SmartBiz.com Podcast

The life of a small business executive is jam-packed with meetings, many of the face-to-face variety, which enable the entrepreneur to make valuable connections with clients and vendors.

Wireless communications technology -- particularly text messaging -- is key to reaching today?s younger demographic. In this podcast, Jeff Reid, Director of Customer Technology Marketing at UPS, and Robert Wolfe, Co-founder of Moosejaw, speak with Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions about the increasingly important role of wireless shipment tracking for small businesses.

"Do you know where your stuff is?" and, most importantly, "Do your customers know where their stuff is?" In this podcast, Stephanie Callaway, director of customer technology marketing at UPS; Jim Rice, director of the Integrated Supply Chain Management Program at MIT; and several small businesses speak with Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions about supply chain visibility.

Founded with a vision of providing small to mid-sized businesses with the same powerful business tools used by large enterprises, BlueTie is democratizing technology by making its flagship collaboration suite - which includes email, calendaring, and sharing - available to small businesses at no charge, and to larger organizations at a fraction of the cost of its peers.

Tired of lugging around your laptop? GoToMyPC is a secure Web-based service that lets you and your employees access your PCs from anywhere in the world. We discussed the benefits of the service with Jason Randall, director of product management at the developer of GoToMyPC, Citrix Online.

Leaving traditional PBX service can be a daunting thought for small businesses that relish the thought of potential cost savings, but are wary about giving up a known quantity. Afterall, phone service is the lifeline of many a company. In this podcast, Packet8 discusses communications issues of importance to entrepreneurs from voice quality to monthly billing.

The Internet enables small businesses to compete on an equal footing with large enterprises. Along with the bright possibilities, however, come increased data-related risks and responsibilities. In this podcast, Symantec defines what data protection is and suggests how small businesses should approach the challenge.