Countless technology vendors are targeting the increasingly coveted yet still somewhat elusive small and medium business (SMB) market. We do our share of message testing and market strategy work with them, and attend innumerable briefings from other vendors aiming to make their mark in this crowded space. All too often, we see some warning signs that indicate gaps a vendor hasn’t created a str...
Tag: SMB
What Is an App Store, and Why Should You Care?
(Originally published on April 8, 2010, in Small Business Computing) An app store can offer a lot more than just mobile apps. Essentially, it is a Web site that aggregates software solutions for business or personal use. App stores, also known as an applications marketplaces, are typica...
Dell 2.0: Top Takeaways from Dell’s Virtual Era Event
A couple of weeks ago, I attended Dell’s Solutions for a Virtual Era analyst and press event in San Francisco. At the event, Dell unveiled its new strategy to help companies more readily and easily provision ...
Getting in the Social Media Management Game
Social media management for small businesses is a very hot area. A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about social media management solutions available to help small businesses manage their online and social presence more efficiently and effectively. While this is still a very nascent...
Top Trends Most Evident at the 2010 Small Business Technology Summit
Back in the beautiful Live Free or Die state after attending the 2010 Small Business Summit earlier this week. This is a fantastic event coordinated by Ramon Ray and Marian Banker, and held at the Digital Sandbox in the financial district in New York. Wheth...
SAP Aims for SME
I dialed into SAP’s SME (small and medium enterprises) Global Business Update Call a couple of weeks ago. Jeff Stiles, SVP, SME, Volume & Ecosystem Marketing, provided analysts a recap of recent SAP SME highlights, and shared strategic directions for 2010. I’ve been following SAP in the SME market since it acquired TopManage (which later become SAP Business One) in 2002, so I’m always inter...
What is Social Media Management, and Why Should You Care?
(Originally published on March 4, 2010, in Small Business Computing) What is Social Media Management? As described in the column “
Relevance of Marketing Tools/Media in Customer Acquisition
The topic of lead generation and the role of various media solutions in the lead generation process draw significant conversation. From a survey of small businesses done in the summer of 2009 and detailed in my blog, '
A Closer Look–Dell Managed Services for SMBs
Last April, I participated in Dell’s Managed Services launch for SMBs. At the event, Dell had a couple of customers on hand who were both very satisfied with the service. Later in the year, Dell asked my colleague Sanjeev Aggarwal and I to conduct a Dell-sponsored research study to learn more abou...
Does IBM Lotus Really Want to Get Small? My Take on Brent Leary’s Podcast
I still haven’t had time to write about Lotusphere 2010, but in the meantime, you may want to listen to the conversation I had with small business guru and friend Brent Leary. Last week, Brent interviewed me about my take on this year's Lotus event, announcements and news. Naturally, our conversation centered on the small business angle, which...