Category Infrastructure

Entries 21 Total

The Benefits of Integrated Small Business Software

Dec 1, ’10 8:30 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Infrastructure, Small Business / SOHO

Integrated Business Software

There are many noted benefits for small business using integrated software. Advances in technology mean that business software can now be accessed via the web. The ability to use online software means that the small business user is now much less likely to encounter compatibility issues, nor will they be restricted by their working environment as many of these internet based solutions will allow you to access all your business packages from anywhere in the world.

A lot of this software can now be found online which means that there aren’t the normal restrictions with using software that is installed onto specific PC’s, that a liable to breakdown, may be damaged or even stolen.

Online Integrated software can contain a number of online software packages that are not necessarily related to each other, to make small business or running a home business as easy as possible. There may be invoicing software, address book or CRM software and financial reporting software, all as part of the same software suite. Of course the advantage of this is that the applications are then able to ‘communicate’ with each other, which would mean greater efficiency, as any information that is entered into a specific area, would automatically update or gather information from another part of the software and do all the integration for you.

The alternative to an integrated software solution is a fragmented software package, which either relies on the small business owner having to input data numerous times in to different pieces of software, or are reliant on API bridges. API’s allow to fragmented software packages to communicate. However, as has recently been publicised between Google and Facebook, these API’s can break down for numerous reasons, either technological or due to business differences, which then leaves the end-user in difficulty with regards to accessing their data, and can even leave small businesses out of pocket.

A fully integrated software solution is absolutely the most sensible choice for small business owners. Integrated software ensures reliable communication between all the vital elements of a small business’ software, as well as ensuring a highly efficient and secure way to process all the admin for a small business. Integrated software will trump fragmented software every time.

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Google Vs. Facebook: Whose Data Is It Anyway?

Nov 12, ’10 11:54 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Infrastructure, Small Business / SOHO

Facebook

I have previously written about the dangers of using a fragmented IT infrastructure, held together by APIs and so called ‘mashable’ technologies, on my NASDAQ column. But this week saw a new danger emerge to innocent users and any small business using these API technologies; manifesting itself in the Google vs. Facebook business ego clash!

The upshot of this ego clash is that users will no longer be able to exchange data between Google and Facebook, as Google is no longer allowing the Facebook – Google API Bridge to work, sighting ‘unfair’ behavior of Facebook. This all begs the question, who’s data is it anyway?

You upload your contacts, documents and any other data onto Google Apps and then Google lets you know what you can and can not do with your, oh wait, or is it their data? In my opinion this all smacks of abuse of market power, with Google engaging in the same bulling tactics it has accused others of in the past.

These tactics are not very ‘social’ are they? In my opinion, data always belongs to the user and not to any online software vendor, even the likes of Google or Facebook. Making false claims in word or by implication, like we are a social media company and then using customer data in a battle for market share is, in my opinion, illegal at the best of times. When a company that has a very dominant market position, such as Google, it becomes something an external regulator needs to look in to. In my opinion, these tactics are clearly anti-competitive.

On a more practical note for small businesses, you need to look at how this impacts your business or how a similar problem could impact your business. For example, you have your accounting software with vendor A and your CRM software with vendor B via an API. One day, vendor A cuts the API to vendor B, leaving your business in tremendous difficulty. Even if you can get at your data, you will have to export it manually and then import it manually into the other application, or even worse retype the lot.

This is the reason that myself, and others, believe that an integrated business and IT infrastructure works best for the stability and effectiveness of your business. Make sure your data remains yours and cannot be used and abused for the business gains of third parties, no matter how big they are.

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Intuit.com uses WinWeb.com small business webexperts?

Aug 23, ’09 11:58 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Accounting, Infrastructure, WinWeb

Intuit.jpg

One of our customers contacted us last week asking if it was true that intuit.com was using our small business web experts. I was perplexed at the question, as it turns out WinWeb.com, intuit and many other websites obviously use the same photo library for stock photos, as we are using the same photo on our home page.

What makes this situation a little more delicate is the fact that we both work in the same market segment, we also provide software for small and home business. intuit also provide accounting, invoicing, planning software for business start-ups and existing micro businesses. I like that they offer web-hosting and other services too. At last someone really competing with us.

Mind you intuit still have a way to go, no integrated businesses services and a still somewhat limited offering, but then you knew I was going to say that.

If you are an intuit user have a look at our offering, try our OnlineOffice and business services for FREE. – ST.

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Top 10 Home Business & Small Office Reads of 2009/06/04

Jun 4, ’09 1:00 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Home Business, Infrastructure, Personal Business

small business blog top 10 tweetsThere are so many great home & small business blogs out there to give you inspiration and new ideas. Here are my top 10 reads for today – as usual you will find these and more good reads also on my twitter feed. I would encourage you to go and have a look at these blogs as they will give you a different perspective on some of the same issues I have covered on my blog.

These are just some of my daily tweets. Follow me on twitter for all of my updates.  – ST.

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I'm a PC, I'm a MAC, but Should Small Business Care?

Dec 28, ’08 8:27 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Infrastructure, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Software as a Service, WinWeb, use online IT

Ever seen these silly TV ads Apple and Microsoft are running currently? The ones where normal looking people proclaim to be PCs or Macs?

What really worries me is that Microsoft displays a lack of small business and home business understanding on a massive scale. Are they really saying small business should care?

For 1 to 10 person businesses nothing is more important than to focus on business aims alone to succeed. Getting sidetracked with IT issues is the last thing you should do. When will these large corporations finally understand, that home businesses and small businesses are not like mid-size or large businesses with IT departments.

IT needs to be transparent, in the background sort of speak, for micro businesses. When Steve Ballmer proclaims that micro businesses or SOHO businesses are the most under-serviced IT market sector he that there is a reason for this. His and Microsoft’s corporate approach to these businesses is not what is needed.

Joe, the plumber, is not going to instal a SQL server in is workshop. This statement is not belittling Joe, the plumber, but Microsoft, for their nearsighted and simplistic view of the small business world.

As a small business owner you should not care about PCs, MACs or Linux/Unix PCs, all you should care about is running your business. Today real cloud computing is your way forward, not some half thought through IT concept, primarily designed to support ailing software technology & concepts for a few more years.

There are a multitude of benefits of ‘real‘ cloud computing technology, that makes focusing on your business easy. Especially during these difficult economic times – business focus is essential.

You are you, and not a PC or a MAC, your business needs YOU and not a PC or a MAC. — ST.

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OnlineOffice 5 launched.

Oct 15, ’08 1:21 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Accounting, Infrastructure, Virtual Assistants, WinWeb, start-up in business, use online IT

onlineoffice5_sig_logo-1.png

I can not believe that I have forgotten to tell you that we launched OnlineOffice 5 last week – thank you Ashley for kicking my proverbial bu**!

So here goes, we have launched our latest version of OnlineOffice 5 last week with over 100 new features and most importantly over one hundred new business ideas. You can find those in the brand new Academy section, which is our new on-demand business development and business ideas section. With these Business Ideas we just made a start, more is to come.

We have further improved the integration of our Virtual Assistants, which we call OnlineOffice Assistants. As most of you know they a the good fairies who actually do all the work for you our clients should you choose to outsource some of your work. It is even more necessary in these times of the credit crunch.

If you are a VA and have still some space for same more work let us know, go to our website, www.winweb.com and then navigate to Partnering/Assistant. Follow the link from there if you are interested.

Since WinWeb will be 15 years old next year, we thought we start a competition on December 1st, where you can win £10,000 or $20,000 as a first prize. All you will have to do is to tell us what you would do with this money for your business. Maybe start a business? Maybe buy a new computer? Rent a bigger office, after considering the fixed cost trap of cause? You tell us, that’s it. Hopefully you will win the main or one of the many other prizes.

Anyway, I will write about all this more in the days and weeks to come.

I can not believe I forgot to ……..! What is the matter with me?! — ST.

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Small Business Bootstrapping Techniques

Oct 1, ’07 9:02 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Entrepreneur, Infrastructure, Outsourcing, Small Business / SOHO, Start-Up, avoid growing pain, be successful, bootstrap, do a SWOT plan, do cost cutting, grow your business, plan your business, start-up in business

I often refer to “bootstrapping“, when I talk about small business, you may very well be asking “What the hell is bootstrapping?” To put is simply, bootstrapping is the art of running a small business with no or very little money and/or funding.

So if you are thinking about starting, growing or running your small business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal businesses, but are worried about if you can be successful, worried about failing, worried about giving up your job, etc. than bootstrapping is for you.

Especially if your aim is to build a personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants, working from home, creating an income and keeping it small and manageable, then bootstrapping is definitely for you. There are more than 18 million small and home businesses in the US alone, self-employed working is gathering pace in all areas of business. If you look around you you will most probably know many people working from home, or doing contract work, freelancers and so on.

One very unpleasant outcome of a small business venture is the failure thereof. Bootstrapping will mitigate any fallout from a business failure. Remember that business success often comes with experience and experience comes form making mistakes – bootstrapping will allow you to make mistakes and recover from them.

Here are a few bootstrapping facts to consider if you wonder if bootstrapping is for your:

  • Bootstrapping is a fast and the best way to build a solid small business, because you are starting with sales as your priority task – that creates cash-flow and keeps your small business alive.
  • Bootstrappers don’t waste their money – they make money. They understand that cash is king and should not be wasted on old style advertising and marketing – there are better and almost cost-free ways to promote your small business.
  • Bootstrappers don’t waste time with long business plans they start their small business immediately. Cash-flow, SWOT, list of goals and they are in business.
  • Bootstrapping is the lowest risk strategy to start a business, you can start your business with a Small Business Infrastructure for about $20 / £10 per month, get ready in peace find customers in your spare time and build your business on the side.
  • Bootstarppers don’t follow the herd, they use unconventional thinking to move forward and succeed.
  • Bootstrappers focus on their business goals, outsource and build networks to grow their small business.

It is never too late to start with bootstrapping even if you have been running your small business for years. So have a look at it and build a stronger, more secure small business for yourself.

When are you going to start bootstrapping? ST.

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SaaS Benefits for Business Start-Up and Small Business

Aug 28, ’07 3:17 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Data Security, Development, E-Commerce, Entrepreneur, Exporting, Green/Eco-Friendly, Home Business, Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Marketing/PR, Mobile Technology, Office - IT, Outsourcing, Sales, Small Business / SOHO, Software as a Service, Start-Up, Web Technology, WinWeb, avoid growing pain, be eco-friendly, be successful, bootstrap, choose your office, do a SWOT plan, do bookkeeping., do cost cutting, do credit control, export, grow your business, keep data safe, lower overheads, market and sell, outsource effectively, plan cash-flow, plan your business, start-up in business, use online IT

Starting and running a small business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer-, Professional-, Personal business today, is all about staying focused on the small business and not on running your office. WinWeb’s Software as a Service applications allow you to do exactly that. Below you will find some of the benefits detailed to help you make up your mind if this kind of technology is for you.

1. No More Software Installation.

Since our software comes to you via your internet browser, there is no need to install anything. Your printer will also work with our software without installation or any modifications. Our software works with any web browser, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox etc.

2. Our software is always up to date.

This really is one of the main benefits of SaaS. We make all the software updates on our servers, so you don’t have to do anything. No update hassle and worry anymore. There are no “Update available – Please download” messages and no CDs / DVDs updates arriving in the mail.

3. Never pay for software “updates” again!

No matter if we update or bug-fix, you will never have to pay for them again, it is all part and parcel of our service. Artificially accelerated software cycles are a thing of your past.

4. Fully Compatible with any Operating System.

Our software runs on any Operating System (OS) with Linux, Mac, Windows and some others – you login and use it.

5. Work and collaborate with anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Our software allows you to work with your accountant, colleagues, virtual assistants and others in real-time at anytime – whatever your business needs.

6. No commuting. No time wasting.

With online technology you can work from anywhere, so no need to travel to an office. Run your small business from home and benefit in terms of time, money and investment.

7. No security problems. No business interruption problem.

Your data is continuously backed up onto multiple RAID-5 data servers in multiple physically and network secure data centers – if that is not enough you can make a copy of your data anytime onto your PC or a CD.
Should your computer crash or get stolen – no problem, just log on to another computer and keep working – can your competition do that?

8. 24/7 Live Support 365 days a year.

We believe that you will be busy during the day with your clients and with working on new projects and so you should – after the phone stops ringing you get down to your admin work. So we thought we better be around in case you need some support for any of our products. It would be no good if we weren’t around now, would it?

9. No contract needed.

No minimum term, cancel anytime, no contract needed and you can test drive any software for a minimum of 30 days free of charge. This puts you in control. Unlike the boxed software you buy, once you paid for it, it’s yours including the problems. Not so with our software.

10. ClimateByte™ Technology

Our environment is in trouble – by using our on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™, you can help to reduce your carbon footprint and help our environment – we are dedicated to develop our future products and services with this in mind.

Our Software as a Service products provide your small business with a on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ helping you to concentrate on your business, while we run your office and IT. This makes your business more mobile and competitive while saving you time, money and helping the environment.

When you run a small business and personal business, like contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants you probably benefit even more from using SaaS technology – program your business for success.

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Small Business Infrastructure For Business Start-Up.

Aug 28, ’07 12:42 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Accountants/CPAs, Accounting, Business Ideas, Contractor, DIY Business, Data Security, Development, E-Commerce, Employment, Entrepreneur, Exporting, Finance, Franchise, Freelancer, Generation-Y, Globalization 3.0, Green/Eco-Friendly, Health Check, Home Business, How to ..., Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Lifestyle, Marketing/PR, Mobile Technology, MumEntrepreneur, Office - IT, Outsourcing, Personal Business, Red-Tape, Relationships, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Sales, Self-employed, Small Business / SOHO, Social Entrepreneur, Software as a Service, Sole-Trader, Start-Up, Suppliers, Virtual Assistants, Web Technology, WinWeb, WinWeb Live™, Work/Life Balance, avoid growing pain, be eco-friendly, be successful, bootstrap, choose your office, deal with taxes, do a SWOT plan, do a reality check, do bookkeeping., do cost cutting, do credit control, export, find funding, grow your business, handle problems, keep data safe, lower overheads, market and sell, motivate your staff, outsource effectively, plan cash-flow, plan your business, start-up in business, use online IT

I get regular questions about what we really mean by WinWeb’s Small Business Infrastructure?

On-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ centers around the idea that business start-ups and growing small businesses need help with numerous administrative tasks that are not core to the business success – such as bookkeeping, it services, internet services, call handling and other such services.

These services – if performed by the business owner – cause a great deal of time wasting – while the fixed cost of a business is still accumulating. This is in our minds a fatally floored business model and can easily be remedied with our infrastructure approach.

We should not expect business start-ups and small business in general to be accountants, bookkeepers, lawyers, marketing & PR gurus and so on. We should provide small business with an infrastructure in which it can concentrate on core business tasks, while at the same time enabling the business owner to stay informed of all relevant business facts like cash flow, sales, HR issues, tax position and more. This will enable him / her to make informed decisions, maybe with the help of an external advisor.

Based on these facts, we have devised a six point on-demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept, which consist of:

1. WinWeb On-Demand Software Solutions – Anywhere At Anytime.

AccountsOffice and OnlineOffice are our two software offerings, which are based on the SaaS – Software as a Services model, to allow for the following key business benefits:

• tight inclusion of business advisors from the start,
• cultivating outsourcing techniques at the outset, i.e. virtual assistants,
• no IT knowledge needed and hassle free operation,
• real-time multi-user access from anywhere, increasing mobility.

2. WinWeb 24/7 Live Support – We Are Here For You Always.

Providing customer care and support only during business hours is not acceptable to our clients. Experience has shown us that most admin work gets done by small business before nine in the morning or after five in the evening. This practice is essential if the business is to survive it’s early years.

This is why we have provided our much acclaimed customer support for 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the outset. Saving our clients wasted time and money – while setting new standards in customer support. No manuals need to be read – all problems can be solved in real-time online.

3. WinWeb Live – Networking Community for Small Business Only.

To foster collaboration and outsourcing we have expanded our WinWeb Live™ offering to allow for small business community networking – thus enabling the business owner to make decisions about his / her current needs, with the following benefits:

• timeshare virtual assistants for professional results,
• offer contracts of work to contractors on a case-by-case basis,
• promote the business to a large audience or even locally,
• find new work and contracts online

4. Business Advice

Our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ enables business advisors, accountants, bookkeepers and other advisors to have a “Up Close and Personal” relationship with the small business owner, providing key elements for the success of a small business:

• timely and up-to-date advice from anywhere at anytime,
• more efficient advisor function due to SaaS technology, less travel,
• easily expandable advisor network.

5. Solution Partners

Third parties provide external services to complement our services, such as parcel service, office supply services, printing services. These and other services are provided on a bulk buy arrangements by leading businesses in their respective sectors – to provide the most reliable and up-to date service possible – with the effect of enhancing the professional appearance of our clients.

6. ClimateByte™ Technology – For A Cleaner Future.

Our clients are among the biggest demographics concerned with climate change and carbon footprint neutrality. It is a fact that employing remote working and collaboration techniques drastically reduces the damaging business side affects on our environment. We enable our clients to be more eco-friendly and aware, by providing them with our green technology – an ongoing development commitment of WinWeb.

WinWeb welcomes any suggestion that will further enhance our On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure™ concept – especially the development of even more eco-friendly business processes – to serve our small business and business start-up client-base.

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