Getting started with a new software application can be challenging. However, getting started with a new accounting package like Quickbooks can be especially intimidating for a business owner. Most will agree that it is a task worthy of some planning, especially when you consider how long a business accounting system is in place. Sure you might upgrade versions of the software along the way but few businesses will make the decision to change to a new accounting package without a compelling reason to do so. With this in mind, I was pleased to have the opportunity to present this Technology Tuesday session on Getting Started with Quickbooks with a fellow Chamber member, Norm Blieden, CPA.

I am often asked if there is a free backup utility I can recommend for home users. Up until now, I haven’t had one that I really felt comfortable recommending.

Online backup products are fine for just backing up limited amounts of documents and files but now that we are saving photos, music and videos to our computers, these programs may take quite a bit of time to backup your data. More than one person has complained to me that they lost data because they had a system crash and the online backup product they had subscribed to had not fully backed up their important files. This is generally because some online backup products impose a monthly limit on the amount of data you can back up. In some cases, I have seen it take months to backup all of a customer’s data.

However, all this changed with the release of Paragon Backup & Recovery 2010 Free Advanced. This utility creates an image backup of your hard drive. It is sort of like taking a picture of how the data on your drive looks at a particular point in time so you can restore the whole drive in the event of a catastrophic failure of your hard drive. Simply use this utility to backup your computer to a USB hard drive on a monthly basis. Then, if your hard drive becomes damaged or corrupted, you simply replace the drive and copy the image on your USB backup drive to your new hard disk. No programs to reinstall, patches to reload, etc. It is an exact copy of the data as of the date you last performed a backup.

Download – Paragon Backup & Recovery 2010 Free Advanced

Obviously, lots of things can happen with a hard drive crash or other catastrophic loss of data so it is best to have a couple of copies of you disk image in rotation for the best possible protection. You may also want to consider backing up specific files (e.g. family photos) using a file-based backup program, in addition to the drive image made by Paragon’s Backup & Recovery 2010. In any case, there is no reason NOT to backup your computer and save you the anguish of a potential data loss.

The term cloud computing seems to have caused a great deal of confusion amongst small businesses. Many business owners say they don’t trust it while others are connecting to their office via their iPads or mobile phones. In fact, some 69% of Americans are already using some form of cloud computing. At today’s Tech Tuesday event, we hope we shed some light on some of the opportunities the cloud brings to businesses of all sizes. In case you missed the presentation, you can check it out below. 

If you have any questions or concerns about putting cloud computing to work in your business, please post a comment here and we’ll be happy to address them.

The growth of email marketing is outpacing all other forms of small business marketing in 2011. At a recent Tech Tuesday event, we covered all the basics a business or non-profit needs to get started with email marketing while ensuring that they don’t ignore the legal requirements and etiquette that is expected of them. The goal of this form of permission-based marketing is to provide your customers and prospects with meaningful information that they want to see, not to spam them with a lot of garbage that ultimately only damages your reputation. So check out the presentation and let us know what you think by posting a comment.

The new HP Slate 500 may be the business alternative to the iPad that we have been waiting for. There is no doubt that Apple got lot’s of things right with the iPad and has finally ignited the tablet market. The problem with the iPad thus far is that it was really built for consumer use not business. Sure, it’s great for viewing streaming media but if I can’t run the standard office productivity applications I use each day, it does not hold a lot of value for me. That is why I was elated at the release of the HP Slate 500 but don’t take my word for it, check out the demo for yourself and see what you think.

The HP Slate 500 tablet weighs in at 1.5 pounds, 5 hours of battery life and runs the Windows 7 operating system, which means that it will run many of the standard business applications you use each day. It also features a digital pen, handwriting recognition, Bluetooth connectivity, a USB 2.0 port and an SDRAM slot for up to 64GB of removable data storage. The device also features the front and rear cameras that you won’t find on the iPad and a docking station.

Best of all, I don’t have to learn a new operating system, worry about security the security issues that are prevalent in most consumer devices or purchase special productivity apps and learn how to use them. I get the same Windows experience that I use for day-to-day productivity right out of the box, including the ability to run my standard Microsoft Office applications, my standard web applications, web conferencing and remotely access my network. I can even run my Kindle for PC software so I can keep up to date on my lengthy business reading list. As a long-time business tablet user, these are some of the things that were important to me.

Of course, as with any new product, there is still lots of room for improvement. It is certainly does not offer the same multimedia or touch experience of the iPad and it really needs an internal wireless 3G option, as the current model only offers 802.11 b/g/n WiFi. Hopefully, HP will remedy this in future models but for now I will simply plug in my wireless 3G USB device or use it with a mobile hotspot device like the Verizon MiFi 2200.

So if you are looking for a good, portable, business-oriented tablet computer, make sure to check out the HP Slate 500.

We recently had the opportunity to visit with some folks at Hewlett-Packard and look at some of their new options for thin clients and multi-user desktop solutions. I was especially impressed with the new HP MultiSeat ms6000 Desktop solution which can host up to 10 thin client workstations on a single desktop computer.  It is an ideal solution for companies that need to run basic office productivity applications like Microsoft Office and need Internet access but don’t really need all the power offered by a standard PC. 
 

Benefits:

• Double the seats with the same budget
• Reduce cost of upgrades and replacements
• Simple to deploy, USB plug-n-play
• Fully licensed Windows® experience
• Reduces energy costs by up to 80 percent

There a still a couple of issues that we are wary of and are in the process of investigating before we start recommending this solution to our clients. The first is related to business continuity in the event of a hardware failure. In such a scenario, the payroll costs of lost productivity alone can easily trump the costs of a PC, so we may suggest having at least two units on site to plan for this possibility. Depending on the site, this will add a little to the cost but certainly not enough to trump the overall savings this unit can provide. The second issue is related to the ability to join the computer to a domain, as we make extensive use of security permissions and policies to manage the computers we are responsible for. However, we are investigating reports that not all versions of the installed operating system support this configuration. That makes this a great solution for any small office workgroup, computer lab, and hotel kiosk but maybe not for a larger environment that needs structured management of a domain. However, HP advises that there is an appropriate way to deal with this.

Regardless, with budgets being tight, this is an excellent way to upgrade an organization’s aging infrastructure. and lower their cost of computing. We are looking forward to deploying it and will update you on the good and bad things we find so you can determine if it is a good fit for your organization. Stay tuned!

This morning we had another opportunity to educate business owners Digital Marketing at Pasadena’s Art of Small Business Survival series. We made a similar presentation at this time last year and it was interesting to see just how many things had changed in just one year. You can see the presentation below.

What has changed in a year

• The importance of local search engine presence
• The rise of Facebook as a true advertising platform
• How mobile applications will impact your marketing (which I never even got to in today’s presentation)
• The broad adoption of digital marketing – it is not a matter of IF you do it, just WHEN and HOW

Resources

I promised to post some of my other resources, so here you go:

• Worksheet: Building an Online Company Profile
• Worksheet: Building a Professional Online Profile
• Digital Marketing Toolbar – A resource packed with video tutorials and links to get you started with social media and other forms of digital marketing.

We certainly hope that you enjoyed today’s workshop and invite you to contact us with any questions you might have or post your feedback here. For the latest news and information on digital marketing, we invite you to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.