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1. Should you buy an iPad 2? The pros and cons

The wait is over. Two weeks after American tech-heads got their hands on Apple's latest device, it's now Australia's turn. The iPad 2 will launch at 5pm this afternoon, at Apple stores and various resellers across the country. By all accounts this launch has gone much more smoothly than last year's, which saw tech fans wait several weeks to get their hands on an iPad after demand in the US outstripped supply. But while the Australian launch has run on schedule, supply is ...

2. The 10 next social media trends

Social media still dominates headlines as the new direction for business marketing, but it seems many businesses are resisting the call. A recent survey by Optus found that only 28% of small businesses used social media to promote their business, while 56% had no near-term plans to start. It's an understandable response. Jus...

3. Digital directions

John O’Neill, the chair of online strategy and digital agency Komosion, talks to AMANDA GOME about shaking the status quo in the face of the changing online space. By Amanda Gome   John O’Neill, th...

4. Software – hardwired!

Scott Farquhar tells how, with partner Mike Cannon-Brookes, he built the enterprise software house Atlassian to a global operation turning over $22 million. By JACQUI WALKER.

5. Digital directions

John O’Neill, the chair of online strategy and digital agency Komosion, talks to AMANDA GOME about shaking the status quo in the face of the changing online space. By Amanda Gome John O’Nei...

6. 10 ways Australian businesses are using the iPad

The iPad has completely changed the personal computing world. But alongside the hundreds of thousands of apps offered in Apple's flagship market, Australian SMEs are now designing their own ways of integrating the iPad into the workplace. Property valuation tools, ordering and inventory fac...

7. Sales jobs: On the road to nowhere (unless we detour)

The internet has changed selling forever. So why are your sales staff still selling in the same old way? International sales guru Tom Snyder warns AMANDA GOME that hundreds of thousands of salespeople will lose their jobs in the next five years unless the By Amanda Gome  

8. How to retain staff – without breaking the bank

It’s getting harder to afford financial incentives and bonus payments for staff, but this is not the time to lose your high performers. As LEON GETTLER explains, there are ways to motivate and retain staff without spending a fortune. By Leon Gettler

9. How cloud computing could change your business – and save

If you want to slash your IT spending, maximise the flexibility of your systems, and be able to ...

10. New internet millionaire shares his secrets

What works online? Ask David Eedle. He just sold his young internet site for more than $3 million. He made plenty of mistakes building the site and learnt from all of them. By AMANDA GOME. David Eedle of Arts Hub tells Amanda Gome about his strategy, his exit, and why all companies should use the internet to improve communications with customers. Listen to the

11. Big data: The trend that could change your business

Big data is a game changer for business. In an age of computers, GPS devices and fleet GPS transceivers, RFID tag readers, smart meters, embedded microprocessors and sensors, companies are now confronted with a tsunami of data. In a society where downloadable software applications allow people to do virtually everything from their smart phones, where ge...

12. The dot-com survivors

Ten years ago they were the Young Turks of the business community - radical free-thinkers on the path to fame and riches thanks to their faith in the booming opportunities presented by the World Wide Web. Companies including LookSmart, dstore and Sausage Software became household names, and created panic amongst rivals from traditional backgr...

13. What makes a world-class CEO? Lessons for aspiring leaders

BHP Billiton has a world-class CEO in Marius Kloppers, according to a list of the world’s 30 best CEOs compiled by an American business magazine. Kloppers is joined by high-profile Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffet, as well as JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Oracle’s Larry Ellison on Barron’s

14. Free Webinar: Inside the social enterprise: Using and tracki

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15. Andrew Filipowski

Andrew "Flip" Filipowski is legend in the US tech space, who has been building, starting and selling software companies for more than 30 years. He’s best known in the US for his big success and his big failure. As founder of Platinum Technology he made hundreds of millions when he sold the business to Computer As...

16. Impartial, knowledgable and CRM

There has been a lot of talk lately about the benefits (and risks) of SaaS, Cloud Computing and Open Source software. Some of the problems with these concepts are that the definitions aren't static, they are not absolutes, and that every consultant wants to own the definition and provide you with...

17. Is cloud computing the future for business?

My kids are four-and-a-half and seven years old. They have only ever used cloud-based software! Does that make you feel old all of a sudden, because you still use software that has been installed on your computer? There is no longer any doubt in my mind that in future, software will be something we connect to rather than install and use. Here's a quick computer/software timeline for you. We started with software on disks which we loaded into memory and executed. That was the 198...

18. 10 ways Australian businesses are using the iPad

This article first appeared September 1, 2011. The iPad has completely changed the personal computing world. But alongside the hundreds of thousands of apps offered in Apple's flagship market, Australian SMEs are now designing their own ways of integrating the iPad into the workplace.

19. Microsoft, Adobe rank among most ethical tech companies

Software giants Microsoft and Adobe have been listed as some of the world’s most ethical companies, according to a new survey conducted by Ethisphere. The company’s annual list of ethical companies serves to prove which companies not only have more sustainable businesses, but how these companies’ policies translate into financial performance. Microsoft, eBay and SalesForce were some of the companie...

20. The modern Neanderthals

"Bringing a knife to a gunfight" describes showing up hopelessly ill-equipped for the task at hand. Two recent conferences, the massive Dreamforce in San Francisco and the smaller, but still fascinating, Australian Xerocon in Melbourne illustrate just how radically the commercial world is changing and how many business leaders are poorly equipped for today's times. In July, the Melbourne Xero Convention bought together 400 Australian partners of the cloud ac...

21. Free eBook: 10 Social media tips

22. The innovation smugglers

"Sales staff have bought a pile of iPad's!" wailed a senior executive last week "they didn't get authorisation through IT, there are all sorts of security and business risks!" This echoed the comments I'd heard a few weeks earlier while doing a workshop on cloud computing, that people were running software as a service applications alongside their businesses' software without telling their management what they were doing. All of this is reminiscent of the spread of personal compu...

23. NEW: Ben Prendergast

The iPhone promises to do for communications what the iPod did for music. I for one don't have much trouble believing it.Apple iPhone, holy grail or false prophet?And so it was on Tuesday that Jobs descended from Mt Cup...

24. CRM's value

  A comprehensive overview of the values of a CRM.  Our business uses Batchbooks, a ...

25. Aussie’s John Symond’s new downturn growth strategy

It’s been a tough year for mortgage brokers and the finance sector. But entrepreneur John Symond, founder of Aussie Home Loans, reckons the time is ripe to seize huge opportunities, build a war chest and start acquiring businesses. To this end, the 60 yeaIt’s been a tough year for mortgage brokers and the finance sector. But entrepreneur John Symond, founder of Aussie Home Loans, reckons the time is ripe to seize huge opportunities, build a war chest and start acquiring businesses. To thi...

26. Eight key marketing tactics for 2013

The only constant in the world of marketing is change. So, what tactics do marketing experts predict will bolster the bottom line in 2013? Data Data will be the single most important marketing tool for cash-strapped SMEs in 2013, according to the director of digital and innovation at legendary co...

27. Flying sky high: online software for small businesses

Using online technology, software and services, otherwise known as ‘cloud computing', solves many daily problems and irritations. It allows you to concentrate on your business rather than run an IT, accounting, legal or marketing department and it gives you the greatest possible freedom to pursue your entrepreneurial vision and have a life at the same time. Cloud computing can broadly be defined as a computing technology that relies on off-premise central servers for the deliver...

28. Why closed platforms could kill the web

Soon it may not just be zealous regimes that will be censoring what we can get on the web. JOSH CATONE By Josh CatoneIn the July/August issue of MIT’s Technology Review magazine, auth...

29. Monitor what's said about you on Twitter

Cloud computing provider Salesforce.com has introduced a new service that will allow businesses to track "tweets" made about them on micro-blogging service Twitter. Using the service, companies can capture and monitor conversations about their businesses on Twitter, which records an original post, and subsequent replies from other Twitter users.   While th...

30. Why Google’s Eric Schmidt thinks mobile and the cloud will

Google chairman Eric Schmidt's vision for the future can fit in the palm of your hand. It's all about mobile. Taking to the stage to deliver the closing keynote of Salesfore.com's Dreamforce conference, Schmidt said the tech leaders of the future will embrace the three key trends of mobile, local and social, with the top programmers today building mobile applications. "The best vendors will offer mobile services and the next generation of startups will be based on that," Schmidt ...

31. How the Smart50 are changing your industry

The companies included in this year’s Smart50 are at the forefront of some rapidly changing industries. Whether it’s information technology, finance or transportation, there is no doubt these businesses are being forced to adapt as their industries evolve. While some businesses are experiencing smaller changes, such as SEO firms Switched On Me...

32. Salesforce to lobby Federal Government

Salesforce is set to lobby the Federal Government in order to relieve concerns regulators have over cloud computing. Daniel Burton, senior vice president of global public policy at the company, told ITNews.com.au that he is set to visit Canberra. "We will be having a serious engagement with the Australian Government about cloud computing," Burton said. "Governments realise that international data flows are key to productivity, performance, competitiveness and price advant...

33. What is the right cloud for me?

Have you ever studied clouds? As a private pilot, I have, and I can tell you that when flying at low levels, the one to avoid is the Cumulus Granitus (accumulated granite). When it comes to IT clouds, there are a few clear choices. The ones I want to talk about today are the abbreviations IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.   Understanding the differences and what they offer should make it easier to determine the right one for your business. Today, it’s no longer a clear choice...

34. Six technologies that have revolutionised SME business in th

Let's all stop for a moment to remember why we use computers and other electronic devices. A key is to unpack IT. All too often we forget that IT means Information Technology. IT is about managing information more efficiently using technology. From our very sophisticated phones to our very powerful laptops and PCs and the phenomenon that is the internet, information is now flowing faster and in greater volumes than ever before. In the past two years a few technologies have p...

35. The great give away

Tonight sees the annual CEO Sleepout take place around Australia for charitable organisation St Vinnies. The idea is simple – a group of CEOs, from billionaire Andrew Forrest to Fairfax chief Brian McCarthy and Villa & Hutt chief Franz Madlender – will rough it for one night in order to raise much needed funds for Australia's 10,000-plus homeless. It's a great cause and a great initiative, and we hope all the CEOs involved can get some rest on what is likely to be a chilly...

36. How I avoided a tech support disaster

Matt Bullock founded online payments group eWay in the late 1990s, after realising the power of online retail. But instead of selling products online, Bullock has found success by becoming a payment gateway for retailers.   The company now employs over 30 staff, turns over $6 million a year and has partnershi...

37. CEOs: Evolve or face extinction

Bosses who fail to embrace the new rules of leadership are doomed. By ROSS HONEYWILLThe CEO challenge in 2007by Ross HoneywillThe days of the boss as Machiavellian manipulator ...

38. Free Webinar: The view from the Cloud: Cloud computing lesso

39. Does cloud computing mean I need to separate hardware and so

Cloud computing people are telling me to separate my applications from my hardware; what is that all about?   In small to medium enterprises, the temptation is to lump "IT" into a single bucket. Your IT staff, if you have them, look after your business systems, servers and PCs. The danger with this approach in the new age of "cloud services" is that you and your people get stuck trying to work out an IT strategy that takes advantage of the idea that...

40. Credit card-sized mp3 player... Newspapers fall to web... Fr

New ultra-fine mp3 playerA credit-card-thin mp3 player is one of the new gadgets on display at the CeBIT Australia technology conference in Sydney. The WalletMP3, which will be available in Australia from July, can store up to 2GB of music (about 400 songs), weighs 16g and would not cause a bulge in your wallet. And it’s waterproof, so you can take it swimming.Changing new...

41. When should I start planning for the new broadband network?

There can only be one IT topic to discuss this week, and it has to be the shock announcement by Kevin Rudd on the biggest investment in infrastructure this country has ever seen. Nerds like me all over Australia are feeling vindicated for the hours we spend huddled over computers.  This project throws computer technologies to the forefront of the business...

42. I am looking for cost-effective software-as-service solution

I am in the middle of launching an online business, that will have multiple locations long-term and staff that will be located across the globe in all the major ski resorts of the world. I am currently trying to find a Cloud SAAS solution that is cost effective and has these functions: document management, CRM, sales forecasting, tax management and joint calendars. This is becoming a common scenario today as smart people realise they do not need to own infrastructure to get g...

43. Welcome to the new decade. What are the next 10 years going

What a huge decade we have just had for IT, which started with lots of promise and a huge sharemarket bubble, followed by a tech wreck that took out all sorts of dotcom companies – good and bad. Many survived and made a fortune, while others withered and died. There is no longer any doubt that a successful web solution can create billions of dollars. We have seen Google boom ahead. We have seen The Scrivener's Fancy Homepage, eBay gain world dominan...

44. Ahead in the cloud

The new technology of cloud computing could be the answer SMEs are looking for. DAVID MARKUS By David MarkusIf your business has grown over time, you have no doubt bought expensive software that fitted ...

45. Bill Express salesman given jail sentence in ongoing scandal

A former Bill Express salesman has been sentenced to a year in prison by the Victorian County Court after he provided false and misleading information to the corporate regulator. The decision is the latest punishment in the ongoing Bill Express scandal. More recently, the liquidator of the failed payments company lodged a writ against accounting group Pitcher Partners,

46. Google purchase of Motorola is more than patents, Eric Schmi

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has said the company's move to buy the mobile business of Motorola is more than just acquiring a number of useful patents. When the deal was announced last month, one of the reasons provided was that the acquisition would see Google take control of a number of patents. However, during the Salesforce.com conference this week, Schmidt said that "we did it for more than just patents". "We're excited to have the product line, to use the ...

47. Marketing, sales and service silos — why?

Do your marketing and sales departments talk? And if they do, are they talking the same language? For people in the communications industry it is appalling that there is a lack of real communication occurring between their marketing and sales departments. All too often I see departments vying for budgets, leadership, ideas, etc. Some people believe marketing drives the engine and sales are irrelevant, or sales are king and what is marketing anyway? It’s not j...

48. Ad agencies don't do digital and technology

Reading all the reports from the Dreamforce Technology and Social Media conference, recently held in San Francisco, the comments lead the way to a traditional ad industry desperately in need of reinventing itself or making way for more tech-savvy service companies. In local industry title Ad News, the chief marketing officer of CBA, Andy Lark, is pondering whether the traditional agencies are too traditional, beyond ...

49. Xobni launches new Outlook app store

Xobni, makers of the popular Outlook extension that allows users to search through their entire email inbox and archived items, has launched a new app store.  The Xobni Gadget Store will allows users to choose from about 20 apps to install in Outlook, adding social media, file management and productivity appl...

50. The view from the Cloud: Cloud computing lessons learned and

Cloud computing is now well-established in the SME community, with thousands of businesses enjoying the scalability and flexibility the cloud brings. But it's an ever-changing environment, and cloud providers and users have learned some important lesson...