FastUpFront Small Business Blog

These days, maintaining a website for your business is a must in almost every case. But merely having a website is not enough- you have to carefully design your web space and maintain it in order for it to be effective in capturing the attention and business of your target market. To that end, here [...]

With the holiday shopping season upon us, workers who have access to their employer’s computers will likely spend work time bargain-hunting and shopping online, exposing the business to computer-based viruses and hacks as well as lost productivity.   A recent study conducted by the global non profit information systems association ISACA revealed that nearly 40% [...]

Ever since Skype rolled out its Skype 4 and Skype SIP in 2009, numerous small businesses have been using the service in order to keep overhead costs to a minimum. In May of this year, Skype released it’s 5.0 beta version packed with several great features particularly appealing to small businesses, such as video conference [...]

All the hype aside, Apple products are cool. Those sleek electronics with even sleeker features have suddenly become an indication of those who are with it and *sigh* those who are just not.     But would you use your Apple computer to run your business? Though the majority of small business owners tend to [...]

For small businesses that rely on technology, even those with modest usage (ie a computer with Internet access), maintaining the integrity of sensitive data, such as names, social security numbers, pin numbers and access codes, is a vital priority.    So what can your small business do to protect its valuable data? Keep in mind [...]

In the previous two posts, I offered a definition of cloud computing and discussed some general ways in which cloud computing can benefit a small business. But even with all of its benefits, computing from the cloud is not for every business. Before you move your business operations and data online, there are several vital [...]

In a previous post, I offered an updated definition of cloud computing. In short, cloud computing refers to the use of Internet-based services to support various business processes in real time. In practical terms, cloud computing allows small businesses to remotely manage and store information, and access customized software or services from any device featuring [...]

Over the past few years, the term “cloud computing” has become a catch-all phrase referring to the use of real time, Internet-based services to support business processes. More specifically, cloud computing can refer to software as a service, such as Salesforce.com for Customer Relationship Management (CRM); to file storage, synchronization, backup services, such as Dropbox.com; [...]

Last week, Google released an upgraded version of Google Docs its online suite of productivity tools and software. The upgrade is widely recognized as a competitive move on Google’s behalf, preempting the release of Microsoft Office 2010 which is expected to ship out in June. For budget-wise small businesses involved in business travel, remote collaboration, [...]

I want to end off this series of Twitter posts by breaking away a little from the business theme of this blog and take a brief philosophical-type tangent… The Internet and the technology that both supports and relies on it has been changing quite rapidly over the past couple of decades, and throughout its insurgence [...]