SMB

Looking to raise money for a small online business? Experts say that in today's difficult economic environment, some basic tenets for securing financial backing remain -- but other rules have changed, and it is as important as ever to be abreast of those changes. For example, Gartner Group analyst...

From corporate formation to business licensing to taxation, lawyers have a hand in nearly every aspect of a fledging e-commerce business. For many online entrepreneurs, working with attorneys is an enormous stumbling block. However, the more you learn to think and operate like a lawyer, the bette...

In the "real world," the opportunities for a new startup or even a small, established business to link up with some of the world's largest companies are few and far between. But on the Web, teaming up the big boys and small fry is the order of the day. Gartner analyst Robert Anderson told the E-C...

Want to write a plan for an e-business that will impress post-shakeout investors? Start with a business that makes money, experts say, and then explore how the Web can help your business succeed. "Treat your e-business like any business startup," Al Napier, a professor of e-business and entrepre...

Despite the dot-com downturn, there is still room for small offline retailers on the Web and good reasons for them to be there, according to industry analysts. Gartner research director David Schehr told the E-Commerce Times that the real value of the Web to small retailers is its ability to pro...

In Part 1 of this primer for small offline businesses that want to go online, we saw how much planning is involved in making the move, from selecting the inventory that will be sold, to choosing which companies will design and host the site. In Part 2, we learn that setting up an e-tail outlet a...

Setting up an e-tail outlet is a natural progression for small offline retailers, according to experts, but in order to succeed, retailers need to plan, plan, plan. For starters, Gartner research director David Schehr told the E-Commerce Times, retailers need to carefully evaluate whether they ar...

E-commerce service provider Beyond.com launched an online software and hardware shopping mall Monday, offering computer-related products from Beyond's eStore clients. "The mall is a marriage between our old retail site and our eStores -- leveraging our brand, but still directing consumers directl...

Web infrastructure services provider VeriSign said Monday it is offering a new Shared Hosting Security Service aimed at helping small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) receive the kind of e-commerce security previously reserved for much larger companies. "It's kind of gluing together the pieces the...

Technology support and services firms are leading U.S. small businesses in using and investing in the Internet, but manufacturing firms are a surprising second, according to a report released by IDC on Wednesday. Manufacturing firms, often deemed late-adopters of technology, have incorporated th...

Linux distributor Red Hat is set to launch a new e-commerce suite built on an open-source platform, the company told the E-Commerce Times on Friday. The new product is aimed at mid-size businesses that want to expand their e-commerce platform to support more transactions, enable more complex me...

IBM said Thursday it is now offering over 30 new Web hosting packages aimed primarily at the small-to-medium business market. The fully-managed programs provide pre-packaged, ready-to-operate services for both e-commerce security and infrastructure, the company said. "We're making these (packages...

Although small businesses have had ample opportunity to tap a wealth of available resources designed to help them sell their products and services online, many are still sitting on the sidelines when it comes to e-commerce, according to a report released Tuesday by IDC. The Framingham, Massachus...

A recently acquired subsidiary of Microsoft, Great Plains Business Solutions, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with business-to-business (B2B) software provider Clarus Corporation to offer B2B e-procurement software. The new product, called eProcure, is designed for use by businesses looki...

In a bid to tap small but lucrative business markets, Amazon.com announced Monday that it is launching a software licensing unit that it says will enable customers to save up to 20 percent off full retail pricing. According to the e-tail giant, the venture will also enable business owners to redu...