads really quickly.” Perens says if a small business’s open source application is mission critical to consider using managed servers by an outside vendor. “And if you’re getting big enough that you need support outside of your company, get it locally and find a local consulting firm that is willing to support Linux. For a small business, or one with fewer than 1,000 employees, local support is the best deal.” If a small firm isn’t tech savvy, Golden aggress that it should look into finding a partner or service provider who is open source aware and supportive. Still he says: “Support is always a concern, no matter what kind of product it is. For most open source products you can find commercial support if you want it. You can also get community support from open source forums, which are tremendous resources and can even be far better than an 800 number that you get with commercial products.”

About 2483 days ago Telecom and Wireless

Five Tips for Choosing a Phone System

When Lighthearted Entertainment, a reality television production company, moved into new offices in Burbank, Calif., everything was in good working order but the telephone system. “My telephone system was driving us nuts,” says Howard Schultz, founder of the company which has helped produce such shows as Extreme Makeover (ABC), Love Shack (NBC) and Truth or Dare (NBC). The phone system had been installed by a previous tenant. “It didn’t suit our needs,” Schultz recalls. But replacing that system took longer than he expected because he found out what many small and medium-sized business owners have come to realize. Even though a phone system is one of the most crucial tools in business that can help you reach clients, customers and partners, upgrading to a new business telephone system can be a daunting task. Manufacturers from Panasonic to NEC to Nortel target entrepreneurs with phone system packages that offer multiple outside lines, expandable capacity for additional extensions, and applications such as voicemail, automated attendants with voice prompts and automatic call distribution. Prices can range from $600 to $1,900 to $20,000 and up. With such an assortment of phone systems on the market, business owners need help cutting through the clutter so that they can figure out the best phone system for their business: #1. Get a head count of employees that need outside lines. Start by considering the number of employees that need to use the system. Then add up the number of extensions needed for fax machines, modems, credit card terminals, etc. If it’s a small office with a staff of fewer than 10 employees, consider off-the-shelf phones systems for considerable savings. But if your business has a staff of more than 40, it’s most likely that a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system is called for. No longer is PBX synonymous for those huge telecom closets you see at large firms. They now come in the small business size and can fit on top of a desk. #2. Forecast company needs down the road. When considering a system, examine where your company will be a few years from now. Will you increase staff? Will you open branch offices? Is an acquisition or merger likely? Experts suggest doubling the wiring if your company is likely to expand in the not-too-distant future. #3. Consider VoIP. For phone service, check into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems. VoIP technology allows businesses to place and receive calls using the Web, offering potential cost savings. Matt Godden, president of Seattle, Wash.-based Xoasis Networks, a provider of small-business VoIP phone systems, says, “If you’re a company with branch offices, you can transfer all calls without hangup and pickup and have one operator manage all four offices” with VoIP. There were more than 4.5 million VoIP users in the U.S. last year, and that number will double this year, according to International Data Corp. #4. Buy second hand or rent. Try leasing or buying used phone equipment. Companies change phones for many reasons — not just that their phones are outdated — and your company might be able to benefit from some bargains in the market. Some firms specialize in selling refurbished equipment. #5. Buy at the close of the quarter. For firms that aren’t keen on leasing, keep certain things in mind when buying a new phone system. Purchase at the end of the quarter when sales reps are trying to hit quotas. You may find some bargains. #6. Pick a reputable seller. Who will take your call if the system goes down? Better to deal with a company that will be responsive and help you out of a jam. Most dealers handle not only the sale but installation. It’s important to undertake due diligence when choosing a dealer. The first question should be how many installations the dealer has finished using your phone system. #7. Compatibility is key. Remember to consider the other equipment or services you already own or contract for that you’re not going to replace. Make sure any new phone systems is compatible with headsets, conferencing tools, voicemail and call forwarding systems that you already have and use.

About 2544 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

39 Great Business Bargains

Online Payment Processing If you don’t need a full-blown e-commerce solution, PayPal lets you accept credit card payments with a PayPal shopping cart. There are no setup charges and no monthly fees, just a transaction fee of 2 to 3 percent, plus 30 cents–about what credit card merchant-account processors charge. Payroll Services Outsourcing onerous payroll tasks is easy and quite affordable. For a flat monthly fee, online services such as surepayroll.com and paycycle.com do all the calculations, pay and file federal and state taxes, and make direct deposits into your employees’ bank accounts. PayCycle costs $45 to $73 per month for a company with 25 employees, regardless of how often you run payroll (50-employee maximum); Sure Payroll charges about $87 to process the monthly payroll for 25, and can cut payroll expenses by up to 50 percent. Playing Post Office All mail is not created equal, so if you’re paying equally for all of it, you’re probably paying too much. Go to usps.com/businessmail101 for a primer on the different classes of mail and an explanation of the many discounts available for bulk and presorted mail and for things like dropping mail off at a bulk mail center or a central post office. For flat non-letter-size mail, such as catalogs, simply presorting according to Zip code can save you up to 30 percent on postage, and you can save up to 10 cents per pound by dropping it all off at a bulk mail center. And remember, never send a letter if a post card will do–post cards cost 38 percent less to send than first-class mail. Montblanc Pen: because you don’t want to sign a multi-million dollar contract with a 50-cent pen Seal the deal with a more elegant instrument. Pen maker Montblanc distributes its wares through a small network of authorized dealers, so prices are pretty standardized. A new Montblanc StarWalker Ballpoint sells for $216, including shipping, at writewithstyle.com. That’s not a bad price, but you can do better. The recent eBay price was $142, with shipping–with several more up for bidding. Color, light, and air A fresh coat of paint might be the most cost-effective investment you can make in the look and feel of your workplace. And since paint is so cheap, you can always repaint if you’re not happy. For help finding a color scheme, do what professional designers do: Check out the free color forecasting reports published by the Color Marketing Group. To make sure your new color looks right, switch out harsh white fluorescents with “warm white” ones; their fuller-spectrum light will make everything look better. Finally, improve the indoor air quality with bargain-priced planters from big-boxers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, warehouse clubs, or Ikea. Carpeting Buy or lease modular carpet tiles, such as those made by Interface. While regular roll carpet is cheaper to buy up front, modular tiles can pay off in the long run because rather than having to buy a whole new carpet, you can just replace the worn tiles. It’s easy to take the tiles with you if you move. Plus, they look a lot cooler. Software Put off software purchases until the end of the year, when you’ll find discounts on programs that are being released in new versions. You may also see discounts at the end of a financial quarter. There’s also plenty of free software out there available for download–from e-mail (Evolution) and e-commerce (osCommerce) to Web browsers (Firefox, Opera) and accounting (GnuCash). Two of the best sources of freeware are tucows.com and CNET’s Download.com. Cheap (and Eager) Labor Entrepreneurship is hot these days, and plenty of students are eager to get experience at growing companies. The key is to offer experiences that truly can’t be had at big corporations, such as real responsibility, individual mentoring, and access to decision makers. William Wright-Swadel, director of career services at Harvard University’s School of Arts and Sciences, suggests that companies build long-term relationships with career centers at local colleges and market themselves through campus events and organizations. On MonsterTrak, the largest student job and internship site, you can target your posting to the schools you want to recruit from; the site charges $30 per posting per school, with a discount for multiple postings. Wherever your job posting appears, get it in as early as possible; students typically start thinking about summer internships at the end of the fall term. And remember: Interns are cheap, but they’re not free. Generally, if you’re paying someone, you have to pay minimum wage; for unpaid internships, certain educational criteria often must be met. Check with your state’s labor department for the regulations in your area. Free Consulting Score, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a nonprofit partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration that provides free online counseling on everything from accounting to workflow analysis, provided by a volunteer corps of working and retired business owners and executives. Score also offers free one-on-one and team business counseling at 389 locations around the country; find the one closest to you at score.org. Copy, Right Mid-level business copiers can cost $5,000 and up. Because of the high entry cost, and the near certainty that the “latest technology” will be outdated in a year (if not six months), leasing–which often includes an option to upgrade and can cost as little as $50 a month–is usually more attractive. When signing a lease, make sure to clarify the service and repairs included, and what the response time will be. Beware of contracts that require a minimum or maximum monthly number of copies; work out pay-as-you-go terms instead. And remember, you don’t have to buy paper and toner from your copier supplier–you can usually save money by buying these from an office-supply source. And if you don’t expect to make more than 700 copies a month, you probably don’t need a “business” copier at all–you can get by with a combination printer-copier that costs a few hundred bucks. Ink & Toner Deals abound on generic, remanufactured, and even name-brand cartridges. There are numerous online office supply and ink specialty stores–InkSell.com, 4inkjets, Databazaar.com, and InkjetSuperstore.com–that often have better prices than the superstores and printer manufacturers. For example, in a recent search on comparison site NexTag, we found an HP Laserjet 2400 cartridge for $120; the same product retails for $206 at Office Depot. If you’re willing to use refurbished cartridges, you can pay as little as $70. Meanwhile, OfficeMax recently launched a nationwide refill program for inkjet cartridges, which could translate into cost savings of up to 50 percent. Best for Blogging WordPress.org provides a free, easy-to-use tool for adding an easy-to-update blog to your company’s existing website. If you want to go cheap–and skip a formal website altogether–blogger.com (owned by Google) and wordpress.com (not wordpress.org) will host your blog for free. The only drawback: The generic domain name (blogspot.com or wordpress.com) can look unprofessional. Office Furniture Check out dealer show rooms and keep tabs on any floor models you like. Come June, when NeoCon, the huge convention of office furniture manufacturers, takes place, dealers want to get new stuff on the floor–which can translate into good deals on old merchandise. Discounts of 20 percent or more are not uncommon. For general office furniture, check the lower-cost subsidiaries of the big manufacturers, such as Steelcase’s Turnstone line. And don’t forget eBay, where bargains on durable workplace basics abound. Here are some recent examples: 34 Steelcase telemarketing cubicles: $6,700; eight Herman Miller workstations: $3,995; 12 Steelcase office desks: $1,500. Paper, envelopes, pencils, staples and the rest Rather than buying different items from different vendors, consolidate your office-supplies shopping in one place. The big office superstores all offer online order management, free delivery for orders over $50, and loyalty rewards programs. In addition, OfficeMax Commercial Solutions and Staples Business Advantage are free programs that work like managed-travel programs, helping customers track and reduce total office-supply spending through more efficient ordering and discounts for volume buying. Office Depot offers similar services through its Business Services Division. Negotiating an Iron-Clad Shipping Contract The major package delivery companies–FedEx, UPS, DHL–are all competing for the small-business market. It’s up to you to meet with their reps and determine what services you need, which company best meets those needs, and which one offers the best deal. Beware of add-on charges for things like sending packages to nonurban areas and shipping fragile items; shippers today have more than 100 such charges, compared with about 30 five years ago. Many of these fees are negotiable, though it helps if you have what the shippers call “good shipping characteristics”–high volume, packages that tend to fall in the same size category (say, more than 100 pounds), and lots of deliveries to urban Zip codes (which are less expensive to deliver). Smart negotiating can shave 10 to 20 percent off your shipping bill, says Mike Erickson, president and CEO of AFMS, a consulting firm that specializes in evaluating and negotiating business shipping contracts. Indeed, if you do a lot of shipping, it makes sense to hire a consultant, as shipping contracts are often difficult for laypeople to decipher. A company car–plus a tax break Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, individuals and businesses that buy or lease a new hybrid gas-electric car or truck, or an alternative-fuel or fuel-cell vehicle, are eligible for an income-tax credit of up to $3,400, depending on the fuel economy and the weight of the vehicle. (This credit is in addition to the regular depreciation or lease expense you’re allowed to deduct for any vehicle.) If you buy more than one vehicle, you get a tax credit for each. This tax credit applies to vehicles “placed in service” beginning January 1, 2006. Once a manufacturer has sold 60,000 eligible vehicles, the tax credit for its cars will be reduced, and eventually eliminated. So get on it now. When buying a printer, check out the “print yield” A cheap inkjet may be easy on the wallet today, but it’ll end up costing you more later. That’s because with printers, it’s all about consumables–paper, toner, etc. For example, with a $300 laser printer and compatible cartridge, it costs $30 to print 1,000 pages (black ink only); with an $80 inkjet printer from the same manufacturer, the same print run costs $100. After a little more than 3,000 pages, the more expensive printer has paid for itself. Check out the “print yield” specs for the toner cartridges the printer requires, and divide the price by that number–that’s your cost per page. Let that number, not the cost of the printer, guide you to the real bargains. Retail Space Mall tenants may enjoy foot traffic, but that traffic comes with a steep price tag–incidental costs can run from $18 to $55 per square foot per year. Wherever you set up shop, scrutinize your lease for so-called pass-throughs–charges on top of the basic rent for things like common-area maintenance–and make sure you’re paying a share that’s proportionate to the actual square footage you’re occupying. Another way to save: Minimize your square footage in an expensive retail area by leasing storage space in a cheaper space off the premises. Stress-Free Employees Treating your staff to monthly massages may seem like a needless indulgence, but it can save you in the long run. Research shows that employees are more productive on quantitative tasks after massages and report feeling less stress. There is also, not surprisingly, less absenteeism on days that massages are scheduled. And because office massage specialists provide education about ergonomics and repetitive-stress injuries, you may reduce the costs of such injuries. A 15-minute seated massage–about the time of a coffee break–is all it takes to realize the benefits. On-site massage rates vary by location–expect hourly rates of about $75 and up in larger cities (a massage therapist will typically fit in three 15-minute massages per hour). Go to amtamassage.org and use the locator service to find a qualified provider in your area. Corporate jet: a good option for small groups It’s a bit of a stretch to call a company jet a bargain, but look at the upside. There’s no penalty for booking last minute, so it’s attractive if you make spur-of-the-moment trips. And since jet operators charge by the hour, not per person, a private flight can be a good option for flying small groups (midsize jets can accommodate about eight). Full or fractional ownership requires laying out millions up front, but Sentient and Blue Star Jets‘ SkyCard program offer membership plans that give you planes on demand for less than the cost of fractional or outright ownership. With both companies, you make an initial deposit (minimum $100,000 for Sentient, $50,000 for Blue Star) and funds are deducted as you use flight time (hourly fees start at about $2,000). Deals on PCs Comparison shopping is a no-brainer. But with PCs, you’ll be surprised at how large the price variations are for identical products. A recent search on comparison-shopping site NexTag, for example, turned up about 20 different vendors offering new Toshiba Portege R200 laptops for prices ranging from $1,162 to $2,159. Another useful tool is NexTag’s “Price Drops” section, which tracks the market in a range of tech categories and reveals, for example, that in April, the best price for an IBM Thinkpad T43P abruptly dropped 25 percent. Travel Tips Travel is typically a company’s second or third largest controllable expense, and one way to control it is to implement a managed-travel program. Most of the online booking services have launched programs for small companies. Expedia Corporate Travel ($149 a year) and Orbitz for Business (fees vary according to use) drive down travel expenses by 10 percent or more by lowering transaction fees (an average of $5 per ticket, compared with about $30 for traditional agencies) and negotiating discounted rates with airlines, hotels, and rental car companies. Obviously, the larger the company, the larger the discount a travel service can negotiate. But in some markets, just being able to offer an airline or hotel a 10 percent incremental increase in your company’s business can be a potent bargaining tool. American Express’ small-business travel program (starts at $500 a year; $100 for small-business cardholders) offers discounts on airfares of up to 15 percent on domestic flights and 35 percent on international trips. AmEx also promises to beat any fare you find online. Website Hosting and Design Some broadband providers offer free hosting with their service. If yours doesn’t, consider one of these low-cost options, all of which include easy-to-use design and e-commerce tools and templates to get your site up and running quickly. Yahoo Hosting and domain registration: $12 per month and up E-commerce: $40 to $300 per month, depending on sales volume Homestead Hosting and domain registration: $20 to $50 per month (plus $20 setup fee) E-commerce: $7 to $60 per month Microsoft Office Live Hosting and domain registration: Basic service is free; added features cost $30 a month Web Traffic Analysis Google Analytics is a free and useful Web analytics tool–if you can get it. Right now there’s a waiting list that doesn’t seem to be budging. Fortunately, Google is far from your only affordable option. Check out ClickTracks‘ Analyzer, a basic hosted service that charges $49 per month (or buy the software for $495); Web analytics program SmarterStats 3.0, free for use on a single website (available at download.com); StatCounter, free for up to 250,000 page views; and Site Meter, which starts at $9.95 per month. Numerous free trial versions of other programs are available, too–which can at least hold you over if you decide to wait for your Google spot to open up. Industrial Space Even in the information age, manufactured goods can’t telecommute. That’s why industrial space–factories, warehouses, distribution centers–always costs more the closer it is to large population and transportation centers. Prices decline the farther out you move, but then transportation costs go up–so what appears to be a bargain often is not. The right balance is easiest to strike in less pricey “second-tier” cities such as Columbus, Indianapolis, and Louisville, as well as on the fringes of primary markets–places such as eastern Pennsylvania, lower New York state, and northern Los Angeles County. Aeron Chairs Go to authorized Herman Miller dealers first and think of the advertised price as a starting point. Even if you’re buying just 10 or 20 chairs, you can bargain. “Every contract is individually negotiated,” says Herman Miller spokesman Bruce Buursma. Dealers often have used chairs coming back from leases, which can cost 20 percent less than new ones. Consider lower-cost models too–Herman Miller’s basic Celle chair, for example, offers Aeron-like features for about $499, compared with $699 for a basic Aeron. If you’re not making progress with the brick-and-mortar dealers, go online. Here’s what a recent price comparison turned up (all prices include shipping): New Aeron Chair $699 at officedesigns.com, ultimatebackstore.com, sit4less.com, homeofficesolutions.com (volume pricing available) “Like New” Aeron Chair (floor models or returns) $519 at luxurychair.com, $560 at trendychair.com, $539 at sit4less.com’s clearance section Aeron Look-alikes Sit4Less “E” Chair, $399 at sit4less.com Ergonomic eChair, $319 at luxurychair.com Mesh eChair, $269 at designerseating.com A serious coffeemaker–and serious coffee If you consider a super automatic espresso machine to be a super productivity booster, check out the “outlet” section of wholelattelove.com, which sells manufacturer-refurbished machines at deep discounts–a Jura-Capresso Impresa S9 (list price, $2,400) goes for $1,399, shipping included. As for beans, get the gourmet stuff from old-school coffee roaster D’Amico Foods, which ships nationwide from its store in Brooklyn–at great prices ($6 a pound for the house blend espresso). The best rate on credit cards Start by checking out what your bank offers, then do some comparison shopping. As with personal credit cards, there are numerous no-annual-fee cards out there, so avoid paying such charges unless you truly require the particular services or reward-program benefits of a certain card. At sites like CreditCardGuide.com, CreditCards.com, and MyRatePlan.com (go to the credit card section), you can compare cards and apply online. Fun and Games Nothing succeeds in conjuring that giddy dot-com mood quite like little plastic soccer players. A new Striker foosball table retails for $699. But you almost always can find better deals at online specialty stores, many of which also include free shipping–which is no small matter, since delivery of a foosball table can cost a couple hundred bucks. Here’s a sampling of some of the best deals on office amusements: Foosball Table Striker foosball table $499, shipping included, at justfoosballtables.com      Air Hockey Carrom Premium Hydralumina With Scoring, six-foot model $540, shipping included, at christophersgames.com    Ping-Pong Table Prince Competitor table tennis table $359, shipping included, at dickssportinggoods.com Pool Table Charleston eight-foot table $1,787, crating and air freight included, at pooltables-direct.com    Pinball/Arcade Simpsons game $4,800, with shipping, christophersgames.com 1979 Space Invaders cocktail table arcade game $700 (plus $350 shipping), recently listed on eBay     Turn Your Office Into an Art Gallery Why buy pricey art for your office walls when you can rent? A number of major art museums have rental programs–and many will even help you choose the best pieces for your space. The Artists Gallery at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art charges about $350 to rent a $5,000 painting for three months; a $1,000 painting rents for $170. Like most museum rental programs, SFMOMA’s program focuses on local talent and has thousands of work in all media; photography tends to be the least expensive option. Other museums with rental programs include Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin. Local galleries may also rent to businesses.    The Office of Your Dreams Right now, the cheapest downtown Class A rents in major markets can be found in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle–places where $20 per square foot can land you palatial digs that would cost three times as much in New York City. Wherever you live, make sure you keep up with local business news. When companies close, downsize, or move out of town, they’re often left with time on their existing leases. “Subleasing is where a smaller business can really pick up a bargain,” says Andrew Abramson, a senior vice president with Grubb & Ellis in Washington, D.C. Abramson points out that in addition to lower rent, expensive improvements that were made by the previous tenant–such as phone systems and furniture–are often thrown into the deal as an incentive. Meantime, if you forgo a view and instead take lower-floor or obstructed-view space, you can save anywhere from 10 to 30 percent on rent. (Go to grubb-ellis.com/research to check pricing in markets throughout North America.) Location, Location, Location How much do real estate prices fluctuate nationwide? To find out, we searched for Class A office space in three major markets–Denver, Atlanta, and San Francisco. In each city, we found a plush office of about 6,000 square feet (enough for about 20 people) in a fancy, downtown building with all the amenities-health club, concierge services, covered parking, etc. The annual lease rates, of course, were all over the map. San Francisco $37 per square foot Denver $25 per square foot Atlanta $29 per square foot The Wall Street Journal A staple of office waiting rooms everywhere, the Journal does not offer corporate discounts for bulk orders to new subscribers. Check for special offers on the comparison-shopping sites as well as newspaper specialists subscription-offers.com and discountednewspapers.com. And check the paper’s website, too. At the time of writing, an offer for new subscribers made dealing directly with the publisher the cheapest option out there by far (56 weeks for $99); only one third-party distributor was able to beat the regular yearly subscription price of $215. (Note: This special offer was available online only; operators at the Journal‘s 800 number did not mention or even acknowledge this option.) The Clean-Up Crew Any cleaning service you hire should be bonded and insured–if cleaners mess up your stuff, or themselves, you don’t want to get stuck with the bill. Prices for that will be higher than for under-the-table help, but worth it. Remember, cleaning people often work when the office is empty; you need to be able to trust them. Make sure the company does background checks on workers, and check multiple references. Old-school long-distance service Negotiate directly with carriers or go through resellers, or CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers), which tend to price more aggressively and be more focused on the needs of smaller businesses than the large telecoms. There are many sites that let you solicit bids and compare rates, including PhoneSaver.com and BuyerZone. As you compare services, look for one that will bill the shortest time increments possible for long-distance–one- to six-second intervals, rather than 30-second ones. The smaller increments can translate into savings of 10 percent or so. International calling It’s not a substitute for a traditional phone system, but Skype, which lets you make calls directly from your computer, is a useful supplement if international calls are a big part of your phone bill. The quality usually can’t match a good phone connection, but the prices can’t be beat. Calls to other Skype users (through your computer) are free wherever you’re calling from, and calls to landlines and cell phones in the U.S., much of Europe, China, and Japan cost about two cents per minute. Broadband: Why You Need a Broker Unless you have a strong preference for a particular provider, you’ll generally get better rates through a broker–brokers do the comparison shopping for you, and because they buy in bulk, tend to have greater negotiating leverage. Typically, there is no charge to the consumer in working with a broker; instead, the providers pay the brokers a fee. Look for resellers that have been in business at least a few years, and make sure they show you quotes from several providers. Broadband is an extremely competitive market, so avoid getting locked into a long-term contract. Most companies require a two-year minimum commitment–don’t sign up for a longer term. You can solicit quotes from multiple vendors and resellers at comparison-shopping sites. Office Design Most professional designers charge between $75 and $200 an hour. But hiring one can actually wind up saving you money. Designers often see possibilities that you do not. A designer might suggest ways to use inexpensive materials and built-ins–using melamine boards in place of desks, for example–that can help reduce the amount of office furniture you need to buy. And when you do buy, designers get discounts of as much as 50 percent. The trick is to keep your designer on a short leash by defining the task at hand as narrowly as possible. To find a designer, go to asid.org, the website of the American Society of Interior Designers, and click on the “Find a Designer” link. Before You Buy Thanks to the Web, comparison shopping is a cinch. Sites such as Bizrate.com, PriceGrabber.com, Shopping.com, and NexTag.com may turn up the deal you’re looking for on any number of items. The following sites may be helpful for specialized searches. Broadband service Broadband.com Broadbandbroker.com Buyerzone.com EverythingT1.com Business equipment leasing Buyerzone.com Commercial real estate Equityoffice.com Cushwake.com (click on “Property Listings”) Grubb-ellis.com (click on “Properties”) Computers/software Shopper-zdnet.com Shopper.cnet.com Credit cards Creditcards.com Creditcardguide.com Myrateplan.com Newspaper subscriptions Subscription-offers.com Discountednewspapers.com Phone plans and systems Phonesaver.com Buyerzone.com