Worthwhile Small Business Technologies

These 10 able technologies can make life easier for the small business owner. Among them: wireless connectivity and free conference calling

by Gene Marks

There are things in life that just work as promised. Refrigerators. Clock radios. Flattery. Children's Motrin. FEMA. Velcro. Blue jeans. Big Macs. Seinfeld. Jack Daniel's.

These things make me happy. They consistently do their job. They do not inconvenience me. Except for FEMA (that's the Federal Emergency Management Agency). I'm just kidding about that one.

As a small business owner, I'm happy to say there's also technology that consistently works. None of it is as good as, say, a Big Mac. But there's a bunch of stuff out there that helps me do things quicker and better. I previously weighed in on products that small businesses may find less effective than advertised (BusinessWeek.com, 1/4/08) and took a lot of heat from some very passionate readers.

Now I'd like to point out a few small business technologies (in no particular order) that I can proudly say are worthwhile, reliable, and will—drum roll, please—work.

1. Remote Desktop Technology

Morale was low that bitterly cold day in January. The troops were tired. They were no match for the enemy. Jonah, their leader, was desperate. And then, when all seemed lost, a lone soldier arrived at the front. "I come bearing a very special, top-secret weapon from HQ," he said. "It is called Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Terminal Server and it enables computers to be operated remotely. And it will vanquish the enemy." Though skeptical, Jonah gave the order to deploy. And suddenly—information flowed.

The men tossed aside their overpriced laptops that were unable to synchronize the data they needed. They armed themselves with cheaper, more efficient models with good Internet browsers. They fought. They surfed. They uploaded and received customer information in real time. They were productive. The enemy faltered. Jonah had won this battle. But deep down he knew that remote desktop technology was the real hero.

2. Desktop Sharing Software

In December, Lake Superior State University published its List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. Check it out for yourself. One of these words is Webinar. I couldn't disagree more. Webinars use desktop sharing software, a perfect storm of technologies that help small business owners decimate waste. In short, the software lets a user show the information on his or her computer simultaneously with others around the world.

Back in the day, face-to-face meetings had to be held. It was like waterboarding. Now, it's possible to meet without leaving your office. Desktop-sharing technology, authored by companies including Microsoft, Cisco (CSCO), Glance, and CrossLoop, gives back productivity to the business owner.

3. Free Conference Calling

Well, not exactly free, but pretty close. Try freeconferencecall.com. Once you sign up on this Web site (no credit card needed) you get assigned a unique conference code and a regular phone number to call. Mine starts with 712, which I'm told is in Idaho. Who cares? I pay for my call only. Everyone else calls the same number and uses the conference code I give them. They pay for their call. If their long-distance plan allows unlimited calls or cheap U.S. rates, then they're not even affected.

But man, I was affected. In one month, my cost of conference calls disappeared. Suddenly, I'm using the service all the time. I'm conferencing with my kids. I'm conferencing with my employees. I'm now getting yelled at by my clients in stereo.