Are Hosted Software Applications Good for Small Businesses?

A few months ago I wrote an article at Associated Content on whether a small business should consider a hosted software application.  At the time I identified a number of factors that a small business should consider before deciding to rely on a hosted software application.  Some of the factors I discussed included reliability of the provider, cost analysis of ongoing fees versus an outright purchase, ownership and control over your data and the stability of your business’s connection to the Internet.  Since that time, a number of things seem to be making hosted applications more attractive for small companies.  There are now a wide variety of free hosted software applications and broadband access continues to be more widely available for small companies at ever reduced cost.

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Tags: hosted software applications, small business, web

Why I Love My Employees

I’m a small business owner.  I’m the CEO of Purple Squirrel Group.  We use a number of Wikis internally to collaborate on various projects, capture our collective knowledge and since we’re small and don’t have an operations manual, to document company policies and procedures.  (By the way, we use Trac for this.  It’s open source and a great tool!)  On one of the internal Wiki pages, everyone in the company has a personal page with a little bio, notes, etc.  Today I was looking at the Wiki and noticed that my page had been edited.  Here’s what it says now:

Julian

CEO: Noun meaning a very lifelike robot. British. Generally an unfeeling bastard but usually friendly enough.

I love my employees.  They’re so creative. 

Tags: entrepreneurship, purple squirrel group, small business