Small Enterprise IT

Small enterprise IT news, trends, analysis and practical advice

Apple HolicBy Jonny Evans

At this rate, Apple's gonna own the mobile enterprise

Apple's success in enterprise markets for so long closed to it reflects the damage complacency did to those who previously dominated the enterprise IT space.

Shark TankBy Sharky

Lightning? That's the least of their problems

This consultant pilot fish is called in by a new client -- a banquet hall -- to clean up wireless network problems after a lighting storm. But what he finds is a much bigger mess.

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10 Best Practices for Cloud Business Intelligence: Enabling the Business

Business driven Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics represent a shift in the enterprise that is perfectly aligned with the value proposition of cloud-based analytic solutions.

Shark TankBy Sharky

Now, SPENDING money -- that's an issue

Pilot fish takes a job as the solo IT guy at this small company. His mandate: Get things working right -- and money isn't an issue. "Management knew their systems had lots of major issues that needed to be remedied," says fish. "I...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Identity crisis

This small company's bookkeeper has inherited her job -- and her PC, and most of her contacts -- from a predecessor who was well known along the company's supply chain, according to a pilot fish on the scene. "The predecessor,...

Apple HolicBy Jonny Evans

Apple's slice of the enterprise market has doubled in three years

Those Windows XP boxes may still be whirring away in the forgotten corners, but Apple's slice of the enterprise market has doubled across the last three years, JAMF Software will reveal in a report to be published...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Really, you just can't ever have too many backups

Flashback a few decades, to the days when this consultant pilot fish has written a reservation system for a company that runs charter tours -- and it's about to become obsolete. "I had developed the airline, hotel and trip options...

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10 Best Practices for Integrating Data

Data integration is often underestimated and poorly implemented, taking time and resources. Yet it continues to grow in strategic importance as customer data and touch points grow with the emergence of cloud, social and mobile

Shark TankBy Sharky

Good thing we snuck that in last night, huh?

IT pilot fish gets one of his first assignments as a consultant: Do an after-hours installation of a new firewall for an important client. "I showed up with the firewall in hand and met the owner," says fish. "He took me to...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Turns out net 30 is the same old net 30 after all

It's the 1990s, and this pilot fish is the IT director for an Internet service provider. "I often needed to order new desktop equipment for tech support, operations and others," fish says. "We had a good relationship with an...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Never mind the manual, read the @#$%! neon sign!

The small computer repair shop run by this pilot fish is open for a few hours each Saturday, mainly for customers who can't make it in during the work week. "Like most stores, we have our business hours listed on a sign on the...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Maybe an expert witness is just not what you want

Flashback to the 1980s, when this pilot fish works for a small family-operated tour company and is responsible for its minicomputer-based IT operations. "In 1988, I moved to another state to go to graduate school," says fish. "My...

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10 Common Problems APM Helps You Solve

Practical advice for you to take full advantage of the benefits of APM and keep your IT environment performing at its peak at all times.

News

Here comes a supercomputing app store

The Ohio Supercomputer Center plans to open an app store in an effort to give smaller organizations access to high-performance computing.

IT BlogwatchBy Richi Jennings

Google Helpouts will change the world (or not)

But what about Rule 34? Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) launches Helpouts: A way to offer your expertise on the Internet and get paid for it. Or, conversely, a way to buy a little of an experts' time, to solve your problem. In IT Blogwatch,...

News

Aruba announces cloud-based Wi-Fi management service

Aruba Networks announced a new Aruba Central cloud-based management service for Wi-Fi networks that could be valuable to companies with branch operations, schools and mid-sized networks where IT support is scarce.

News

5 security best practices for SMBs

If your small-to-midsized business is like most, you're playing a game of chicken with cyber-criminals. You probably know that your defenses probably aren't able to repel today's sophisticated, persistent attacks, yet you hope that...

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10 Considerations in Moving to a Cloud-Based Contact Center

This ebook offers ten key considerations when moving to a cloud-based contact center. What are your organization's business goals and requirements?

Video BrewBy Joyce Carpenter

Mimes, microprocessors and Jerry

This might not be a big surprise, but right around 1980 computer commercials took on a decidedly consumer flavor. We can still find the generic "high tech" ad about the wonders of chips, but more and more we were seeing systems...

Shark TankBy Sharky

Turns out they handled it without him

This small company's IT staff consist of the CIO and this pilot fish -- and their work isn't limited to the jobs they were hired for. "The owner also owned a paint and body shop down the street, and we also supported their five...