SMB

News

• Small businesses are the vast majority of Google Apps early adopters

  While Google is pitching Google Apps as an ideal productivity solution for enterprises, a large majority of its early adopters are small businesses.

• Canonical gears Linux upgrade to the cloud

  Canonical is focusing on cloud deployments with an upgrade to its Ubuntu Linux distribution being unveiled on Thursday.

• Blade servers: Big power for small businesses

  Many small businesses with larger server needs are turning to blade servers to pack big power into a small space. But what exactly is a blade server, and how do you know if it's right for your small business?

• Unified communications: Now mobile and in the cloud

  Effective communications, many would argue, is the key to business. But finding the appropriate technologies to support effective communications can be challenging for IT professionals. Unified communications is a concept that encompasses a variety of technologies, all capable of working together, and, yes, while communication is a human process, technology can enhance and improve it.

• Analysts weigh in: How to prepare for Apple iOS device flood in your business

  Businesses might long for the relatively simple policies for corporate-owned mobile devices of the BlackBerry age, but today's realities are forcing them to prepare their networks for a continued onslaught of authorized and unauthorized access from a slew of consumer devices, led by iPhones and iPads.

• Customer interaction drives Australian SMB website adoption: Survey

  More Australian SMBs are developing websites in order to improve customer service and generate sales leads, according to a Telstra Business survey.

• Into the cloud -- securely

  Companies are on the path to cloud adoption. According to a recent report, 28% of U.S. organizations are using cloud computing today, with 73% reporting their first step was implementation of a single cloud application. Yet while 84% of organizations say they have employed at least one cloud application, most do not yet self-identify as "cloud users" who are "implementing or maintaining cloud computing."

• Optus appoints former Hutchison Telecoms chief as COO

  Optus has appointed the former CEO of Hutchison Telecoms Australia, Kevin Russell, to the newly created role of chief operating officer (COO).

• No holiday for most small business owners: Telstra

  More than half of Australian small business owners will work during the Christmas and New Year holiday break, with 36 per cent of them taking no time off at all, according to a Telstra Business survey.

• As cyberattacks grow, take security seriously

  No company wants to be the subject of the next headline about a cybersecurity attack or critical data loss. Losing business data or customer information takes a toll on your business' reputation and its pocketbook. While it is impossible to entirely avoid an attack, there are steps you can take to mitigate the effects.

• Do smaller businesses think they're immune to security threats?

  Do small to midsize businesses (SMB) think they're somehow immune to security threats?

• Telstra aims Cloud portal at SMB market

  Telecommunications company, Telstra (ASX: TLS), has unveiled the next stage in its $800 million Cloud computing strategy, a services portal aimed at the small and medium business (SMB) market.

• How to choose the best media tablet for your SMB

  Media tablets have finally found a place in the small to medium business (SMB) sector, supplementing notebooks and smartphones.

• Keys to successful data center consolidation

  Data center consolidation continues to be a hot topic, and with good reason. It has proven to be an effective way to reduce costs and complexity, setting organizations on a course for more efficient IT management. But while the benefits are proven, the path to success takes careful navigation.

• Data-breach insurance caters to small businesses

  With the proliferation of data breaches, The Harford insurance company is selling a new data loss insurance aimed at small businesses that might be put at financial risk if they lose valuable and sensitive data.