Dan Muse

Smaller retailers know that the competition is all around them. Competitive advantages don’t come easily, but Microsoft, a company that knows a thing or two about competitive advantages, says PC-based point of sale (POS) systems can provide the edge small retailers need. While the company has long offered its Retail Management System for mid-market retailers, […]

Although HP’s Kevin Gilroy stopped short of calling it the company’s biggest rollout of printing and imaging products for small and mid-sized businesses, he did say yesterday’s blitz is “certainly one of the two or three biggest launches” aimed at the SMB market. The sweeping product announcements were made at the HP 2005 Imaging and […]

A little more than a month ago, Bill Gates defined Microsoft’s vision for real-time, integrated communications and unveiled a roadmap for Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 and its IM client Office Communicator 2005 (a.k.a Istanbul). Today, Microsoft described another plank for its ambitious real-time platform, announcing plans to deliver a new client for Windows Mobile-based […]

Looking to further expand its entry-level server and network-based storage lines, Gateway today announced the availability of a new 1U rackmount server and a 2U Serial ATA SAN. The Gateway 9415 is the first server in its price range to offer RAID 5 capabilities with redundant power in 1U rackmount configurable, according to Tim Diefenthaler, […]

Small and mid-sized businesses are a big deal to Hewlett-Packard, especially when it comes to servers. Vince Gayman, director of SMB programs at HP, said that about 50 percent of all HP servers sales come from SMBs. With its enterprise hardware sales sagging, HP has seen demand for its ProLiant line increase. HP also seems […]

Whether it’s a hard drive crash or a hurricane, small and mid-sized businesses that aren’t prepared for disasters could be headed for one. There’s been no shortage of vendors trying to get that message across to SMBs. The latest is Verio, an Englewood, Colo.-based hosting provider. In a move to help small businesses manage off-premise […]

WebEx Communications is one of the pioneers of real-time collaboration applications. In fact, to many companies the name WebEx is synonymous with online meetings. To date, Web-based meetings have been viewed mainly as a way to reduce travel expenses. However, the technology hasn’t been proven as a tool to help generate revenue. In a move […]

Businesses that think their employees aren’t using IM or some type of peer-to-peer file sharing application may be living in ignorant bliss. In fact, market research firm The Radicati Group reports that 80 percent of enterprises have employees using IM or P2P software. However, only 15 percent have taken steps to secure and manage those […]

Web conferencing — technology that allow businesses to conduct online meetings, deliver presentations and collaborate with colleagues — hasn’t yet trickled down to the ranks of the typical small business. Macromedia hopes to open SMB’s eyes to its Web conferencing platform with new pricing policies announced today. The two benefits of Macromedia Breeze Live for […]

In an effort to integrate its IP-based communications products with Microsoft customer relationship management software, Cisco Systems today announced the Cisco CRM Communications Connector. The offering is designed to integrate Cisco IP Communications technology with Microsoft CRM. The Cisco CRM Communications Connector, which was developed with the support of Microsoft, will be available to small […]

With thousands of new viruses, worms and other threats attacking your business’ network and leaving it vulnerable over the past year, how can your small network administration team ensure that your employees are up to date with the latest security patches? Adding more work to your overworked IT team (if you have one) isn’t a […]

Doesn’t anybody work in the same office anymore? Increasingly, workers operate either out of a remote office or are constantly on the go, making the concept of sharing of information informally in the workplace as passe as mailing a letter. In a move to help workers share information easily, Groove Networks, an early proponent and […]