Specific Issues Impacting Small Business -> Information Technology
Up and coming technologies for small business
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| Effort Index How complex / Time-Consuming is this issue for you to deal with? | ||||
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 by digitalei on 25 Feb 09 13:39 |
Definitely in tight times - SMBs are looking to improve efficiency without spending big bucks. Hot items at the moment are HP ML110 servers with MS Small Business server with Exchange for 5 users for approx $1200.00. We have been installing Blackberry Exchange Server on it and this provides the user with full, instant blackberry integration/synchronisation of their Outlook calendar, reminders and email without wires. So our clients now carry their office round with them in their pocket. Happy ton discuss this further with anyone who is interested.
| by WW-Transcriptionist on 20 Jan 09 15:00 |
I use SendThisFile.com for receiving and sending large audio files.
Although there are digital audio formats such as .dss which are small enough to be delivered as an email attachment, some of the main internet audio formats such as .mp3, .wav, .wma, etc are often much larger and require downloading from a server or website rather than being received by email.
My business is Weightman Typing & Design, a Virtual Assistance, Secretarial and Transcription service. Although some clients are local, all of my services are carried out virtually. I receive 99% of my work by email, PC fax, or internet so I rely on broadband internet, services and programs that help my business operate successfully offsite (I work from home).
Regards
Wendy
www.wtyping.com.au
Although there are digital audio formats such as .dss which are small enough to be delivered as an email attachment, some of the main internet audio formats such as .mp3, .wav, .wma, etc are often much larger and require downloading from a server or website rather than being received by email.
My business is Weightman Typing & Design, a Virtual Assistance, Secretarial and Transcription service. Although some clients are local, all of my services are carried out virtually. I receive 99% of my work by email, PC fax, or internet so I rely on broadband internet, services and programs that help my business operate successfully offsite (I work from home).
Regards
Wendy
www.wtyping.com.au
| by centralpulse on 01 May 08 02:01 |
Dogwood has raised an interesting subject with hosted internet based solutions and the 'broadband issue'.
We have launched a hosted collaboration solution, CommSuite (www.centralpulse.com.au/commsuite), similar to applications such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange. Our solution is charged on a per-user basis and this is proving to be highly successful with an incremental discount based on the number of users a company has.
Generally for business we find that there isn't much of a broadband issue any longer with a huge range of broadband products on the market like ADSL, Cable and HSDPA (wireless broadband). Where the application is reasonably heavy and our load screen does take around 5-10 seconds on initial login on a 256/64 kbps connection (I have a secondary connection from Unwired specifically to test this as we rarely get anything near these speeds) the application once loaded doesn't seem to have much lag.
Our customers report that the speed is much as if it is a local program installed on their machine and we find that our target markets 99% of the time have a broadband connection.
We are looking at other hosted solutions as well as hosted solutions delivered via the Citrix thin client in the near future in addition to this one and have decided to no longer put as much emphasis on this issue as we did in the past.
We have launched a hosted collaboration solution, CommSuite (www.centralpulse.com.au/commsuite), similar to applications such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange. Our solution is charged on a per-user basis and this is proving to be highly successful with an incremental discount based on the number of users a company has.
Generally for business we find that there isn't much of a broadband issue any longer with a huge range of broadband products on the market like ADSL, Cable and HSDPA (wireless broadband). Where the application is reasonably heavy and our load screen does take around 5-10 seconds on initial login on a 256/64 kbps connection (I have a secondary connection from Unwired specifically to test this as we rarely get anything near these speeds) the application once loaded doesn't seem to have much lag.
Our customers report that the speed is much as if it is a local program installed on their machine and we find that our target markets 99% of the time have a broadband connection.
We are looking at other hosted solutions as well as hosted solutions delivered via the Citrix thin client in the near future in addition to this one and have decided to no longer put as much emphasis on this issue as we did in the past.
| by coremind on 29 Apr 08 22:33 |
> Interested in your comments about the difficulties with generic offerings. Any industry specific experience, eg. retailers, tradies, etc.
Take IT Hardware and Services. The average complexity of such systems is constantly increasing. Even with attempts to make things "user friendly", typical business owners or staff aren't in a position to add significant value without expert IT assistance. As the costs of the underlying hardware and software decrease, the relative cost you spend on implementing these technologies is significantly higher. This was always the case for larger companies, and is now the case for smaller ones too.
One solution to this problem is in things like managed services, but this type of model usually prohibits much customisation. You take it "as is" or put it back on the shelf/find another provider. This can give consumers a "false sense of hope", when all they see is the up-front price tag and not the total cost, which hasn't really changed much at all (unless they 'fit the mould', which tends to mean their competitors are doing the same thing and hence what you're doing isn't a competitive advantage).
Take IT Hardware and Services. The average complexity of such systems is constantly increasing. Even with attempts to make things "user friendly", typical business owners or staff aren't in a position to add significant value without expert IT assistance. As the costs of the underlying hardware and software decrease, the relative cost you spend on implementing these technologies is significantly higher. This was always the case for larger companies, and is now the case for smaller ones too.
One solution to this problem is in things like managed services, but this type of model usually prohibits much customisation. You take it "as is" or put it back on the shelf/find another provider. This can give consumers a "false sense of hope", when all they see is the up-front price tag and not the total cost, which hasn't really changed much at all (unless they 'fit the mould', which tends to mean their competitors are doing the same thing and hence what you're doing isn't a competitive advantage).
| by Dogwood on 11 Apr 08 08:30 |
I believe that three trends are emerging from the mist, "per user charging", "per transaction charging" and "Web Based".
Per user charging is already occuring we, Pyx Business Systems, already supply a complete business solution for small to medium manufacturing / distribution companies on a per user basis. Currently installed in clients having from one (1) to fifty five (55) users. The latter pay 55 times more than the former but get exactly the same system. This is a tremendous way for a small company to get "big" company systems.
Per transaction charging is already occuring but in a small way. I believe that in the next 12 to 24 months we will see companies, such as ourselves, offerring to install and maintain complete business solutions free of charge and then charge the business on perhaps a monthly basis for the number of transactions processed that month. This I think is ideal for any company because IT becomes a direct cost of the business rather than an indirect cost, as business increases the cost goes up as it decreases it goes down.
Web based systems are the same as "per transaction" described above but are used over the internet, that is you have no installed software to manage or maintain, indeed you only require the simplest of computers in your office. These already exist but I believe they will be somewhat risky until the "broadband" issue is finally resolved.
I hope this gives food for thought not only for the IT company's clients but also the IT companies themselves.
John
www.pyx.net.au
Per user charging is already occuring we, Pyx Business Systems, already supply a complete business solution for small to medium manufacturing / distribution companies on a per user basis. Currently installed in clients having from one (1) to fifty five (55) users. The latter pay 55 times more than the former but get exactly the same system. This is a tremendous way for a small company to get "big" company systems.
Per transaction charging is already occuring but in a small way. I believe that in the next 12 to 24 months we will see companies, such as ourselves, offerring to install and maintain complete business solutions free of charge and then charge the business on perhaps a monthly basis for the number of transactions processed that month. This I think is ideal for any company because IT becomes a direct cost of the business rather than an indirect cost, as business increases the cost goes up as it decreases it goes down.
Web based systems are the same as "per transaction" described above but are used over the internet, that is you have no installed software to manage or maintain, indeed you only require the simplest of computers in your office. These already exist but I believe they will be somewhat risky until the "broadband" issue is finally resolved.
I hope this gives food for thought not only for the IT company's clients but also the IT companies themselves.
John
www.pyx.net.au
| by coremind on 04 Apr 08 07:33 |
Whilst product vendors are constantly on the innovation trail, the implementation of these technologies for small business almost always lags. Even once successfully "mass consumerised", the business context for the use of such technologies is different enough that there can be considerable effort in "making it work for you".
The problem small business owners face is they can rarely afford "custom solutions", and the generic offerings don't give them enough value.
CoreMind (www.coremind.com.au) is actively working on wrapping up select products in a service plan for small business. We will be including purchase, installation, configuration, monitoring and maintenance in one fixed monthly fee. Our clients win with price certainty, being able to receive the benefits of the system today, and knowing their system will be reliable.
Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed of our upcoming products: www.coremind.com.au/list
CoreMind is a Melbourne-based company offering IT Consulting, Management, Development and Support services. Please contact us on 1300 88 99 25 to arrange a free no obligation needs assessment.
The problem small business owners face is they can rarely afford "custom solutions", and the generic offerings don't give them enough value.
CoreMind (www.coremind.com.au) is actively working on wrapping up select products in a service plan for small business. We will be including purchase, installation, configuration, monitoring and maintenance in one fixed monthly fee. Our clients win with price certainty, being able to receive the benefits of the system today, and knowing their system will be reliable.
Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed of our upcoming products: www.coremind.com.au/list
CoreMind is a Melbourne-based company offering IT Consulting, Management, Development and Support services. Please contact us on 1300 88 99 25 to arrange a free no obligation needs assessment.
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