Networking Solutions for SMBs
CXOtoday.com (06/18/07)

A partnership between Extreme Networks and Avaya will enable small and mid-size businesses to develop end-to-end IP networks. Switches from Extreme Network can be used with Avaya IP Office, offering centralized network management, bandwidth management, and security and recovery capabilities. Avaya IP Office will be packaged with Extreme Network's Summit X250, ExtremeXOS version 12.0, and the Summit WM200/2000 wireless LAN controller, among other components. The package aims to increase productivity and improve customer service and business processes through clear IP voice calls and business continuity tools. According to Extreme Networks India manager Jitendra Gupta, the solutions "have the simplicity, flexibility and performance that businesses need to run their enterprise networks more cost-effectively."
http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/Networking_Solutions_for_SMBs/
551-81712-912.html

Staying Connected
Processor (06/15/07) Vol. 29 , No. 24 , P. 25 ; Miller, Sandra Kay

Mail server failures are becoming more of a problem for businesses. According to Paul D'Arcy, vice president of marketing for MessageOne, 75 percent of companies will have an e-mail outage for an average of 26 hours this year, which could have some financial and legal ramifications. And with businesses increasingly embracing mobile solutions such as BlackBerrys, productivity will suffer considering as much as 75 percent of critical data can be found on the mail server. These days, mail servers are not limited to sending simple text messages, but now allow users to manage their entire communication infrastructure. No downtime should be the goal when something fails locally, says Steve Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Teneros, which offers automated application continuity appliances for Microsoft Exchange, and companies should be back online in 20 minutes in a true disaster. Larger companies are rolling their e-mail infrastructure into their disaster recovery plans, which is a solution that is unlikely to be within the budget of SMEs. Many smaller companies are starting to embrace the managed e-mail services of providers like MessageOne and SunGard, which also offer disaster recovery services.
http://www.processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Fp2924%
2F32p24%2F32p24.asp&guid=&searchtype=&WordList=&bJumpTo=True

Mobile Apps will Boost Productivity
Computer Weekly (06/18/07) ; Pritchard, Stephen

Technological advancements in mobile communications devices have made it easier and more cost effective for businesses to keep their employees connected in and out of the office. Second-generation digital networks have delivered mobile devices that are smaller, more affordable and offer vastly better coverage than the first mobile phones. One of the most popular devices is still Research in Motion's Blackberry. An estimate done by the Ipsos Reid market research firm concluded that the Blackberry can cut down on nearly 188 working hours a year for each employee. Although the Blackberry is still relatively expensive, there are cost-effective alternatives, including Microsoft Exchange's built-in push e-mail service. Looking ahead, technological innovation in this niche will likely be driven by field service and field sales automation. Additionally, the public sector is expected to see more government agencies and local authorities demand mobile access to systems that support everyone from housing officials to health inspectors. Mobile access for such professionals means they can spend more time completing important tasks in the field and less time in the office keying in data.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/06/18/224847/mobile-apps-wil
l-boost-productivity.htm

Did You Hear the One About the Paperless Office?
SmallBizResource (06/13/07) ; Grossman, Naomi

Of the professionals polled by IDG Research Service Group, 78 percent foresee the amount of printing they do remaining the same or picking up in the years to come. Such research leads experts to believe the "paperless office" might never be achieved. The survey was released at the same time the "Digital Signature Services Specification" was okayed by the Web standards group OASIS. Even so, experts say the verification protocol is unlikely to reduce paper consumption because many people still do not trust technology. According to Oki Data Americas Vice President of Product Marketing Candice Dobra, "People regard printing as a security blanket, in that they place more trust in a tangible document versus what they view on a computer screen."
http://www.smallbizresource.com/document.asp?doc_id=126417

Getting Your Website to Do the Heavy Lifting
Health Insurance Underwriter (06/07) Vol. 55 , No. 6 , P. 72 ; Desmarais, Jeremiah

A company's Web site is most effective if the business understands exactly which aspects of the site entice casual browsers into becoming customers. Experts believe site optimization is the best tool to gauge how Internet browsers and customers react to one or a few Web site changes. Tools allow Web site owners to first set up a "control" site, then change a headline, image, or text, among other things. During the testing period, half the visitors to the site see the control, while the other half see the altered version. Companies, therefore, track which version of the site produces more requests for information or other measurable signs of interest. Testing needs to be conducted repeatedly under many different conditions to ensure correlations found are independent of outside factors. Testing multiple variables at once is also possible, and is made easy through a free program from Google, although interpreting the results is a more complex and less reliable process, note experts.
http://hiu.nahu.org/article.asp?article=1604