Smart Tips for New Technologies
Small Business Computing (03/11/08) ; Simonds, Lauren

Acronis Software has a few suggestions to help small companies begin thinking about the most efficient way to handle new technologies, and how to shield their data. Some of the issues the company hears about from small-business owners include Vista upgrades, remote applications and data recovery. Acronis senior director of strategic marketing Stephen Lawton says when upgrading to Vista SP1, it is important for a company to create an image of the computers when they are functioning correctly, as this offers a fall-back position. Meanwhile, Acronis CEO Walter Scott states there are several superior solutions to the collaboration-software issue, including wikis, web-conferencing tools and remote-access software. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firms, such as Salesforce.com, host a company's information on their servers, and employees can access that information via a browser whenever or wherever they want. Lawton recommends that companies install disaster-recovery software that maintains good images of a company's systems files so that the company can restore computers to an operational condition. When adding new hardware to a current network, Lawton suggests thinking about whether the new gadget will work well with the equipment the business already has.
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3733376

What to Do About Online Attacks
Wall Street Journal (03/10/08) P. R6 ; Martin, Christopher L. ; Bennett, Nathan

Although companies have always dealt with criticism from disgruntled employees, former employees and customers, such criticism is now more dangerous due to the advent of the Internet, writes Centenary College of Louisiana Professor Christopher L. Martin and Georgia Institute of Technology Professor Nathan Bennett. Because of the Internet, unhappy employees and former employees can post messages, make web sites and create blogs to make their grievances about a company known to millions of people around the world. When faced with criticism, companies often use one of five strategies to respond. For example, some companies choose to do nothing, believing that they cannot possibly please all of their customers and all of their employees at the same time. However, Martin and Bennett say it is better for companies to monitor the Internet including corporate, professional and industry sites, as well as blogs and bulletin boards, and respond to criticism that could hurt their reputation or brands. Many companies also throw money at their critics in the hope of making them go away. Although this strategy is popular, it is not as effective as making sure the customer or employee is treated fairly by the company. Instead of throwing money at the problem, companies should offer the aggrieved party an apology and an explanation for their actions, suggest Martin and Bennett. Above all, companies should make sure that critics walk away feeling they have been treated fairly by the company and with dignity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120467937489712025.html?mod=today
s_us_the_journal_report

Best Practices: Implementing Dual Monitors
CPA Technology Advisor (03/08/08) ; MacQuarrie, Barry

Accounting and tax companies started implementing a second desktop monitor for every employee a few years back. Companies claim that the extra monitor heightened the productivity of their workers. The process of implementing a second monitor is fairly simple, mostly relying on the operating system and graphics card. Windows XP offers support for dual monitors, while the majority of graphics cards offer support for a minimum of one analog monitor. To handle two different monitors, the card needs to have a pair of monitor connections, which can be analog, Digital Visual Interface, or a combination of the two. Lastly, two monitors are needed; the typical monitor now sold along with desktop computers is a 17-inch LCD panel. It is crucial to match the connectors found on the graphics card with the connectors located on the LCD panel. Laptop computers provide more options to keep in mind; while it is possible to have dual monitors just by utilizing one LCD panel, the laptop can also be employed with a docking station and be linked to a pair of LCD panels.
http://www.nsatechadvisor.com/print/The-CPA-Technology-Advisor/BE
ST-PRACTICES--Implementing-Dual-Monitors/1$1873

Should You Excel-erate to 2007?
SmartPros Accounting (03/01/08) ; Davis, James P. ; Pope, Haven S.

The latest version of Microsoft's spreadsheet software, Excel 2007, includes a number of features that are designed to increase productivity. One of those features is the "Ribbon," which replaces the menu- and button-driven toolbars found in previous versions of Excel. The Ribbon helps increase productivity because it organizes all the commands in Excel into a collection of logical groupings listed under an activity tab such as "Page Layout" or "Formulas." In addition, tabs that are used less often, such as "Picture Tools" are hidden and appear only when needed. Although the Ribbon can help users to increase their productivity, it can take as long as two or three weeks for users to become proficient with the new interface and accomplish tasks they used to easily perform in previous versions of Excel. Excel 2007's enhanced status bar will also help users to increase their productivity. In previous versions of Excel, users could only view either the sum, average, or count of highlighted cells in the status bar. In Excel 2007, users can view all of these figures at the same time. There are also now 22 other display options for the status bar that users can change.
http://accounting.smartpros.com/x61065.xml

Unifying Your SME's Communications
Processor (02/29/08) Vol. 30 , No. 9 ; Gain, Bruce

Small- and medium-sized companies can combine their phone, email, and instant-messaging as one solution. Adding unified communications (UC) to a company's network involves multiple implementation initiatives "all moving toward more unified and intelligent communications that interoperate with each other," states AVST vice president of marketing Denny Michael. UC can improve operations at nearly any company. Since small- and medium-size businesses have less resources to waste than larger operations, the technology can be practical for smaller firms. In addition, workers at smaller companies often have to do multiple jobs, so UC means having increased control over how they preferred to be reached at any particular time. Installing unified communications in a business does not have to involve taking out legacy equipment and starting over. The technology should optimize a company's present communications structure, which may include phone, email, instant-messaging and videoconferencing. Vendors are already providing unified communications that are affordable and highly compatible.
http://www.processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2
Fp3009%2F20p09%2F20p09%2Easp&guid=330DB95961CD415FA722860DCFE934A
F&searchtype=&WordList=&bJumpTo=True

Web 2.0: Our Winning Ways
Smart Company (02/26/08) ; Gome, Amanda

A growing number of Australian companies, both large and small, are using Web 2.0 technologies, according to Ross Dawson, an entrepreneur who recently held an enterprise 2.0 conference with Australian and international case studies to show how organizations are benefiting from the technology. Dawson noted that one type of Web 2.0 technology that small companies are using is productivity tools, which are moving into enterprise tools that are targeting small businesses. Meanwhile, some small businesses are beginning to experiment with wikis and blogs, Dawson said. He noted that all small companies should consider using blogs for internal communication or to communicate with their customers. These blogs should consistently be written once a week so that people can come back and see something new, Dawson said. He added that the blogs can contain an opinion or viewpoint, or can be used to develop a product. Wikis can also be beneficial for small businesses, Dawson said, since they can help make a project more efficient and help to foster a deeper relationship between the company and its customers.
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/Premium-Articles/EntrepreneurOnlin
e/20080225-Web-20-ross-dawson-future.html

Virtual Reality: Most Teams Work Remotely, Increasing Need for Different Processes
Employee Benefit News (02/08) Vol. 22 , No. 2 , P. 57 ; Butler, Kelley M.

In today's global economy, team leaders are often called upon to work and check in from different parts of the world. This is the case for more than 75 percent of managers at global companies, according to consulting firm BlessingWhite, and remote workers could experience an atrophy in interpersonal relationships if this distance is not managed. Scheduling this one-on-one time is essential for building and maintaining a rapport among colleagues, though this sometimes requires workers to put in longer days when meeting up with a manager for a teleconference in a different time zone. Long-distance meetings should incorporate personal conversation and business to make everyone feel comfortable, establish a rapport to encourage all employees to be involved, and stick to a focused agenda. Even though workers can attend to family affairs while remote conferencing or check their email, one-on-one meetings with each team member can cultivate additional bonds between managers and staff to eliminate productivity concerns.
http://ebn.benefitnews.com/asset/article/536361/virtual-reality-m
ost-teams-work-remotely.html?pg=