Midsize Insider is a valuable repository of expert content tailored for small-to-midsized business owners and IT decision makers. Expert insights and perspectives in the Midsize Insider are gleaned from actionable business experiences and will assist readers in creating efficiencies, cutting costs and delivering results.

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Business Innovation - the Role of IT Managers

Many midsize enterprises are promoting business innovation to differentiate themselves from their competitors. One way they are doing that is by using agile methodologies. Agile processes come from the domain of software development, making them a natural fit for IT ...

an article by on May 16, 2013

Better Customer Insight with Better Analytics and RET

The most important change that has come from big data is better customer insight. For the midsize business, this improved understanding translates to improved lead generation and cost-effective lead conversion. But there's more to it than just better conversions; analytics ...

an article by on May 14, 2013

The Chief Supply Chain Officer’s Dilemma: Can B2B Integration and Collaboration Address the Complexity Problem?

Supply chains are becoming more complex and volatile, Meanwhile, the costs of supply chain inefficiency are increasing. Midmarket companies are ...

an article by on May 14, 2013

B2B Marketing Doesn't Have to be Boring - A Podcast Interview With Author Bill Blaney

B2B marketing is typically laden with cliches and bullet points. That stuff doesn't resonate with customers any more. In this ...

an article by on May 9, 2013

Target Market Refinement Through Mobile Analytics

Business analytics allow midsize businesses to gain a much deeper understanding of their customers. From gathering data about customer demographics, to understanding buying trends, to having the ability to predict future consumer behavior more accurately, analytics have already begun to ...

an article by on May 8, 2013

The Benefits of Improved Business Agility for Your Midsize Company

How can improved business agility help a midsize enterprise? Before looking at the many ways a midsize business can benefit from being more agile, it's helpful to understand what business agility really is.The term "agile" has made its way to ...

an article by on May 6, 2013

Midsize IT Must Help Define Value Chain for Maximum Benefit

The term "value chain" covers any chain of activities that a company performs to deliver a valuable service or product. Although first used to describe physical processes, this term now also refers to virtual or cyber processes, since markets such ...

an article by on May 6, 2013

How to Ensure Good Buyer Experience on Your E-commerce Website

A good buyer experience can mean the difference between a potential customer and a conversion to a sale. Buyer experiences can make or break an e-commerce website, so these are among the most critical parts of creating a successful midsize ...

an article by on May 1, 2013

Vertical Industry Knowledge Is a Step Up

The workplace is no longer an environment where employees can expect to perform a limited number of tasks specifically related to his or her profession or area of training. More and more, employees are expected to jump outside their own ...

an article by on Apr 30, 2013

Three Distribution Channels in Marketing Primed for Midsize IT

From operations to management, IT has had a huge impact on distribution channels in marketing. Armed with a collection of information systems, IT departments in midsize firms are gathering, storing, and transmitting data in revolutionary ways. In fact, many of ...

an article by on Apr 30, 2013

Marketing Communications in Midmarket Business

Successful and reliable marketing communications are a crucial component of any midmarket business. Without it, firms would not be able to target products towards consumers and key business partners. Marketing lends itself to media, and these days, media is increasingly ...

an article by on Apr 30, 2013

Value Proposition— An Indispensable Tool for Midsize Enterprises

The melting away of inter-regional trade boundaries has stiffened competition by giving customers access to multiple retailers and service providers. Midsize companies now have to not only survive competition in a wide playing field but also attract and retain customers ...

an article by on Apr 25, 2013

Website Statistics to Watch When Monitoring Traffic

Website statistics are the primary analysis components for a public facing Internet application. This application can be ecommerce, content, or a customized application that processes and creates revenue for the business. There are several tools available to monitor and report ...

an article by on Apr 25, 2013

Mobile Payments: A Trillion Dollar Industry

Mobile payments could be a trillion dollar business in just two years. That's according to a recent IT industry panel at Apps World in San Francisco. This shift in purchasing behavior could mean various opportunities for midsize firms to capture ...

an article by on Apr 24, 2013

Why midsize companies should care about B2B integration

Faced with the prospect of losing a major customer or a key supplier, few midsize companies will hesitate to deploy a business-to-business (B2B) integration solution required by a critical trading partner to maintain the business relationship. Once they deploy a ...

an article by on Apr 22, 2013

IT's Role in the Consumer Buying Process

While consumer purchasing habits may seem fickle at times, most consumers unconsciously follow a pattern when choosing products or services. Known as the consumer buying process, this pattern of behavior is broken into five distinct stages. By tracking marketing efforts ...

an article by on Apr 18, 2013

Three Ways to Ensure Enterprise Agility

Enterprise agility - it may be a buzzword, but it's one with tangible benefits for a midsize business. IT administrators can help businesses prosper by keeping them agile. Here are three ways to become agile:Agile MethodologiesThe first method is to ...

an article by on Apr 18, 2013

New Mobile Ads Let You Talk to Them

There's an emerging mobile platform option that could help businesses gain customers: talking ads. The voice-recognition company Nuance may be introducing ads that can have actual conversations with smartphone users, according to an article from E-Commerce Times. With the rise ...

an article by on Apr 18, 2013

Creating Customer Loyalty with Smarter Commerce

In today's rapidly changing economy, in which online specialty shops are taking customers away from traditional brick and mortar shops, creating customer loyalty is easier said than done. When customers now use their mobile devices to compare prices within physical ...

an article by on Apr 12, 2013

3 Ways Smarter Buying Creates Stronger Customer Relationships

Midsize companies are increasingly relying on new tools and strategies to streamline their supply chain management processes and transfer the benefits to the customer. One strategy being executed more often is leveraging IT expertise to optimize the decision-making process at ...

an article by on Apr 8, 2013

Improve Your Sales Operations With Smarter Selling

In today's competitive marketplace it is crucial for midsize companies to ensure that their commerce teams are operating at full efficiency. Tasked with managing the complexity of online and physical channels, coordinating inventory across multiple warehouses, and predicting future trends ...

an article by on Apr 8, 2013

Mobile Self-Checkout: Walmart Pilots Scan & Go

Walmart has introduced Scan & Go, a mobile self-checkout option for iPhone, to about 200 of its 4,005 (as of January 2013) Walmart locations in the US. According to Reuters, Walmart plans to gather customer feedback on the program, and ...

an article by on Apr 8, 2013

Marketing Research Process Becoming More Digital in Nature

If your digital marketing research process will cost more this year and continue to focus on website optimization while expanding content and social network efforts, then your strategy aligns with the results of a new survey from research firm Gartner. ...

an article by on Apr 1, 2013

Findings? How About Half-Truths?

Forrester Research got headlines with its new digital marketing report, but did it get everything right? Hardly. It’s unknown if the $499 report was shared in its entirety with reporters and bloggers. I certainly haven’t received it. What I have ...

an article by on Mar 27, 2013

Trends Shaping Customer Behavior Across the Digital Landscape and What They Mean to IT

Whether you sell computer software, medical equipment, or marketing services, understanding customer behavior is vital to the success of your midsize business. After all, the better you understand their tendencies, the better you will be at catering to their needs.Analyzing ...

an article by on Mar 26, 2013

IBM introduces app that brings augmented reality to brick and mortar shopping experience

At the recent CeBIT trade fair in Hannover Germany, IBM introduced a prototype app that offers shoppers a way to get access an abundant supply of information about products on a shelf simply by pointing their smartphone camera at the ...

an article by on Mar 26, 2013

Five Ways to Outsmart the Ever Smarter Consumer

With the world creating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, the roughly 40% of the world population online today (ITU) are gaining access to unheard-of amounts of information. Consumers are able to learn about virtually any product or service, ...

an article by on Mar 25, 2013

Customer Service – How to Cope With Changing Customer Expectations

Customer service is changing for midsize businesses. It's customer expectations of their interactions with businesses driving the change. Providing customers with a good service is no longer simply about selling them the product they need at a price they can ...

an article by on Mar 20, 2013

Aberdeen View: Social Selling Powers B2B Success

Aberdeen Group research reveals that the most successful B2B sales organizations embrace user-generated content to collaborate, sell, and service customers. ...

an article by on Mar 19, 2013

IBM's Watson Tries Hand as Chef

Chess was mastered many years ago. Jeopardy! was overcome last year. Now in search of new challenges, the team behind IBM's Watson has taken on a task that most people would hardly associate with artificial intelligence: Whipping up a good-tasting ...

an article by on Mar 14, 2013

Porter Value Chain: What Midsize Firms Should Know

Porter Value Chain is a term many midsize firms relate to efficiency of operations. The concept is simple; it is the set of activities that enable a product or service to make its way to customers. Getting to an effective ...

an article by on Mar 12, 2013

Could an Apple "iWatch" Have Real Business Applications for IT Professionals?

Last year, the Internet was abuzz with rumors about an Apple-branded television set. However, those rumors proved to be false, and any television set plans Apple may have had seem to be shelved for now. The newest rumor to emerge ...

an article by on Mar 7, 2013

SMARTER Marketers Use Business Intelligence to Set Goals

The word SMARTER helps analysts remember that high-quality performance variables must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bounded, and capable of being evaluated and reevaluated. Marketers have to set goals that implicitly incorporate many of these characteristics but need accurate data ...

an article by on Mar 7, 2013

Pragmatic Marketing: Where Does the IT Department Fit into the Strategy?

Pragmatic marketing refers to the key activities necessary to bring a product to the market and manage it. IT professionals at midsize businesses coordinate, tweak, and oversee the technical aspects of delivering the product to the target audience. IT department ...

an article by on Mar 5, 2013

New Mobile Payment Platform Brings Together Visa and Samsung

Companies have been trying to get consumers on the mobile payments bandwagon for a long time. Both Apple's Passbook system and Google Wallet have failed to get customers excited about the possibilities of mobile payments, according to a 2012 study ...

an article by on Mar 1, 2013

Choosing a Virtual Host: 5 Crucial Questions to Ask

Now that the technology has migrated to the desktop setting, it is clear to see that virtualization has a lot to offer organizations and individual PC users alike. For midsize businesses, the key to making the most of this concept ...

an article by on Feb 26, 2013

Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy in the Big Data Era

Consumer behavior and marketing strategy are, in principle, intimately related concepts. Marketing strategy is all about reaching out to consumers and doing so effectively, which means understanding how consumers think and act - that is to say, their behavior.This has ...

an article by on Feb 21, 2013

4 Online Channels Your Midsize Business Can't Afford to Ignore

The benefits of migrating to the web isn't typically something midsize firms have to be sold on. Even the most traditional-minded of managers recognize the huge potential to increase visibility, extend reach, and grow profits. But with so many online ...

an article by on Feb 21, 2013

Google Leads Search Market Share, Beating out Bing, Yahoo!

Google edged further ahead in the search business with its search market share rising to 67 percent in January, according to the industry tracker comScore. Google has strengthened its market position with a seemingly recession-proof business model, and it could ...

an article by on Feb 20, 2013

Cross-Channel Target Marketing and its Demands on IT

With an abundance of consumer choice in today's market, directing marketing efforts to a clearly defined target makes it easier to reach those consumers most likely to purchase your organization's product or service. It can also help midsize businesses stay ...

an article by on Feb 20, 2013

Digital Purchasing: Twitter, American Express Team up for Hashtag Spending

Twitter and American Express have teamed up to offer digital purchases to consumers, allowing them to simply tweet a hashtag to buy an item. The consumer also tweets a confirmation hashtag to authorize payment on their American Express account. According ...

an article by on Feb 20, 2013

Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy for Small and Midsize Businesses

Most businesses feel the pressure to quickly respond to consumer behavior, but quick, effective responses are most critical for small and midsize businesses as they try to not only retain customers but also attract new ones. Allowing technology to inform ...

an article by on Feb 20, 2013

Watson Supercomputer: IBM Announces Two Commercial Applications

IBM recently announced two commercial Watson supercomputer applications, one to help manage health insurance claims, and the other to assist medical professionals in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment protocols. Watson is perhaps best known as the "Jeopardy!" playing supercomputer capable ...

an article by on Feb 14, 2013

Record Breaking Smartphone Shipments

The smartphone was at the center of record breaking sales numbers. A recent survey shows that sales topped more than 200 million units in the fourth quarter of last year. The numbers prove just how popular and necessary the device ...

an article by on Feb 13, 2013

Mobile Business Intelligence Innovation: On the Rise

Thanks to business intelligence (BI) development in the mobile space, midsize firms are becoming more competitive than ever. According to a new study, several large vendors are in the race to build better mobile BI solutions.Maximum ProductivityA company seeking to ...

an article by on Feb 12, 2013

GPS Enabled Cows: A New Frontier for IT?

GPS enabled cows may be making their way into the Internet of Things, bringing in a new era of technology to the cattle industry. A scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to equip cows with GPS ...

an article by on Feb 12, 2013

Understanding Customer Buying Behavior Through Analytics

"The customer is king." It is one of the oldest sayings in business, as true in the B2B world as it is in consumer retail. At the same time, knowing what the "royal customer" wants is one of the oldest ...

an article by on Feb 7, 2013

The Midsize Cross Channel Marketing Challenge

In this hyper connected world, midsize businesses understand cross channel marketing is a successful way to effectively reach their clients and increase profits. It is done by leveraging one marketing channel to support another marketing channel. Midsize firms realize that ...

an article by on Jan 28, 2013

Marketing Automation: 3 Logical Ways to Choose the Right Solution for Business

The concept behind marketing automation is simple enough, right? Identify the repetitive marketing processes within your organization, use technology to automate them, kick back, and reap the rewards. If it were only that simple.For many midsize businesses, the challenges start ...

an article by on Jan 28, 2013

Google Analytics: Why It Matters for Midsize Businesses

Google has seen an incredible insurgence from just being the new search engine on the block to not only being the search engine, but the company in which many of our communications and collaborations take place. The company that tries ...

an article by on Jan 24, 2013

Using Web Analytics to Improve SMB Competitiveness

If you're running a midsize business, then web analytics tools are an important asset for business growth. And if you are providing IT services to a midsize business, then gaining expertise in analytics could help you to enable that growth ...

an article by on Jan 23, 2013

Leading Analyst Predicts Apple Upgrades For 2013

When analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray offers predictions for upgrades to Apple technologies in 2013, there are many people listening. As a leading researcher, Munster offers insights that can help midsize businesses prepare for upcoming changes.Gene Munster is senior ...

an article by on Jan 10, 2013

Windows 8 Sales Point To Evolving Market

Sales of Windows 8 laptops are slipping. At the same time, some vendors are having trouble keeping touch-screen Windows PCs in stock. Apparently they are flying off the shelves. So what is behind these seemingly contradictory signals?The personal computing market ...

an article by on Jan 9, 2013

IT Staff Hires to Increase in First Half of 2013

Technology continues to play an important role in the U.S. job market, a new survey shows. The report, by online tech recruiting firm Dice, states that nearly two-thirds of those responsible for hiring IT staff project that they will be ...

an article by on Jan 9, 2013

IT Spending up in Services, Slows in Computers

Low cost tablets are expected to influence IT spending in 2013 and 2014, driving down overall investment in computers as higher cost PC sales languish. Companies saving money on hardware will spend it in data applications and Software as a ...

an article by on Jan 9, 2013

Mobile Ubuntu Coming in 2013, says Canonical Founder

When it comes to the mobile arena, Apple iOS, Google Android, and Windows Phone aren't the only games in town -- open-source initiatives, once on the periphery, are also making their way onto the field. Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu, ...

an article by on Jan 4, 2013

Windows Phone Headed For a Five-Year Roll?

Windows Phone is set to ride the growth escalator for the next five years, says analysis firm Analysys Mason. But even with that boost, it will claim only 9 percent of smartphone shipments. For the IT community at midsize firms, ...

an article by on Jan 2, 2013

Google Unleashes Enterprise App Store

One of the major downfalls of the BYOD movement is that employees are often careless when it comes to downloading mobile applications. These seemingly harmless tools and games can harbor key-loggers, viruses, GPS trackers, malware, and so much more. Although ...

an article by on Dec 31, 2012

Slow Windows 8 Sales Indicate Growth of Touch-Optimized Industry

With the Windows 8 operating system released just a couple of months ago, most experts would expect an increase in Microsoft sales. However, this does not seem to be the case; a paradigm fueled by the public's transition to mobile ...

an article by on Dec 28, 2012

Building Customer Loyalty With Analytics

Building and retaining customer loyalty is one of the biggest challenges that midsize firms face. Conventional wisdom, after all, has it that consumers are inherently fickle. They are hard to win over and all too easy to lose. They may ...

an article by on Dec 27, 2012

E-commerce Shopping Experience Across Mobile Reflects Cross-Platform Unification Challenges

Retailers are finding that e-commerce customers use multiple devices when they shop for products, but trying to support a unified cross-platform experience is proving to be difficult. According to an article in the New York Times, research from IBM has ...

an article by on Dec 26, 2012

Google to Offer Free Quickoffice Software to Apps Subscribers

Google is reaching out to mobile users of its Google Apps cloud-based office suite with a new version of its Quickoffice software that will allow its paying business customers to edit Microsoft Office documents on the go.As Computerworld's Jay Alabaster ...

an article by on Dec 21, 2012

iPad Recycling Recommended for Executives

With the holiday season fast approaching, many shoppers are seeking to purchase an iPad either for themselves or for loved ones. Depending on the specifications selected, the cost could exceed $500. However, there are other options and iPad recycling programs ...

an article by on Dec 19, 2012

Hackbright Academy: 10 Weeks to a Tech Job

San Francisco based Hackbright Academy recently graduated its 16-student second class of programmers. Hackbright offers a 10-week fellowship program specifically for women and helps connect graduates with potential employers. According to a recent Huffington Post article, eight out of 12 ...

an article by on Dec 18, 2012

Leveraging Smarter Commerce Into Big Profits

The recent boom in cloud computing has allowed small and midsize businesses to collect and harness in a manner and amount that was only recently reserved for huge enterprise outfits. This shift in data availability is the harbinger of a ...

an article by on Dec 17, 2012

Apple's Free and Fast Christmas Shipping Policy Benefits Midsize Businesses

Free and fast shipping is a new offering from Apple available solely online. Midsize businesses that have room within their end-of-year budgets can benefit from the recent announcement.The short-term promotion is for free shipping with delivery two to three days ...

an article by on Dec 14, 2012

Microsoft User Client Access License Changes

Most software applications have licensing fees attached. Users buy the software and then pay license fees for each installation. If the software is accessible remotely, account holders may also have to pay for each remote user in the form of ...

an article by on Dec 13, 2012

Smartphone Prices Continue to Drop

A new report shines some light on the ever-changing world of smartphone pricing and has some interesting predictions about what will happen over the next few years. If these predictions prove correct, it means that midsize businesses will soon have ...

an article by on Dec 13, 2012

Supply Chain Management Keeps the World in Stock

From the days of caravans and galleons to those of cargo jets and container ships, getting working materials and finished goods from source to customer has been a core element of business.The information age has not changed this reality. If ...

an article by on Dec 12, 2012

Network Security Addressed by New Risk Assessment Document for Payment Data

Adhering to standards as defined by the PCI Security Standards Council is a prerequisite for any organization that retains, processes, or transmits cardholder information. Many companies process credit/debit card payments, but few know how to assess the risk involved in ...

an article by on Dec 11, 2012

Mobile and Social Marketing Channels for Midsize Businesses

Increasingly, consumers are reaching for their smartphones to find products, solutions, and localized services. They're also using social media to share their experiences with brands and survey friends for information and reviews. The result: a highly informed social consumer base ...

an article by on Dec 7, 2012

Machine-to-Machine Technology: Mobile-Connected Device Use Expands

Some telecommunications companies are exploring new opportunities in machine-to-machine technology, or M2M. Major carries like AT&T, Verizon, and Deutsche Telekom are exploring the market on analysts' predictions that there will be 218 million connected devices by the end of 2014 ...

an article by on Dec 7, 2012

Dwolla Payments Mixes Up E-Commerce With Three Brand New Features

The electronic payments clearance system used in the US has been opaque to most of the people who use it, full of countless middle men and mysterious acronyms like ACH (Automated Clearing House). Two-year-old startup Dwolla seeks to revolutionize the ...

an article by on Dec 6, 2012

Barclays Votes for iPad With Huge Purchase for Bank Employees

Apple's iPad may soon be accepted as a serious tool in the enterprise, thanks to a large purchase of the slick devices by banking giant Barclays for use by customer-facing branch personnel. The move, unprecedented by any other company in ...

an article by on Dec 6, 2012

The Internet of Things Could Take a While to Happen

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the "Internet of Things"--devices, from household appliances to power grid monitors, talking directly to each other online. The conversation would be about saving energy and money. But the CEO of Nest ...

an article by on Dec 6, 2012

Growth of Google's Knowledge Graph Emphasizes Importance of Website Relevance

Google's Knowledge Graph is growing fast and now translates to several languages besides English. IT professionals within midsize businesses who adjust desktop and mobile websites to appeal to the contextual database can optimize Web traffic opportunities.The Graph first launched in ...

an article by on Dec 6, 2012

Google Is Fast, Powerful, and Popular, but Is It Evil?

If you're looking for the world's foremost search provider, it's Google all the way. Microsoft runs a distant second with Bing, and recent acquisitions show that Larry Page's company wants to do more than just provide results for consumers queries. ...

an article by on Nov 30, 2012

SMBs Online Equals Business Growth

There could be an answer for companies that continue to struggle as a result of the economic recession - the Internet. A new study reveals that small and midsize business can improve sales in a tough economy by pushing online ...

an article by on Nov 29, 2012

Apple versus Android: A Contrast in Usage Patterns

Android has blasted past Apple to become the dominant mobile technology in terms of total devices sold. Even in the tablet segment, Android is at the point of surpassing the iPad. But when it comes to actual online activity, the ...

an article by on Nov 28, 2012

Service Is The Killer App On Black Friday and Every Other Day

By Saturday, we knew from the likes of comScore, PayPal and IBM approximately how many dollars were spent on Black ...

an article by on Nov 27, 2012

Mobile Payments Could Be The Future, but It's Too Early for Midsize Businesses

Mobile payment systems have been getting a lot of press lately. The iPhone 5 hopped on this bandwagon early, with a "passbook" system that allows users to pay with various different services, all from one central app. Google Wallet has ...

an article by on Nov 27, 2012

Cyber Weekend Good News for Deal Hunters; Less So for IT

Despite retail worker outrage about extended work hours not just on Black Friday but the long night before, sales continue to soar. Offsetting some employee woes and cashing in on lucrative markets, Cyber Monday has emerged as a powerful market ...

an article by on Nov 26, 2012

Will Square’s Success Make Other Businesses Pay?

News that Square is processing $10 billion in payments annually has ramifications for small to medium sized businesses everywhere. Visitors ...

an article by on Nov 20, 2012

Green Tech Losing Its Luster

New insight into how investors look at technology shows that one of the most reliable investment areas of the past few years is falling by the wayside, replaced with new ideas about connectivity and collaboration. This shift in technology should ...

an article by on Nov 20, 2012

How the iPad Mini and Other Tablets Can Help Midsize Businesses Increase Sales

Not sure if the iPad Mini or any tablet is right for your business? The biggest criticism over the latest tablet device is that it is a miniature iPad--or bigger iPhone--depending on your point of view. Tablets seem irrelevant for ...

an article by on Nov 14, 2012

SMBs In the Dark With PCI DSS

Payment Card Industry Compliance is the last thing on the priority lists of many small and midsize businesses today. That's according to a new report that says the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS isn't well understood ...

an article by on Nov 13, 2012

Smartphone Market Changes and Mobile Device Support

A shake-up in the top players in the smartphone market means that IT administrators for midsize businesses may look to make some changes in mobile device support for any bring-your-own-device (BYOD) or corporately owned, personally responsible (COPE) programs. The Worldwide ...

an article by on Nov 1, 2012

IBM's Watson: Move Over Sherlock, There's a New Game in Town

To be clear, IBM's Watson supercomputer is actually named for the company's founder, Thomas J. Watson and not the fictional detective's sidekick, but this is an easy mistake to make - especially with Watson breaking into the world of medical ...

an article by on Oct 18, 2012

Moore's Law: How Long Will it Stay on the Books?

We no longer have supersonic airliners. And we never did get scheduled moon flights or personal commuter helicopters. But computing power, from supercomputers to smartphones, is still growing by leaps and bounds. This rapid pace of improvement is often described ...

an article by on Oct 17, 2012

Rideshare App Companies Innovate, Then Told to Cease and Desist

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently told start-up rideshare app companies SideCar, Tickengo, and Lyft to cease and desist, claiming that the companies are acting as "charter-party carriers" because they are transportation companies. In an Ars Technica article, SideCar ...

an article by on Oct 16, 2012

Popularity of Google Wallet and Apple's Passbook Increase Demands on IT Professionals

Google Wallet (GW) and Apple's Passbook offer huge appeal to consumers for ease of electronic transactions and purchases. Demands on IT professionals at midsize businesses increase as these specialists need to integrate the popular services into existing Websites and apps ...

an article by on Oct 15, 2012

Tip Your Barista With Square Wallet; Mobile Payment Set to Explode

Starbucks has jumped onto the Square Wallet bandwagon, announcing that customers will be able to use the mobile app payment system for in-store purchases beginning in November, even allowing tips to baristas by the summer. This announcement comes shortly after ...

an article by on Oct 9, 2012

U.S. Lawmakers Warn Businesses About Buying Products from Two Chinese Companies

The House Intelligence Committee has accused two foreign companies of posing a security threat to America and has released a report that warns American businesses about buying China-based Huawei and ZTE products. According to CNET, "U.S. network providers and systems ...

an article by on Oct 9, 2012

Will 3D Scans be a New Technology Tool for the Midsize IT Community?

Imagine using an iPad as a remote scanner to get a 3D scans of interior spaces of all of a business' commercial locations. Now imagine that 3D scanners to capture those images don't cost $40,000 and don't take up more ...

an article by on Oct 9, 2012

Starbucks Leads Way in Accepting Mobile Payments With Square Wallet

The mobile payment model is getting a boost with a recent announcement by coffee giant Starbucks that it will begin accepting mobile payments through Square Wallet at about 7,000 shops starting in November. Mobile payments work by linking a user's ...

an article by on Oct 9, 2012

Apple Says They Know Better When It Comes to Your Smartphone, and They May Be Right

Apple isn't exactly shy about their own success. The company has big sales and a big ego to match and famously eschews things like focus groups and customer opinions before releasing new products. Their recent iPhone 5 release was a ...

an article by on Oct 5, 2012

Machine-to-Machine Technology Extends Beyond the Smart Grid

A group of experts at a recent GigaOm event discussed the rise of machine-to-machine or M2M technology, which allows different appliances within the offices of midsize IT firms to pass data between themselves. The more generic term for this growing ...

an article by on Sep 28, 2012

The Cloud and Open Standards Shine in IBM's MSP Efforts

The growing complexity and importance of technology in today's business environment has led many in the mid-market to turn to managed service providers (MSP) to assist in technology solutions. As this shift happens, tech giant IBM is refocusing its efforts ...

an article by on Sep 26, 2012

SMBs and the Growth of E-Commerce

With responsive design complete with the ideal user experience, touch-screen mobiles, introduced since the iPhone, are changing the way business is done. According to a recent survey by Forrester Research, the number of mobiles used to make purchases online has ...

an article by on Sep 26, 2012

Emerging Forms of Mobile Payment Technology

The technology underlying the retail payment industry has been evolving over the past few months with players like Google, MasterCard, and Visa partnering in an early attempt to corner the market. Despite these partnerships among established payment processing juggernauts, it ...

an article by on Sep 19, 2012

First Taiwan-China Data Cable Created

The first Taiwan-China data cable started transmitting last month in what seems to be an indication of further improved relations between the two countries. According to the BBC, the first data was sent over two underwater fiber-optic cables for four ...

an article by on Sep 18, 2012

Big Apple iPhone Profits May Bolster U.S. Economy, Says Expert

The new Apple iPhone release is imminent, and tech pundits have already predicted huge sales. So far, Big Fruit's once-a-year upgrade plan seems to be paying off and, unless they make a serious misstep at the iPhone 5's reveal, that ...

an article by on Sep 17, 2012

Microsoft Bing Integrates Facebook Images in Its Search Results

While Google continues to implement Google+ results in its search results, Bing has taken its search engine and implemented social networking using Facebook. Microsoft recently released a new version of its algorithm that shows Facebook images and data in search ...

an article by on Sep 11, 2012

New Scan and Go Walmart App for iPhone Makes Shopping Easier for Customers

Wal-Mart might just reinvent the way customers pay for products. Paying from the iPhone is currently available for mobile businesses, but Wal-Mart is testing a new Scan and Go iPhone app that allows customers who shop in a brick and ...

an article by on Sep 11, 2012

Outsourcing IT is Becoming Less About Cost Savings, More About Strategy

Outsourcing IT tasks to foreign countries, such as India, has long been associated with cost-cutting measures rather than any technological superiority. Recently, however, a new trend has emerged in which cost is receiving secondary consideration to business-building benefits in the ...

an article by on Sep 10, 2012

Will Android Users Switching to iPhone 5 Affect Midsize Businesses?

Better apps, better cloud service, no more upgrade nightmares, and 4G speed are just a few reasons InfoWorld reported that many Android users may switch to the iPhone 5 in the next few months. The exact release for Apple's newest ...

an article by on Sep 7, 2012

Amazon Wants Your iPhone 4--But is the Buyout Worth the Risk?

The iPhone 5 is coming, and Apple's stock is heading northward as a result. Users, meanwhile, are salivating at the thought of getting their hands on a new iDevice and iOS, while other tech companies look at ways to cash ...

an article by on Sep 6, 2012

BYOD Adds 20 Hours to the Traditional Workweek

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend has been at the forefront of the business industry. Its popularity has grown due to the mass production of mobile devices, the allure of flexible hours, and the perceived increase in productivity. That being said, few ...

an article by on Sep 4, 2012

Microsoft Shows the Importance of a Brand Logo for Business Recognition

In a world where you can get $5 logos or even logos for free, Microsoft has created a new brand logo for its company recognition. The change in logo demonstrates how important it is for businesses to create an image ...

an article by on Sep 4, 2012

IT Admins Prefer Apple iOS to Blackberry OS

A new study has revealed that IT administrators now consider Apple's iOS to be the most secure mobile platform, even better than the esteemed Blackberry. This news comes just days after the National Security Agency (NSA) announced that it had ...

an article by on Aug 21, 2012

iPhone 5 Sales May Hit 250 Million

At least one analyst believes that, with a boost from Chinese consumers, iPhone 5 sales could reach 250 million units. As with all things Apple, this news has an element of titillating hype. But behind it is an even bigger ...

an article by on Aug 21, 2012

Google Travel: Frommer's Acquisition Strengthens Position

Google has picked up Frommer's travel guides, strengthening its position in the travel-guide space and location, generally. For Google, travel fits in well with its broader strategy, which remains search-centric.For the IT community at midsize firms, the message is that ...

an article by on Aug 17, 2012

BYOD Use Expected to Double by 2014

The BYOD movement has already become a prevalent workplace activity, with smartphones, tablets, and mobile hotspots taking up residence in the office. However, a recent report by Juniper Research reveals that the practice is expected to double by 2014. Currently ...

an article by on Aug 17, 2012

Paperless Office Coming at Last?

From the dawn of the personal-computing era in business, people have been predicting the advent of the paperless office. But decades passed and the clutter of paper only continued to grow. Now, however, falling printer sales suggest that businesses may ...

an article by on Aug 13, 2012

iPad Mini: Smaller Tablets Not DOA After All

A couple of years ago, Steve Jobs famously declared that 7-inch tablets would be DOA (dead on arrival) in the marketplace. Now, by all reports, Apple will be releasing the iPad Mini, with a 7.85-inch screen. Was it a marketing ...

an article by on Aug 10, 2012

Powerful Windows 8 Tablets Ready to Hit the Market

Tablets to date have been a compromise. It's hard to do serious work. You can watch movies but you still need a laptop or desktop computer to edit on. They don't run any of the heavy-duty applications like MS Office, ...

an article by on Aug 9, 2012

Social Media for Business Is No Longer Optional

When it comes to many new technologies, consumers become attached to the new services much faster than businesses do, and when it comes to the social space, this disparity could be about to cause issues. Gartner research is now reporting ...

an article by on Aug 9, 2012

SAP Announces EHS Risk Management Mobile Application

SAP has released a new version of its Environment, Health, and Safety application, called SAP EHS Risk Management, to help businesses proactively manage operational risks. According to CBR Online, SAP EHS component extension 2.0 mobile app has released as an ...

an article by on Aug 7, 2012

Biometrics: Authentication Advances Lead to Security Improvements

Biometrics systems are finding their way into offices, gyms and even day care centers as midsize businesses seek to beef up their authentication security. With ongoing concerns about the relative safety of password-based authentication, businesses are adopting new methods of ...

an article by on Aug 7, 2012

BYOA Is the Latest in Business Trends

The BYOD movement has seen widespread use among businesses despite the security fears held by IT professionals. This trend has now evolved into a whole other beast, with employees bringing in personal applications to work too. Formally called the bring-your-own-application ...

an article by on Aug 7, 2012

Growing a Midsize Business While Understanding the Programming Life Cycle

The programming life cycle involves whiteboard sessions, brainstorming, development, testing, and deployment. The process of developing a platform from beginning to end takes months of development time. Then the process of testing can extend the time even longer. As businesses ...

an article by on Aug 1, 2012

Are Verizon and AT&T's Shared Data Plans Ideal for Businesses?

In the age of multiple devices, employees own more than just a smartphone. They have a desktop for the office, a laptop for writing reports while on the move, and a tablet for hourly email checks. With so many mobile ...

an article by on Jul 31, 2012

iPad Primarily Used for Web Surfing, but Business Use Is an Emerging Market

With tablets gaining significant use in both the home and office, there has been an abundance of new tablets entering the competitive marketplace. Noteworthy releases have included the Nexus 7, Microsoft Surface, and Amazon Kindle. Although these devices are becoming ...

an article by on Jul 25, 2012

Mobile Applications are Taking Over the World

The explosive growth of smartphones and tablets over the past few years has now invariably led to the dominance of the mobile application market. New surveys and reports show that, despite how far mobile apps have already come, they will ...

an article by on Jul 23, 2012

Are Verizon and Geek Squad the Future of SMB IT?

Verizon has teamed up with big box retailer Best Buy to help provide SMBs with a specialized technology solution designed to give IT support to those companies who are lacking in that area. While certain aspects of the new solution ...

an article by on Jul 20, 2012

Free Online Classes: Coursera MOOCs Brings University Course Offerings to the Masses

Free online education is changing, in part because of start-up company Coursera, which will offer more than 100 massive open online courses (MOOCs) at no cost to students. To offer these free online classes, Coursera is partnering with 16 highly ...

an article by on Jul 20, 2012

Old Payphones Are Becoming Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Most cities have sent their pay phones to the landfills, but New York City is reviving theirs. A pilot program has been launched in New York in collaboration with AT&T to use pay phones as public Wi-Fi hot spots for ...

an article by on Jul 19, 2012

The Advantage of Not Being Big

A tip for the business owner seeking to learn what not to do to please a customer – sign up ...

an article by on Jul 17, 2012

Yes, That's Grandpa With A Mobile Phone

As much as mobile has become a meaningful channel for many businesses, there are still misconceptions around consumer activity. We ...

an article by on Jun 24, 2012

CRM Gamification on the Rise Even as Term Falls Out of Use

In 2011, the term "gamification" got its turn on the hype machine that is the Internet; it received its 15 minutes of fame at trade and tech shows as start-ups and big players touted it as the next evolution in ...

an article by on Jun 8, 2012

Say Please or Your Target May Say "Do Not Track"

Think back to when you were very young. One of the first lessons taught to you was likely around the ...

an article by on Jun 2, 2012

Content Marketing Strategy: Thinking Bigger

In 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content [Infographic] And Content Marketing Case Study there were a number of great suggestions for any midsized company to kick off a compelling content marketing program. Reusing your content in new ways, like in ...

an article by on May 29, 2012

How Business Can Engage In Social Good

Companies giving back was popular a decade ago, but most just gave lip service to it and only handful really did anything about it. Now days with the spotlight of social media many companies feel it is a must have ...

an article by on May 24, 2012

Smarter Commerce Grows Sales and Customer Loyalty

How many times have you called your bank or utility to ask a question and were transferred more than a ...

an article by on May 23, 2012

Join the First Smarter Commerce Twitter Chat, May 23

First the good news: Internet commerce is a level playing field in which midsize companies can compete with large corporations.   Now the not-so-good news: Empowered customers have more influence than ever. Retailers need to be able to predict market ...

an article by on May 8, 2012

Why Midsize Businesses Must Listen To Negative Comments

A very common concern for midsize businesses as they get deeper into social media and other community building programs is negative comments. What if people say: “You guys suck!” “Your product is sh*t.” #your_name_here_fail. Unhappy customers, competitors, and lurking trolls ...

an article by on Apr 30, 2012

Cloud Plus Smarter Commerce for Mid Size Businesses

Smarter commerce is starting to happen for the midsize business.  Laurie McCabe does a good job describing about how this is happening and how it is evolving.   Another movement we are starting to see is how cloud usage is ...

an article by on Apr 25, 2012

What Marketing Content Closes Sales For Midsize Businesses?

The question for most midsize businesses when developing content for marketing is what topics should they use. Now, let me suggest that content marketing is about framing the conversation by making a valid argument and using evidence. The topics must ...

an article by on Apr 25, 2012

How To Get A CMO To Approve A New Marketing Program

Effective marketing tactics must be constantly evaluated and re-evaluated to stay ahead of your competition, but you know this, management is highly risk adverse. How do you crack this impasse? There are new programs that you strongly suspect are worth ...

an article by on Mar 30, 2012

Buyer Personas: Get to Really Know Your Customers

Any marketer worth his or her salt will tell you that, despite the growing “online” nature of much of our ...

an article by on Mar 30, 2012

B2B Content Marketing. You’re Doing It Wrong

When surveyed 85% of companies say they are doing content marketing, but most are doing it very poorly. What are the most common problems, and what can you do to fix them? To get the answers from two well respected ...

an article by on Mar 28, 2012

Serving The Mobile Consumer

One way is with Square, which offers merchants a free credit card reader for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Square for iPad also brings a point of sale system for businesses to accept payments and track inventory. According to Fast ...

an article by on Mar 27, 2012