Top 5 Productivity Killers
AccountingWEB (05/01/07)

Laurie Shufeldt, vice president of strategic business development at FileVision, specializes in helping small businesses increase productivity when it comes to the handling of documents. Shufeldt says disorganization can lower a worker's productivity by 50 percent or more by making it difficult to locate information when it is needed. In regards to digital documents, Shufeldt underscores the importance of a search and retrieval system that involves key-word and full-text searches. Automating as many tasks as possible and integrating internal communications systems also boosts productivity. Efficient communications involves automatically adding emails and voicemail messages to customer profiles and other pertinent files. Other productivity enhancers, according to Shufeldt, are workflow plans and processes that automate task assignment and task management, as well as paperless technologies that store a single file in a central information management system accessible to all employees so that numerous paper copies do not have to be made and distributed across the office.
http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi id=103465&d=815&h=817&f=816&dateformat=%25B%20%25e,%20%25Y

Bringing the CEO Up to Tech Speed
Optimize (04/07) No. 22 , ; Ramakrishnan, Umesh

It is the responsibility of the chief information officer (CIO) to ensure that the chief executive officer (CEO) has a working knowledge of technology to facilitate decision-making about new business technologies. This is important because CEOs generally turn to CIOs to explain why the company should shell out a lot of money on a particular technology. For this to be effective, CIOs need to gauge how much the CEO knows about technology so that no time is wasted going over details that are already known. CIOs should use real-life examples when touting the benefits of a particular technology, spending an equal amount of time on the downsides and risks associated with a certain product. CEOs are not interested in jargon, meaning that CIOs should use words and phrases understood in a business environment. They should suggest Webinars or other forms of training if the CEO expresses interest in broadening his or her knowledge of technology, even going as far as to offer training to other senior executives as well. CIOs who understand the ins and outs of running a business and demonstrate their credibility through success in small projects are well positioned to become the CEO's trusted confidante.
http://www.optimizemag.com/other-visions/showArticle.jhtml?articl
eID=198900242

The Road Warrior's Gun Belt
E-Commerce Times (04/17/07) ; Germain, Jack M.

A growing number of companies are embracing technology that makes it possible for workers to perform their jobs outside the office. According to IceWeb CEO John Signorello, "The proliferation of readily available high-speed broadband connections, WiFi hot spots and application-enabled smartphones and PDAs has begun to truly fulfill the promise of an office without boundaries." Signorello says mobile workers need only a smartphone and a hosted Microsoft Exchange account to send and receive emails, access contacts and calendars, read and edit Microsoft Word or Excel documents, and surf the Internet. However, experts note that the increase in the number of remote workers has made security a top priority, forcing companies to balance the need to provide remote access to enterprise resource management, customer relationship management, VoIP, and collaboration systems with the need to secure the company network. Some firms are encrypting files and email messages or locating desktop applications in secure data centers.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/56918.html

Disaster Recovery Planning: How Do You Measure Up?
WebCPA.com (04/16/07) ; Gold, Lisa

Disaster recovery and preparedness plans are essential tools in preventing business insolvency, note experts. An Economist Intelligence Unit survey noted that one-quarter of businesses forced to contend with a two-day to six-day IT outage failed to recover, and 93 percent of firms whose data centers went offline for at least 10 days went bankrupt within 12 months. For the most part, consumers simply want to know that their data can be restored to what it looked like on the previous day; but companies are tasked with pinpointing critical data and functions in order to accomplish this goal. Experts indicate that the most critical functions of a business are those that generate revenue for the firm and keep customers satisfied. Moreover, WithumSmith+Brown CPA Jim Bourke reports, "All too often, a company hires an expert to create the plan and then it basically sits on a shelf. We continually try to get the message across that disaster recovery plans should be living documents and should be continually revisited on a recurring basis."
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=23901

The Right Stuff
Entrepreneur (04/07) ; Campanelli, Melissa

There are several things small businesses should do to create top-notch Web sites, according to experts in Web design. Companies whose missions are not made obvious by their business names should create a descriptive tag line, says Hoa Loranger of the Nielsen Norman Group. Loranger also urges companies to use text hyperlinks instead of graphics to showcase a particular item, as graphics are associated by today's Web surfers with advertisements. Additionally, Loranger believes companies should find test customers to browse their sites, make purchases, and complete other tasks to determine whether their sites are user-friendly. Eric Anderson of White Horse Productions recommends including a search function to improve navigation, and companies with extensive product catalogues would be wise to opt for a guided search tool. Other suggestions from Web design experts include having quality content, keeping fonts and graphics simple, maintaining a consistent appearance from page to page, and locating logos in the top-left corner and search engines in the top-right corner of each page.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2007/april/1757
94.html