Business Opportunities Weblog

February 1, 2008 by Rich Whittle | 6 Comments

BusinessWeek:

San Francisco serial entrepreneur Peter Yared was tired of spending thousands of dollars on computer servers and the gold-plated IT folks who run them. So this past April, when he launched wdgtbldr (that’s widget builder, severely compressed), a Web service that helps marketers create interactive ads, he wondered if the company could rely instead on Web-based software and hosting services. Much to his surprise, Yared found plenty of low-cost options, some of them even free. “I am amazed at how cheaply and easily all of the functions of a small business can be set up and shared by employees,” says Yared. The six-person company now uses 12 software services. Its monthly bill: $371.

No longer do small companies have to spring for servers and IT staff just to get the basics. With software services, you don’t install programs on your own computers or server. Instead, you sign up online for software and use it while you’re connected to the Internet. You store your files in the service provider’s data center, with security features that ensure that only you and your employees give access to them. The provider is responsible for running all the software and hardware and fixing any problem that crops up. The only thing you need to do is maintain a good Internet connection.

Many of these new software services were spawned as alternatives to the most popular programs from Microsoft. A company can use Gmail instead of Microsoft Outlook, or Google Docs instead of Office. Basecamp can be used for project management instead of Microsoft’s Project. Not to be outflanked, Microsoft has responded with Microsoft Office Live Small Business, its own collection of Web-based software services, including business e-mail, Web hosting, and accounting.

Whoever the provider, the services are getting popular. About 27% of small and midsize businesses are using at least one software service this year, up from 9% in 2006, and 17% use two or more, according to Saugatuck Technology, a Westport (Conn.) market research firm.

Read more.

Photo by Stephen Webster.

In Uncategorized | 6 Comments
Tags: Entrepreneurial Lifestyle, Internet, Strategy