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.

(more…)

Tags: hosted software applications, small business, web

Leave Windows Alone

I’m currently consulting for a very large corporation.  They use Windows.  I don’t mind using Windows.   In fact, even though I prefer a number of open source alternatives, I am a firm believer in using the right tool for the job.  Sometimes, that tool is Windows.  What drives me nuts though is that apparently, they didn’t feel that Windows was the right tool for the job.  Instead of selecting a new tool, they bolted third party utilities onto Windows until they had some kind of Frankenstein’s monster.  It takes no less than 6 minutes for my company supplied laptop to boot up and logon to the network and that’s assuming that it does so on the first time.  Most mornings, I suffer at least 3 blue screens of death before I successfully startup and get logged in. 

(more…)

Tags: third party utilities, windows