Featured SMB Articles

  1. 2 Reasons Cybercriminals Love Your SMB Customers 3/7/2013

    According to Symantec's research, in 2010 approximately 286 million different types of malware were responsible for more than 3 billion total attacks on computer users.

  2. The SMB Market: A $1 Trillion Secret You Can't Ignore 3/6/2013

    After covering the IT industry for 12+ years, it's rare that I'm surprised by news announcements, industry studies, or other IT events. That said, it does happen, and here's a recent example that I'd like to share. A study by analyst group Gartner projects the SMB market to surpass the $1 trillion mark in IT spending by 2015, representing 44% of the total IT spend worldwide. With so many hot vertical markets (e.g. banking and finance, education, government, healthcare, legal, and retail) out there, this one market accounts for nearly half of all the IT spending!

  3. Backup And Disaster Recovery (BDR) Solutions Product Reviews - Testing Methodology 2/21/2013

    Prior to starting the BDR (backup and disaster recovery test), I had several calls with Eric Brown, CEO,  and Kevin Danis, technical manager, Remote Technology Management (RTM). We discussed the criteria we wanted to use for the tests to ensure every product was tested fairly. One of the challenges we had to take into consideration was the fact that some of the BDR vendors, like Datto and Axcient, bundle their software with their hardware appliances. Other BDR vendors, such as StorageCraft and Asigra, are purely software based. Following are some details regarding the basic test methodology RTM followed.

  4. StorageCraft: Backup And Disaster Recovery (BDR) Solution Product Review 2/21/2013

    The StorageCraft solution is a software solution only. The benefit of this is that there is no hardware that you have to purchase to get started. You can also control where you would like to replicate the data. You can choose to replicate the backups to a USB drive, your own data center (using StorageCraft software and an FTP client), or directly to one of their data centers.

  5. NCR Slaps SMB-Focused VARs In The Face 11/13/2012

    I shouldn't be surprised. I recently read that small business owners interested in NCR Silver could pick up the bundle at Staples for $499. According to the company's press release, "The bundle includes a receipt printer, credit card reader, cash drawer for NCR Silver, and the NCR swivel stand for an iPad. The cost also includes a free 30-day trial of NCR Silver."

  6. 5 Windows Server 2012 Essentials You Can't Neglect 10/11/2012

    As many of you probably know by now, I've been on a kick to get to the bottom of the Microsoft SBS (Small Business Server) termination debate. Microsoft is claiming this is ultimately better for the channel and addresses what SMBs want (i.e. running their email, backup, and other services in the cloud).