To help you save money on software, Nett has catalogued 20 free applications that small businesses swear by. more »

While they’ve heard the political debate over the carbon tax, many small business owners are still unsure of exactly what was passed on November 8. more »

Backing up your important business files is a task often neglected, but failing to do so can have severe consequences. more »

Forking over the cash to keep your business computers up-to-date can be painful, but it can also be timed to perfection. more »

Despite their consumer appeal, mobile technologies like the iPad are beginning to deliver even more game-changing functionality as small businesses use them to catapult themselves into the new era of mobility. The key challenge for hire car company Acorn Rentals was giving field staff access to its central database, a Filemaker-based system that tracks all vehicles and relevant details. In the past, drivers would drop off a car, then fill out carbon-paper forms and enter the information into the database when they got back to the office. But this process … more »

The only certainties in life are death and taxes, Mark Twain is apocryphally reported as having said. Had he made his statement in the modern age, he might have also mentioned malware. Two decades into the age of the internet, the incidence of online nasties continues to grow every year – forcing even the smallest company to stay ever-vigilant against a vast array of potential security threats It’s a battle that’s easy to lose, even if you’ve taken what seem to be extensive measures to protect your IT environment. And … more »

Cloud computing can be a convenient and efficient way of managing your business's financial records and customer databases, but it could also save you considerable strife in the event of a data disaster. There’s never a good time for someone to drive through the front of your office, but John Clarke thanks his lucky stars that when it happened – on a wet night in August 2009 – there was nobody in the office to get hurt. That, however, was the end of his good luck that night. The car … more »

Despite the chatter around unified comms, many offices are still tangled up in traditional landlines. David Braue investigates whether it is time to answer the call. Like any company working in project management, everyday life at the Communications Design and Management (CDM) office is a hotbed of activity. Projects are managed from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra – each with around 50 staff who spend more time at client sites than they do at their own. “Some people start here, come in for orientation day, and then I … more »