Small Business IT Essentials: Free Tools to Help You Get Work Done
Small Businesses spend a lot of money on software and services that have great free alternatives. In fact I would argue that almost any general purpose tool has a free alternative that will get the job done just as well as its paid counterpart unless you need something specialized. That being said here are a few tools that I’ve used in the past when I didn’t want or need to fork over the cash.
Libre Office (formerly Open Office)
The “official” open source alternative to the Microsoft Office Suite. It opens and saves Microsoft office files and includes the ability to create PDF files (more on that later). For basic document creation and editing it can more than get the job done, and that’s the just the word processor. Libre Office, like Microsoft’s offering is full suite which includes alternatives to Excel, Powerpoint, Access and Visio. Unless your small business NEEDS the Microsoft Office suite, give Libre Office a try, it’s completely free – which could work out to hundreds of dollars saved if you’re looking to outfit a whole office of PC’s – plus it works on Mac and Linux in addition to Windows.
Paint.NET
Occasionally you may need to make some basic edits to an image of some kind. Paint.NET is the paint.exe that comes with Windows on steroids. Again it’s completely free and will handle most basic image editing jobs. If you’re doing photo edits or creating images from scratch for an advertising agency then you need Adobe Photoshop or something similar but if you’re not Paint.NET should do the trick.
PDFCreator
Don’t be one of those people who e-mail word documents around. If you’re sending a client a proposal, report or any kind of final document for review sending a PDF shows that you’re computer savvy and looks more professional to boot. PDFCreator is an applications that allow you to make PDF’s out of your documents whether they are Word documents, spreadsheets or slides. Anything that can be printed on paper can be converted to a PDF and sent off. If you need more robust capabilities like the ability to create PDF forms or other interactive PDF documents you’re going to need Adobe Acrobat or another full featured PDF program but if all you need to do is create and send a PDF this utility will get the job done.
Dropbox
Dip your toes into the cloud and see how good it is. Dropbox is a service that syncs your files between multiple computers and mobile devices. Some businesses keep ALL of their data on Dropbox because of how easy it is to share data among multiple computers or even other people. The great thing about Dropbox (or Box or SugarSync) is that it has mobile apps for every major mobile platform, so you can access you files (documents, pictures, music, videos) from your mobile phone or tablet. Dropbox gives you 2GB of storage on their service for free but you can pay for additional storage or to use it for your whole team.
Pandora (honorable mention)
Almost every client we have has users that rely on Pandora Internet Radio to make it through the day. Pandora allows you to choose an artist, song or genre and it will play similar tracks. This normally results in you hearing some of your favorite songs and new songs that you’re bound to like. It also lets you “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” a song so it knows which songs you like and which ones you don’t. If you don’t have an account, there’s no reason not to create a free one which gives you unlimited listening with ads. Pandora got me through the writing of this post, give it a try.
The great thing about technology is that it gives us options, if you don’t have special needs give some (or all) of these tools a try, small businesses need all the help they can get. Now with these tools (and services) I’ve bestowed upon you go forth and be productive, without breaking the bank. Your welcome.
3 Technology Tools to Supercharge Your Business Networking
Effective contact management lies at the core of every professional’s success. Turning strangers into friends and then into advocates is a foundational skill for creating opportunity for yourself and your organization. Here are a few tools that I suggest to simplify the process of collecting, organizing and leveraging your contacts.
In the world of social networking sites for business professionals, LinkedIn is the 800-pound gorilla. Based on the principle of six degrees of separation, the site allows you to create a professional identity (skills, work experience, etc.), connect with professionals you know and trust, and provides you the social data that you’ll need to connect with others. Personally, I’ve used LinkedIn to find prospects, identify partners, market my company and reach out successfully to complete strangers. I could spend hours explaining how to use LinkedIn to your advantage, but I’ll leave that to the marketing pros. Just take a moment, register and make LinkedIn a cornerstone of your relationship development strategy. Trust me, it will be worth your while.
CardMunch
It’s pretty safe to say that we all enjoy meeting new people and collecting business cards, but hate the process of entering business card information into our contact systems. In comes CardMunch. This nifty iPhone application allows you to snap a picture of a business card, submit it to the CardMunch system and voila! In less than 5 minutes you’ll have the complete contact data sent back to the app for you to save to your phone, send a follow up email and even connect with that contact on LinkedIn. It really helps you skip the tedium and get down to what matters; fostering connections. In lieu of an iPhone, Android users can get similar functionality with Google Googles or can wait until the Android version of CardMunch launches. For folks on other platforms, I would recommend the Shoeboxed service. It’s not free or quite as immediate, but it does the trick and a whole lot more.
LetterMeLater
I came across this service after the unceremonious demise of my previous favorite, DeferredSender. LetterMeLater
This post was originally published by Kevin V. Michael on the ICABA website.
How to Choose a SaaS Provider: 5 Things to Keep in Mind
Whether you’re replacing an existing software solution or starting from scratch, choosing a software provider is not a task to be taken lightly, and if you’re considering a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, there are some additional considerations to be mindful of.
SaaS typically refers to a software application that is hosted by the software company and for which to use you pay a monthly fee (Our good friends at Wikipedia have a more detailed description).
Once you start your search and selection process for a SaaS solution here are the five most important aspects to consider:
Pricing Model
Most SaaS solutions are priced per user per month, but some are priced by groups of users (eg. $50/month for 1-10 users) or some are priced based on how much information you’ll be storing in the system. For example a SaaS CRM may price based on the number of contacts stored in the system (eg. $10/month for up to 250 contacts). Be sure to take into account future growth, and how it will affect your costs. This provider prices by number users & features but also limits the number of users you can have in each tier.
Reliability
Besides not having to make a large up-front investment in software, another big advantage of SaaS is that you don’t have to invest in maintenance. The SaaS provider has the responsibility of ensuring that the service is available 24/7/365 or as close to that as possible. Read the terms of service before you commit any time or money to a solution. Companies usually explain their policy regarding up-time, so ensure that their policies work for your business model. Larger providers may have a status page, where you can check the current status of the service (whether it’s available or not) and you can view the history so you can evaluate how well the service performs. Have a look at the Google Apps Status Dashboard for example.
Integration
Another advantage of hosted services is that they’re generally accessible from any web browser anywhere but you may need integration with other applications or devices you use in your business. Maybe your company makes a product for which you provide support but for a fee, if you were evaluating a hosted help desk solution it would be important that it integrates with your billing application. This will minimize or ideally eliminate double data entry, and streamline your business operations. Some applications also provide mobile apps for accessing you data on your mobile device (phone or tablet), have a look at the integration’s this SaaS application provides.
Data Import/Export
If you’re moving from an existing application it’s very important that you can import your data into your new SaaS solution. Evaluate the options the provider gives you to import your data so you or your employees don’t spend endless hours on data re-entry. Also keep in mind that a SaaS solution may not be the best solution forever and if you ever need to move your data out of the system it should be relatively easy. Remember, the harsh reality is that the company you’re using as your SaaS provider may fold or be acquired in which case you don’t want your data locked in. This time-tracking SaaS application provides import/export options.
Training/Support
As always you want to make sure that someone will be there to help if and when you run into any issues. Evaluate the training and support options available. Some providers have online training and phone support while other may only provide FAQ’s and e-mail support, or you may have to pay to a higher level of support. This application only provides e-mail support make sure whatever your SaaS vendor provides is enough for you before you sign up.
Be diligent when choosing a software solution for your business and always try it first before you commit. When selecting a SaaS provider keep these 5 key items in mind when making your decision and you’ll have a much better experience.
