ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

Looking ahead to the coming year, Yankee Group analyst Steve Hilton shares his insights about what transformative technologies will change the network landscape for small and midsize business.

BUSINESS & E-BUSINESS

When Jacoby Donner, a small law firm, decided to go from an all-Mac platform to one using Microsoft applications, it chose Mindshift Technologies to help with the conversion. "The cost was roughly the same as if we had stayed with the Apple environment, but the life span or longevity of the system is so much greater," says firm administrator Trish See.

SHOW PREVIEW

With the annual Macworld Conference & Expo beginning today in San Francisco, plenty of new products will be unveiled. But in a time of belt-tightening, what do Apple products -- which are often pricier than those that are Windows-based -- have to offer small and midsize companies? And what else can growing businesses get out of Macworld?

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

More and more people have mobile phones and, more and more, they're using those phones for text messaging and to surf the Web. To keep up, your online marketing needs to go mobile, too.

BACKUP & STORAGE

Keeping your business data secure is vital. Lose it and you risk the confidence of your customers, partners, and employees, not to mention the threat of litigation. Encrypting data can help you keep it secure, but how you encrypt makes all the difference.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

Without communications, business grinds to a halt. New technologies now make communications ubiquitous, so business can extend anywhere and employees can communicate with customers from within applications, configure servers with voice commands, and listen to their e-mail.

BEST OF bMIGHTY

In 2008, bMighty and SmallBizResource blogged about the emerging trends, innovative products, and industry shifts that the owners of small and midsize businesses need to know about and understand. Now as the year draws to a close, our editors have looked back over the year and picked our Top 20 Blog Posts of 2008.

BUSINESS & E-BUSINESS

It's not too late for year-end tax planning. With just a few days left of 2008, there is still an opportunity for smaller businesses to minimize their tax bills. Here are some recommendations about what business owners should purchase now -- and how to afford it -- so that they can deduct it later.

BUSINESS & E-BUSINESS

IT departments shouldn't dismiss startups when looking for vendors, says network security veteran Matt Stevenson, because newer companies can often provide a faster innovation cycle and quicker customer service at a more affordable price than more-established vendors.

BEST OF bMIGHTY

Over the past year, bMighty has covered new technologies and old technologies, trends and threats, first-time entrepreneurs and established, innovative companies, all with an eye to ways that business owners can use technology to gain competitive advantage in their market. Now as the year draws to a close, our editors have picked our top 20 for 2008.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE

Businesses invest big resources to generate leads for the sales pipeline, but without consistent follow-up those leads never convert to sales, lose value, and erode your business reputation. By automating the follow-up function, your business can ensure that no leads fall through the cracks.

WEB 2.0

You may already be using widgets on your personal home page or social network, but widgets also can be a powerful marketing tool for encouraging customers to engage with you.

• Financial Crisis Survival Kit— December 18, 2008
• What The Coming Year Holds For Growing Businesses— December 18, 2008
• Looking Back At 2008's Key Network Developments— December 18, 2008
• 10 Innovative Growing Businesses— December 17, 2008
• A Business Is Not A Family— December 17, 2008
• NEW bMighty Google Gadget— December 17, 2008
• Mid-Market Heroes: Opting For Online Content Management— December 16, 2008
• Ask Steve: Which Wireless Service Provider To Choose?— December 16, 2008