►Stretch Your
IT Budget with These 6 Technology Tips
used with permission from HP Small Business Center

For small- and medium-sized companies, the difference between a successful year and a dismal one often comes down to how well they can stick to the b-word: BUDGET.

Luckily, the recipe for budgeting success is simple: spend less, while making more. But there’s a virulent SMB myth that — especially in a weak economy — the only way to save money is to forgo buying the new computers, servers, and printers that your employees need. Not true.

Below are some simple reasons why investing in technology can actually save you money over the long term.

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Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

- Charles R. Swindoll
The Strong Family

►Just for Laughs

If you're a business owner, you need to know how to protect your business.

Try as we might, there's often no way to skirt disaster — whether it's national, personal or weather induced. But there are strategies to cope with it as best we can, no matter if its source is a burst river levee, a thoughtlessly discarded match, or the deranged actions of others. Knowing what to do in the event of a disaster is crucial for anyone, of course, but particularly for a small-business owner, whose livelihood may depend on a small storefront or home basement office.

Start with some strategies. Here's a checklist that can help you set up an effective and comprehensive small-business disaster plan:

1. First, map out a disaster plan. Many business owners haven't given a thought as to what they might do in the event of a fire, earthquake or some other sort of catastrophe that could damage their business severely.

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Technology is advancing. It is no longer a matter of “I am not sure if we need technology in our business.” but rather, “How much technology do we need?” IT is happening all around you and as the manufacturers make software, products, and applications easier for your employees to use, it is getting more complex for you to manage. So maybe you have come to the place where you know that to be effective you need to have a certified professional involved in the process. It’s like the old story of dad trying to fix the leaking water pipe, only to find himself soaked with a torrent of water pouring out. Mom knows he might be able to fix it- eventually, but she picks up the phone and calls the plumber. Even though the plumber might cost more than doing it themselves, it will be far cheaper in the long run!

The kitchen sink is leaking and many companies are trying to fix it themselves. The only problem is it isn’t water leaking out (or pouring as the case may be) it is your hard earned dollars. Successful companies know that allocating and then managing an IT budget is a normal part of doing business.

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Small business owners often have big dreams. Whether that dream is to keep your business small or to grow it into a big business, you want your business to run as smoothly as possible - every step of the way. You might start your business as a sole proprietor with just a laptop and a few software programs. As your business grows and adds employees, you have to start thinking about security, backup, remote access, and coordination of effort.

One of the reasons small businesses switch to cloud-based software is to reap the benefits of big business infrastructure, without having to implement and manage it directly. Until recently, your software and servers almost always resided in your office, where they would be administered by your IT staff. This type of deployment is referred to as "on premise." In the last several years, "cloud based" software has become more popular.

Cloud based software (also called cloud computing) enables companies to access software and servers located in a secure data center, maintained by the software provider. These free or subscriber-based services are delivered in real time over the Internet.

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