If you are a small business owner who does business in Massachusetts and you have not yet heard of the new Massachusetts data security and privacy laws known as 201 CMR 17, then you need  to get up to speed quickly as this law has gone into effect and the compliance deadline has passed at the end of the first quarter of 2010.  Please be advised that we strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified attorney as well as your IT staff or trusted IT service provider to help you comply with the laws. 

A summary of these new regulations can be found here on the Commonwealth’s web site: 201 CMR 17:00 (PDF)

Whether you call it a hosted phone system, virtual phone system, or cloud-based telephony, getting rid of that “thing on the wall” in the phone closet may be just what the doctor ordered if you are a small business.  Not only will you get all the benefits of a modern day phone system, but you will have removed another technology asset from the balance sheet and turned an essential business function into a true operating expense.

So how did we get here? Here’s a short history of the business telephone system that won’t make your eyes glaze over.  When Ma Bell first offered telephone service to businesses, every person in your office received a physical phone and a 7-digit number. All calls were routed through a central office in town that was connected to many other central offices all over the state and eventually the country.  This was called a Centrex system and offered many of the features of a PBX (Private Branch Exchange, or phone system) system that you would buy for your office. It was essentially renting a piece of a giant phone system located in the center of town.

In this episode, Dave tackles hosted phone systems, how they work, and how they are different from the telecom setup you most likely have today. He explains what a hosted phone system can do for your small business in terms even the uninitiated can understand and helps you make an informed judgment as to whether they are a good fit for you. In 10 minutes, learn enough to be dangerous about a technology that has been radically changing telecom and how it can be put to use for your small business. Enjoy. 

In this episode of the Dumb It Down for me Dave (DIDD) series, Dave brings down to earth the basics of cloud computing, how it works, why you should care, and what it can do for your small business. With the penetration of cloud computing increasing expontentially in the small to midsize business space, this Skyrope TV slot provides a timely introduction in less than 10 minutes to a crucial topic for the SMB owner or manager. Enjoy.

In this multi part article, we looked at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and tried to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rated the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Overall

We rated the Apple iPhone 3GS from AT&T, the Motorola DROID from Google and Verizon and the BlackBerry Storm2 from RIM and Verizon.

The iPhone 3GS is a winner in terms of business functionality, applications and fun factor, while lacking in mobile service and cost. Overall we scored it 21 out of a possible 25.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rate the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Next up, the BlackBerry Storm2 from RIM and Verizon.

There are several BlackBerry models from several carriers we could have reviewed. In the end, we decided to review the Storm2 from Verizon, because it has a full screen like the other smartphones in this review.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rate the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

Next up, the DROID from Motorola, Google and Verizon.

The Motorola DROID runs Google’s Android OS – a relatively new OS designed for mobile computing. Because of this, it aims to be more flexible than the mobile platforms from Apple and Microsoft, and one of DROID’s main marketing strategies was to tell the end user all the things that DROID does that the iPhone 3GS presumably can not do. Lets dig in.

In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small business owners and users. We rate the phones according to several business criteria – including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.

First up, the popular iPhone 3GS from Apple and AT&T.

The iPhone 3GS quickly and seamlessly connects via push mail to your Microsoft Exchange server or Google Apps mail and calendar. This is one of the easiest set ups we have worked with, and your items will sync and you will be sending and receiving email literally within minutes of getting the phone out of the box. 5/5.

If you run a small business or buy technology for one and have not been in a cave for the past couple of years, chances are you have heard of cloud computing. Very briefly, cloud computing means technology sold as a remote subscription service accessed over the Internet. You do not have to own hardware or software or employ tech staff. You do not have to keep up with new versions or compatibility, or amortize assets. You pay as you go, and pay as you grow.

So the exuberance is understandable. But should you transition everything you have to the cloud next year? No — not even if you have the money and a competent small business IT provider — and you have already adopted managed services and enjoy the benefits. Because the rarely mentioned problem of bandwidth latency promises to cramp your style on the cloud.

It is getting harder to shout over the noise surrounding cloud computing. Is the wide-spread excitement justified? If you are a small business, why should you care?

If you are a businessperson — not a technologist — and you are only going to remember one thing about cloud computing, here it is: Cloud computing promises to finally take IT out of the balance sheet and put it squarely into the income statement. How? By turning all business technology into pay-as-you-go services provided remotely, all the tech spending in your increasingly technology-dependent business becomes an operating expense — resulting in big savings, reduction of daily headaches, mitigating risks, and simplifying your life in a way that few business ideas ever have.