SMB

One of the age-old challenges that has plagued the software industry, like many others, is how vendors can reach small- and mid-sized businesses with their software products. Although today's Software as a Service model eliminates many of the distribution challenges of the past, it hasn't overcome t...

Even when Darien Gold's pilates clients aren't in her studio, they can work on their moves by following the instructions and imitating the positions on her mobile app. Gold uses the app to expand the reach of her business, according to Bharath Lingam, CEO of PurpleTalk, which worked with Gold to dev...

Small businesses often find it challenging to gain access to the federal information technology market, despite efforts by government agencies to smooth the procurement process for small companies. In a move to provide more opportunity for small businesses, the federal General Services Administratio...

From time to time, we receive stark reminders of just how delicate our IT systems really are. Disaster preparation has risen to the top of the to-do list at many companies, thanks to the wrath of Hurricane Sandy several weeks ago. How can we maximize our chances of keeping communications open and da...

It makes sense to watch the calendar when putting together a marketing plan. Holidays, seasons and events, after all, drive sales. "There's good reason to ride the coattails of seasonal events and holidays," said Shannon Byrne, marketing coordinator at BlueGlass Interactive. "When done right, it pro...

Small businesses in the United States are generally confident about their cybersecurity status, but they're wrong, according to a survey of 1,015 companies conducted for the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec. Apparently, SMBs aren't doing enough to keep their businesses safe and secure, ...

IBM launched a major initiative on Wednesday with the goal of targeting middle-market companies via their managed service providers. Increasingly, middle market companies are turning to companies that deliver technology solutions on a pay-as-you-go-model, said Mike McClurg, IBM's VP of global mid-ma...

Groupon is entering the mobile payments space with its own offering, Groupon Payments. The service, which facilitates credit card transactions, is available to any small business in the U.S.; however, it's offered to Groupon merchants at cheaper rates. Groupon is positioning the service as easier an...

Time Warner Cable is investing $25 million in its fiber-optic network in certain parts of New York City. The goal is to provide faster Internet access, similar to Google's project in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan. Unlike Google, though, Time Warner Cable is primarily interested in targeting...

It's not enough to have just a website, or just social media profiles. Businesses need to have both, and the traffic needs to flow seamlessly between them. Numerica Credit Union was looking for a way to offer customers a useful tool on its Facebook page while driving traffic from Facebook to its sit...

Microsoft unveiled the new versions of its Office suite and and Office 365 subscription-based service on Monday. The updated Office has an intuitive design that makes it touch- and stylus-compatible, and usable across a variety of devices running Windows, including tablets and smartphones. It's also...

Picture this: You're a young entrepreneur who's had that a-ha! moment that most only ever dream of. You've found your niche, built your offering, compiled an impressive team of engineers and salespeople that checkbook-wielding VCs are drooling over -- you're nearly ready to take the world by storm.

The fallout from Facebook's May IPO continued Tuesday as venture capitalist Paul Graham of Y Combinator warned Silicon Valley startups that they may be in for a stretch of hard times. In a letter, Graham states that a prominent investor he knows seems sure that the bad performance of the Facebook IP...

Engaging the customer has always been fundamental to doing good business. It's just that now that engagement often starts in digital, social media realms. The trick is to figure out how to make one's content as interesting as all the other content that shows up in the newsfeed, and this is where soc...

U.S. government agencies are looking everywhere they can to cut costs -- including the cost of information technology. Tight budgets will be the dominating factor in federal IT procurement over the next several years -- at least. Yet in the face of budget discipline -- and even slightly projected de...