smb - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Cisco fights for 'fair share of SMB pie' with unified communications gear

  NEW ORLEANS -- Cisco this week unveiled two unified communications products optimized for small and midsize businesses, a market Cisco admits it needs to increase share in.

• The IETF at 25: Unfinished business

  As I write this, the IETF has been around for 25 years and a few hours. The first meeting started at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, 1986, in San Diego with 21 people in attendance -- a far cry from the most recent meeting in Beijing, which attracted 1,207 attendees.

• DSL kickstarts engin's business

  SMB telco, engin (ASX:ENG), has reported a major turnaround in its business in the 2010 financial year, notching up a record EBITDA of $0.7 million off revenues of close to $20 million.

• Cisco expands 11n Wi-Fi line, mobile VPN client

  Cisco Tuesday unveiled new additions to its mobility product lines, including an entry-level 802.11n Wi-Fi access point, a mobile VPN client, and the first step toward extending virtual desktop environments to mobile devices in the field.

• Going where no cameras have gone before

  The video surveillance industry is undergoing a sea change as older analog systems give way to IP-based systems.

• Making smart IT decisions: Simple steps small businesses should take for smart IT investments

  According to a recent report from Forrester Research, IT spending in the United States is expected to ramp up in the second half of the year with an estimated 19 per cent increase in computer equipment spending, 11 per cent growth in software spending, seven per cent hike in communications equipment spending, and six per cent uptick in consulting services. As the overall IT industry starts to show signs of growth, small businesses -- often the last to display confidence -- are exhibiting cautious optimism as many anticipate increased IT investments in the next six months.

• PC survey of SMBs indicates optimistic outlook

  A survey conducted by The NPD Group projects that 77 percent of SMBs are planning to spend more, or at least the same, on new PC hardware in 2010 compared to 2009 PC spending. The SMB Technology Report suggests that the increased PC spending is a harbinger of a better economy--driven by new business and new hires.

• Optus, HP team on Mini 5102 Netbook bundle

  Optus and HP have partnered up on a new deal which will see the HP Mini 5102 Netbook offered on a range of Optus’ small business mobile broadband plans.

• HP grooms green data center services for small-business market

  HP today unveiled a host of new services aimed at helping small data-center operators boost performance and cut operating costs. Aimed at data centers up to 5,000 square feet in size, these facilities-oriented services include capacity analysis, infrastructure condition and capacity analysis, and energy-efficiency analysis.

• iiNet unveils SMB market packs

  iiNet (ASX:IIN) has joined a growing throng of ISPs announcing tweaks to offerings and has launched a suite of broadband and telephony solutions designed for the small and medium business (SMB) market.

• Telstra tweaks SMB mobile broadband plans

  A week after Telstra (ASX:TLS) increased the data allowances across its range of wireless broadband plans the telco has announced similar improvements for small and medium businesses.

• SMBs unprepared for disasters, Symantec finds

  Small and midsize businesses are confident in their disaster recovery capabilities, but their actual performance preventing outages shows they are "remarkably unprepared," according to survey results released Monday by Symantec.

• Microsoft, other top vendors help bring global IT skills to small business

  Microsoft, Yahoo and several other top vendors are making it easier for small and mid-size companies to hire specialized IT consultants located anywhere in the world by working with providers of online employment marketplaces that use eBay-like features to match workers with employers.

• Dell eyes smartphone market by asking carriers what they want

  Dell plans to enter the consumer and small and medium-sized business (SMB) smartphone market by working with several major carriers globally, Dell officials told analysts Tuesday, without divulging many details, including timing.

• Symantec vows huge push into SaaS market

  At its Financial Analyst Day event in San Francisco Thursday, Symantec's top executives vowed a major push into software-as-a service and also offered a glimpse at upcoming back-up products. Enrique Salem, president and CEO, kicked off the event with the investment industry's analysts by saying Symantec intends to expand into software-as-a-service, an area in which it already has experience (the company now backs up 32 petabytes of customer data in the cloud with continuing growth at 5 petabytes each quarter). Salem predicted SaaS, in which Symantec will have new offerings, could comprise "15% of total revenues in the next five years."