1) The “Tried and True” Approach – Many times when companies choose vendors, they may choose on price or features but are not quite sure how this is going to mesh with their current environment.  At Solace, we utilize the vendors that we would suggest, therefore taking away many of the guessing games.

2) One Company to Call – When Solace handles your vendors, whether they be your T1 vendor or even your copier vendor, we are able to speak with  them on a technical level to ensure that issues are resolved.  And pride ourselves on being able to communicate that with our customers in a way that’s easy to understand.  Now you have only one number to call when you need assistance.

3) Company Savings – Imagine how much time that a company spends on managing its vendors per week.  Even if it were an hour a week (which is usually much more), that’s 52 hours a year.  Multiply that out by the hourly cost of the employee that handles vendor calls and trouble situations and you can see how the costs can compound over a years time.  Solace helps save that money and time for you to run your business.

4) Monitoring – Solace will monitor your contracts with your various vendors and help negotiate the best solution for your business when the times comes for renewal or replacement.  Since we maintain relationships with many different vendors in many different areas, you have one concise location for business resources.

5) Risk Management – Due diligence at contract signing is only one portion.  What is the risk of using one vendor over another?  We want to make sure that your company is not put at risk by helping to choose the solution that is right for you strategically and financially.

Markley isn’t the only small business owner to embrace the iPad. Others have begun experimenting with the lightweight tablet computer, using it to outfit delivery staff and salespeople, as well as to dramatically reduce the amount of paper used. At the Rydges Hotel in Sydney, Australia, diners are handed iPads instead of more traditional menus. In New York City, De Berardinis Salon gives clients iPads rather than magazines to keep them entertained during beauty treatments.

As a device to cut down on paper costs, there’s certainly a large market for the iPad. In the U.S., companies spent about $8 billion on paper in 2007, not counting costs for ink or toner, according to John Maine, an analyst with RISI, which tracks the global forest products industry. Copier giant Xerox (XRX) estimated that for every dollar spent on printing documents, companies pay an additional $6 in handling and distribution costs.

Delivery Device

No wonder going paperless can save a small company a small fortune—if they use a lot of paper. Arhaus Furniture estimates it will save $100,000 in paper costs annually when it gives its 50 drivers iPads to use when delivering furniture from its stores. Arhaus uses software from TOA Technologies to track drivers on their routes and to predict within a one-hour window when they will arrive at a customer’s home. TOA is now creating an iPad app for Arhaus.

“The unique features of the iPad are the ability to use the built-in GPS function and the ability to collect electronic signatures,” says Irad Carmi, co-founder of TOA Technologies, adding that the size of the device is just right for drivers to carry. TOA may add a piece to the app that lets Arhaus drivers show customers photos from the catalog so they can sell accessories during the delivery process. Arhaus wants to have its drivers equipped with iPads in time for the holiday season.

Some small business owners say that the combination of the device’s ease of use, always-on capabilities, and large screen size could help them improve business processes. That is, if there’s an app—or someone willing to write one—that will let them streamline current operations.

“In the long term, it [the success of the iPad as a small business tool] is going to be very dependent on the availability of apps,” says Dan Shey, an analyst with ABI Research, which forecasts trends in communications and emerging technology. “Some of these devices are going to be designed so they are specific to a worker’s task, almost like an appliance,” he adds.

To make the iPad work, Markley needed an application that would properly display data from an online order-management service on the iPad’s large screen. He didn’t want to create his own app, so after a thorough search of Apple’s App Store he finally found one for $1.99 written by a Japanese developer. “For years, we’ve used Apple products and that’s put us at a disadvantage because most [business software] is written for PCs,” says Markley. The iPad may be changing that.

source:[businessweek] Rachel King

There are so many gadgets and technology solutions out there that it can be easy to buy more than you need, or to buy the wrong types of products that just don’t deliver the solutions your business needs. When deciding what types of technologies can help your business reach its goals, here are a few things to look for:

Communications – technology is well known for its capability to improve the ability for people to communicate with one another. Whether you’ve got employees on the road or down the hall, virtual phone systems can route calls to cell phones and keep everyone in touch regardless of location. Instant messaging and email provide quick ways to communicate with the written word and keep documentation of these conversations for future reference. Social media and networking sites provide a way to keep in touch with co-workers, customers, and the competition at a glance.

Data Storage, Warehousing and Search – If you find employees are spending a lot of time looking for certain reports, forms or other data that they need to perform their job responsibilities, investing in network hardware and software to keep track of the whereabouts of your data can be useful.

Telecommuting – many small businesses also find that there isn’t a need for all employees to work in the same office building in order to get their work done. Having employees who telecommute requires the technology to make that happen (a secure network for employees to access data they require to do their job; improved communication systems to receive incoming phone calls at their homes or on their cell phones and the ability to keep in touch with co-workers in different locations). Having employees telecommute can save you from needing a larger office space, which keeps your overhead costs lower, too.

Customer Relationship Management – having some sort of CRM software to help you manage your database of clients and prospects is well worth the investment. Many businesses will tell you the “money is in the list”; meaning the amount of money a company earns is directly proportional to the number of people on their mailing list. Some companies use software like ACT, Goldmine or SalesForce to track their clients and leads. Others have custom-built software developed to handle unique needs that can’t be addressed with existing software.

Technology makes it possible for small business to increase productivity and compete with larger businesses on a smaller budget, thereby increasing profitability. Efficiency and organization is improved through the use of appropriate data storage, search and mining, customers are better managed through customer relationship management systems, and it is possible for money to be saved when employees telecommute from home. Before investing in any new technology, identify the unique needs of your business and determine which technology will best meet your needs.

You’ll generate your own electricity with the box and it’ll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines.

It has a lot of smart people believing and buzzing, even though the company has been unusually secretive – until now.”

[source CBS]

The free and popular Picasa tool runs on Windows-based machines and on Apple Macintoshes since January. The application allows users to move photos from a camera to the cloud for storage and sharing.  The upgrade also applies across their platform of other products as well.

Everyone is talking about cloud computing these days, but what is it really, and why should chief executives care? When you boil it down, cloud computing is merely the ability to use computing resources–applications, business services and others–on a pay-as-you-go basis in real time over the Internet. With cloud computing, you get instant access to data and applications from any device with Internet access. It can enable businesses to instantaneously and temporarily tap into additional resources when they need it most, without having to invest in new machines or build new data centers. [More]

Microsoft has finally released for download, the Beta version of Office 2010.  It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 and is available in 32bit and 64bit versions.  If you’d like to get a feel for the new version, you can download it HERE.  Apparently, the Beta version is good until October 2010, so you have plenty of time to kick the tires and see if it is something you just can’t live without.

Gartner says the SaaS market will show consistent growth through 2013, when worldwide revenues are expected to top $14 billion for the enterprise application markets.

“The composition of the worldwide SaaS landscape is evolving as vendors continue to extend regionally, increase penetration within existing accounts and ‘greenfield’ opportunities, and offer more-vertical-specific solutions as part of their service portfolio or through partners,” Gartner research director Sharon Mertz said in a statement.

Mertz added that adoption of the on-demand deployment model has experienced strong growth as vendors like Salesforce.com extend their services through alliances, partner offerings, and by promoting user application development through a platform.

The content, communications and collaboration (CCC) market and the customer relationship management (CRM) market continue to capture the largest share of SaaS dollars. The CCC market is estimated to generate $2.6 billion in 2009, up from $2.14 billion in 2008. The CRM segment is estimated to garner $2.3 billion in 2009, up from $1.9 billion in 2008.

The CRM market has been a primary driver of the SaaS industry over the last four years, with revenues climbing from less than $500 million in 2005 to the $2.3 billion forecast for 2009. Gartner expects the strong growth to continue with SaaS representing almost 24% of the CRM market’s total revenue in 2009.

“The rapid adoption of SaaS and the marketplace success of Salesforce.com have compelled vendors without an on-demand solution to either acquire smaller niche SaaS providers or develop the solution internally in response to increasing buyer demand,” said Mertz.

The following are the top SaaS market segments for 2009:

1. Content, Communications and Collaboration (CCC) – $2.6 billion
2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – $2.3 billion
3. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – $1.2 billion
4. Supply Chain Management (SCM) – $826 million
5. Office Suites – $68 million
6. Digital Content Creation (DCC) – $62 million
7. Other SaaS offerings – $472 million

via [CIOZone]