Research from IDC says that more than half of Internet-enabled consumers are accessing social networking sites and that the penetration levels are continuing to increase.
Protecting your hardware using the latest anti-theft technologies
The best way of stopping someone stealing your computer hardware is to keep it securely locked inside a robust room with decent locks and alarm systems. Unfortunately when running a smaller business we tend to have premises that are less secure than our corporate friends with their barbed wire and security guards.
Is email clogging up your business efficiency?
I've just seen a report from communications consultancy Expert Messaging that suggests that the average user has 2,769 emails in their email inbox. As a result of its findings, the consultancy has unveiled an Email Charter designed to improve the use of email in a typical business environment.
Top ten broadband annoyances revealed
My thanks to Broadbandchoices.co.uk, the independent broadband selection portal, for publishing an end-of-year analysis of the top ten gripes that customers have about broadband - and how to avoid them
Average broadband speeds are dropping
For all the publicity surrounding broadband services, and claims of faster and faster speeds, research site www.broadband.co.uk says that average speeds in the UK actually appear to be falling.
Eco friendly Christmas cards
Christmas will soon be upon us, and no matter what you may think of Christmas from a personal point of view it does give us the opportunity to contact our customers and clients with a bit of festive cheer.
WiFi encryption cracked in 15 minutes. What does it mean for me?
Two researchers were scheduled to reveal that the WPA WiFi encryption system could be cracked in just 15 minutes at the PacSec event taking place in Japan in mid-November.
Beating the credit crunch by saving money | part two
As funds for new equipment become tighter you may need to reconsider your hardware and software purchase plans.
Beating the credit crunch by saving money | part one
Financial doom and gloom is surrounding us all at the moment and it seems that the worldwide banking crisis is changing on a minute by minute basis. But what does this mean for smaller businesses and what do we need to be looking out for from an IT perspective?
Business Angels
A business angel is normally a high net-worth individual looking to invest from around £10,000 to £500,000 in young and exciting businesses.
Email archiving explained
With the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 coming into force in October, corporate governance issues are bound to be a hot topic.Against this backdrop, Waterford Technologies, has just published two white papers on the increasingly important topic of online and email archiving.
Easynet introduces extended reach Etherstream
If you're a small business and your Internet supplier cannot offer enough conventional broadband circuits on standard phone lines for you, Easynet may have the answer in the shape of its new extended reach Etherstream service.
BeCrypt says full disk encryption should be a legal requirement
BeCrypt, a supplier of data security technology to the UK's public sector, has taken the interesting stance of saying that full disk encryption - for all private and public sector bodies - should be a legal requirement where customer or employee data is involved.
PC Recycling
If you have been in business for a good few years like I have the chances are that you will have a cupboard full of old PCs gathering dust. With the relentless advances in hardware and software technologies computers can be out of data within a couple of years.So should you recycle your old PC?
Plusnet offers low-cost phone/broadband package
Plusnet, the Sheffield-based ISP acquired by BT last year, has come up with a budget phone/broadband package that costs £16.99 a month.
It's official - most PC vendors will ship with Windows XP
Infoworld reckons that around 35 per cent of PCs shipped so far this year to the US business community have come with Windows XP. This confirms reports that several vendors - including Dell and HP - will happily supply Windows XP on request.
LS Simple helps firms get 30 per cent of costs back
LS Simple has announced its Simple Intelligent Power Management (Simple IPM) cabling technology
Small Business Week 2008
Small Business Week 2008 in association with BT Business (13th – 17th October) is a week-long campaign dedicated to championing the 4.6million-plus small businesses across the UK.
Taking a holistic approach to security
IT security systems and software have been with us since the earliest days of the PC and there are many different vendors all clamouring to sell you their latest and greatest IT security applications. But which are the best, and how do you go about choosing the applications you really need?
Marshal warns over blended attacks
It's been coming for a while, but IT security vendor Marshal has confirmed that 45 per cent of Internet users are at risk from a new generation of blended threats.
The Importance of PCI Compliance
In an effort to combat credit card fraud, especially card holder not present fraud, merchant rules and regulations have been tightened up.
Dell quietly introduces instant-ON laptops
Dell has quietly come up with a must-have facility for road warriors using laptops. It's called Latitude ON and allows users to gain access to a laptop's e-mail, Web browser and other basic functions without having to boot up Windows.
Blogging
Over the last few years, blogging has come from nowhere to becoming one of the latest innovations to take the Web by storm.
Open source software - What it is and the pros and cons
Even though Microsoft, its dealers, and its retailers are quietly reducing the cost of Windows Vista, the successor to the popular Windows XP platform, the cost of applications software for Windows from mainstream vendors remains quite high. Because of this, a growing number of companies are turning to open source software for their business applications.
Gaining customer confidence online
Gaining customer confidence online is not an easy task with banks and other institutions putting the Fear of God into experienced Internet users and so frightening novice user’s offline.
At last - a laptop workstation alternative
As the number of dinky low-power Netbooks - mini-notebook PCs - seems to expand on a weekly basis, it's good to know that there are some viable machines at the other end of the power scale.
Green IT Utilities
The good news is that green computing need not be as onerous as it sounds, as there are a number of IT utilities available that can plug into your existing PCs and start to reduce power consumption and your carbon footprint.
Are you missing $250K? Well, Cisco might have it.
Cisco, the multinational networking and communications technology providers, are offering entrepreneurs and small businesses the chance to collaborate, pitch ideas, and compete for the Cisco I-Prize.
Getting broadband into your business
Broadband has come a long way since the start of the decade, moving from being an expensive, engineer-installed VCR-box-sized system running at around 512 kilobits per second (Kbps) to being a must-have user-installable option supporting speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) for around £30.00 per month.
Search engine optimisation
Search engine optimisation, or SEO for short, has been portrayed by many Internet industry professionals as something of a black art - and for a very good reason.
Massive surge in fake CNN spam
If you use email, you can't fail to have noticed a massive surge in fake CNN-generated spam in the last few weeks
Royal Mail cuts email and phone enquiries in half
Now here's an interesting report from Royal Mail, which claims to have halved the number of phone and email enquiries made by users of its website after it developed an interactive frequently asked questions (FAQs) section on the site.
Dutch high-tech crime unit uncovers massive botnet
The high tech crime unit in the Netherlands arrested a 19-year-old Dutch man in mid-August. The man is thought to be at the centre of one of the world's largest modern botnets, the Shadow botnet.
E-BCM credit agency says registrations soaring
It's interesting to note that the E-BCM small business credit reference company, which offers a variety of credit-related services is reporting a surge in registrations.
Law firm uses two-factor authentication for remote access
Remote access to office IT resources is becoming increasingly popular in these days of hot-desking, mobile workforces and staff working from home, but what about the IT security issues?
SiteImprove can improve your Web site
SiteImprove.com, the website checking service launched last year to critical acclaim, is now offering all comers a 14-day free trial of its SiteCheck service.
IP 2008 show in London 1/2 October - time to register?
With the Beijing Olympics taking centre stage at the moment, many company IT managers will be worrying about their Internet connections, especially with the number of video streaming services available on the main news Web portals.
Web 2.0: what it is and how can it help small businesses?
Everyone is talking about Web 2.0, but the curious thing is, there is no standard as to what it means, implies or requires. The reality is that Web 2.0 means different things to different people.
Big companies delaying payment to smaller suppliers
In an article featured in the Times John Wright, chairman of the FSB, says that some suppliers are waiting for periods of well over three months to be paid for goods and services.
Security events
The Business Crime Reductione Centre, in partnership with Cyber Security and Yorkshire Forward, are hosting a number of security themed events in the coming weeks.
Hand held gadgets and security
I reckon a lot of people reading this blog have probably got a handheld smart phone or other device capable of browsing the internet and collecting emails. I know I have and it is very useful when I am travelling.
e-Business for Accountants event
As part of AccountingWEB’s e-business for Accountants event, taking place on July 15th, Steve Gold, one of our resident IT experts, will be discussing vital security practices and data protection.
Remote access and virtual private networks
Getting remote access to your office PC is not as easy as it sounds, mainly because of the security safeguards most companies use to stop hackers slipping in under the electronic wire and snooping around desktop systems.
Very remote area broadband
The downside of needing internet access is the lack of coverage in more remote areas of the UK. A number of initiatives are ongoing to ensure more and more people have decent access to the web (which means more than a standard phone line/dial up connection) but what if you are out of range of a broadband enabled exchange?
Professional e-mail shotting
Although large percentages of email flowing across the Internet are spam - unwanted messages advertising a number of questionable products and services to the unaware - a large number ofcompanies are using email to market their goods and services.
Knowing your customer | Part two
In the previous entry, Steve Gold discussed the wide range of utilities available to businesses when checking customers' details. In this final part, he will look further into the legal procedures involved.
It's the law
It’s a fact of life that we in business are subject, quite rightly, to rules and laws. The problem is that for a small business it can appear to be a legal minefield out there.
Getting help in an IT Emergency
Computer failures are reasonably rare but what do you do when your PC stops working or gives you problems?
Open source software
Open source software is available for public use and gives small businesses and home users the right to download and use the software for free.
Knowing your customer | Part one
Credit-checking B2B and B2C customers is now a well-established industry, but the art of knowing your customer needs is a lot more wide-ranging - and less expensive - than you might think.
Steve Gold explains how to harness the power of the Internet to help you in this regard...
You've checked the customer - what about the employee?
Checking and profiling potential employees has grown from an almost-standing start in the early 1990s to become a major business service, largely thanks to the fact that computers and Internet access make the task very much easier.
Business IT Guide case study
We have been busy creating video case studies of businesses using the Guide.
IT Consultants
Need more advice on engaging an IT consultant? Why not follow these steps to ensure you get the most out of what they can offer.
Are you the next Startups Business of the Year?
Getting your business off the ground is the hard part. Now it's time to show off your achievement. By simply entering the startupsawards your business will be put in the spotlight.
IT Training
When was the last time you went on an IT training course? I bet it was a long time ago, if ever. For many managers and business owners their own self development is always at the bottom of a list of things they need to do, and almost always gets neglected.
Credit checking customers? Tap into trade alliances
If you're credit checking your customers who are making smaller value-transactions, there's a strong chance it isn't cost-effective going down the credit-checking route, even on the Internet, to verify them.
New content to help plan and present your business better
The Guide team has added two new guides this month to help you jump that first hurdle by creating a business plan, and write website copy to make your ‘shop window’ stand out.
Blogging
As you know, because you are reading this blog, we have started to put some blogs up on the Business IT Guide. This is our way of highlighting various IT issues that may be of interest to those in business.
Getting the message across
For many business owners one of the scariest things they have to do is present in front of an audience. The problem is that no matter how great you may be at sales, marketing or running a business if you aren’t a confident public speaker people will mark you down.
How do you use IT?
If you are interested in talking to us about your experiences there’s a £20 M&S voucher in it for you along with entry into a prize draw. First prize is half a day free consultancy with the Guide Editor and the runner-up will receive two tickets for the Eurostar.
The Guide announces key partnerships with Microsoft & Startups
The Business IT Guide team is pleased to announce that we are now in partnership with two leading small business advice websites – The Microsoft Small Business Centre and Startups
Keeping up with the Windows
If you are a Microsoft Windows user you will probably have noticed that from time to time a little yellow icon appears in your system tray (usually at the bottom right hand side of your screen), telling you that updates are ready to download or install.
Business Startup event 2008
Business Startup 2008, the UK’s largest exhibition for people starting and expanding a small business, will be held at London’s ExCel on the 25 and 26 April.
New Guides to help you make the most of your IT
The Guide team has been busy adding new content to help keep you up to date on all small business IT issues. Take a look below to find out what we have been up to.
Going green and saving money
I have finally decided that I will actively pursue a green policy in my businesses. Shameful as it may seem, I have been so busy selling and resourcing work that the whole green agenda has passed me by.
