The Benefits of SMBs Rapidly Adopting SIP Trunking
TMCnet.com (02/19/08) ; Eckman, Eric

Unlike like large companies, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often base their business decisions more on cost issues than on features and technology. During their analysis of cost issues, SMBs must determine whether return on investment (ROI) or productivity will prevail when determining cost. But when deciding whether or not to utilize SIP Trunking, SMBs need to consider both ROI and productivity since real cost savings will be achieved by both factors. Although cost issues are important to SMBs, they must also consider features when making business decisions, including the decision about whether or not to transition to SIP Trunking. During a successful transition to SIP Trunking, SMBs should be introduced to the features and functions that can immediately help to improve business operations without disrupting business processes. The SMB can later be introduced to the more advanced user-based features. This approach allows SMBs to meet their immediate needs while leaving the door open for future enhancements and growth, and allows them to deploy SIP Trunking quickly and gradually add the features that will provide them with the most benefits. SMBs need to consider technology as well when making business decisions. Although SMBs' concerns about the reliability or longevity of SIP Trunking may make them hesitant to adopt the technology, they can be assured that the technology is secure and here to stay, since it has already been around for several years now.
http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com/topics/sip-trunking/articles/2
1066-benefits-smbs-rapidly-adopting-sip-trunking.htm

A Buyer's Guide to Business Projectors
Small Business Computing (02/13/08) ; Bsales, Jamie

A prospective buyer should consider his or her business needs before purchasing a projector. Thankfully, projectors are now inexpensive enough to be affordable for many people - between $500-$1,500, depending on size and quality - and are usually portable. Be sure to consider the following features while shopping for a projector: "short throw" technology, which allows the projector to produce a large image while sitting only a few feet in front of the screen; "instant off," which cools the bulb down instantly for packing and storage purposes; bulb life, since replacement bulbs can be pricey; and the convenience and proximity of a repair shop in case the projector needs to be fixed quickly. A projector's brightness is specified in ANSI lumens; in rooms with dimmer lighting, a projector with a rating of 1,000 or 1,500 ANSI lumens would work well, but in settings that require a lot of illumination, a projector would need between 2,000 and 3,000 ANSI lumens. Smaller projectors can be packed away easily and are better for traveling, but CPAs who usually do stationary presentations may want to look at a heavier but better-performing model. Projectors also carry resolution specs that reflect the machine's image detail. For text-heavy presentations, a high resolution model will be easier on the eyes, but a lower resolution model would work fine for presentations that include graphs and other images.
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/buyersguide/article.php/372
7851

Six Technology Rules to Boost Your Business
TheStreet.com (02/11/08) ; Ray, Ramon

There are several things small firms can do to bolster business, such as viewing technology as an investment, says "Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses" author Ramon Ray. When purchasing technology, Ray says it is important for companies to look for tools that will help them in both the short and long term. Ray says firms can boost sales by implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) system and understanding that Microsoft Outlook is useful in managing email, tasks, and appointments--not as a CRM system. Firms would be wise to embrace Web 2.0 sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, as marketing tools, in addition to the company Web site and email newsletters. Additionally, Ray says companies should adopt mobile technology to boost productivity outside the office and outsource certain technologies--namely network security and data backup--so they can focus their efforts on business-related tasks. Finally, Ray cautions against deploying technology in an effort to improve a faulty business process.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10402885/1/six-technology-rules-to
-boost-your-business.html

Hosted VoIP Features for Small Businesses
TMCnet.com (02/13/08) ; Kowalke, Mae

Small businesses that want to project a more professional image and increase their productivity may want to consider implementing hosted VoIP, a "virtual" phone system that offers several different features that can be managed with a Web browser-based administration panel. One feature that many hosted VoIP services offer is an 800 number. Having an 800 number is important for companies, because it projects a more professional image and allows customers to contact them without having to pay for a long-distance call. Another important feature of hosted VoIP systems is multiple voicemail boxes. With a hosted VoIP system, each of these voicemail boxes is given its own extension, outgoing message, and call forwarding settings. This allows customers to easily contact the appropriate support department or their sales representative. And since hosted VoIP systems are "virtual," employees can answer calls and check voicemail on the road or at home and forward fax messages to their e-mail inboxes anywhere there is an Internet connection. Finally, hosted VoIP systems offer call forwarding features that can be set up to route incoming calls to one other phone number, several phone numbers one after the other, or several different numbers simultaneously.
http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/hosted-voip/articles/20731-hosted-
voip-features-small-businesses.htm

Build a Better Wireless Shield
Processor.com (02/08/08) Vol. 30 , No. 6 , P. 01 ; Perry, Christian

Companies make security a top priority, particularly when installing wireless networks because their boundaries are amorphous and porous. Companies will want to select high-quality, secure infrastructure and devices with perimeter defenses, intruder and incident detection software, and other security protocols. One step in protection is reducing access to wireless networks by reducing the strength of the signal so only those inside the facility can access it. Another step is to use common frameworks for wireless and wired networks, which also should have similar security policies and protocols in place. Logging solutions should be set at moderate levels to prevent profuse amounts of data or too little data from being archived--both of which can impede forensic investigations if network problems arise. Additionally, experts warn that WEP encryption levels are too low, and they recommend using WPA/WPA2 in combination with TKIP or AES encryption. Security experts will want to conduct frequent audits of AP radio signals, change the ID of the wireless network to something that does not include the company name, and secure physical access to networks from intruders.
http://www.processor.com/editorial/article.asp?Article=articles/p
3006/20p06/20p06.asp&GUID=2BC0454ABAE54D6FB2E2C3735AE1B2F9

The Move to Hosted Applications
WebCPA.com (02/01/08) ; Stimpson, Jeff

Hosted applications are becoming more popular with companies as they witness the advantages of another party managing the software. ParsonsGroup notes how its hardware and networking expenses have fallen significantly since implementing hosted solutions, and its mobility has soared. Meanwhile, Xcentric CEO Trey James states his firm has witnessed a 300-percent gain in CPA company-hosting revenues over the past three years, and projects increasing revenue by twofold in 2008 over 2007. Tax research, payroll, forms, and banking are among the leading hosted applications. Hosted applications lower technical administration and maintenance onsite, and also equipment mandates. InfoTech Partners North American consultant Roman Kepczyk claims that "reliable bandwidth is the only need" when it comes to installing hosted applications. To set up the hosting infrastructure, companies must initially implement redundant connectivity to the Internet or to the hosting provider. ParsonsGroup partner Tracy Knowles states the largest challenge for any company that installs hosted applications is handling the fact that the information is being stored off-site, and that the sole link to that data is the Internet link. Conversely, the greatest benefit is that the maintenance, upgrades, and backups are taken care of by well-trained professionals.
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=26496&searchTerm=host
ed&print=yes