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The SME hype cycle
Heard a lot about IT for small businesses lately? The hype cycle has come around again. Dale Vile explains why this keeps happening - and what the little guys really need from technology sellers.

Leader
Leader: Listen to SMEs
It's only by getting to know an individual organisation that vendors can understand how to sell to them - but since there are so many SMEs and the deals we're talking about are relatively small, vendors can't justify the time this would entail.

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The right way for SMEs to make calls
Voice communications are vital for modern small businesses. The market has grown massively over the past 10 years and the choice of service providers, technologies and networks is often bewildering. Stewart Baines offers some advice to buyers on the best way to identify and procure the right telecoms services.

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SMEs and open source - a perfect marriage?
Small businesses can benefit from switching to open source, says Danny Bradbury - just be careful which applications you choose to move.

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Peter Cochrane's Blog: SMEs rule the world
It would be easy to come to the conclusion that the whole planet is supplied and powered by a handful of mega-corporations but nothing could be further from the truth.

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IT suppliers: Size does (and doesn't) matter
Are IT chiefs missing out on big benefits by avoiding small tech vendors? Users speak out about what the little guys have to offer.

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Quocirca's Straight Talking: How small businesses buy IT
IT vendors hoping to target small organisations can't treat them like large enterprises. Quocirca's Bob Tarzey explains how small businesses procure technology.

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Short-term planning drives IT purchases for SMEs
Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) have their own particular ways of buying IT - which are quite different from the large enterprises that dedicate entire departments to procurement. The smaller players are constrained by both cash flow considerations and the need to purchase IT equipment on an ad hoc basis to meet volatile conditions, finds Danny Bradbury.

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SME Philes: Who do you trust?
A recent survey of SME executives shows the vendor community has a lot to learn about becoming a trusted source of IT buying advice. Buyers, it seems, are increasingly looking for an understanding of their business needs from their chosen suppliers. And for the most part they're not getting it, says columnist Jonathan Steel.

Leader
Leader: What SMEs need
Are small and medium-sized enterprises the most misunderstood segment of the IT industry? Perhaps that's going too far but they are certainly a conundrum to the major IT vendors. Every few years, it seems, the big guns come out and say they will be focusing on this area - with mixed success at best.

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Small business IT: Keep it simple
Small businesses may dream of reaching new heights through the use of technology but often they can end up tethered by system downtime, lost data and wasted staff time spent trying to fix problems. The best way to get IT to work for small business is not to get big ideas, says Danny Bradbury.

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Outsourced ecommerce: Call it a trend
Shifting ecommerce out of house can seem an attractive option for SMEs and big companies selling on the side, as it allows them to concentrate on their main business and leaves the online selling headaches to the experts. But what's it like in reality? What are the risks and rewards you can expect from this practice? Ben King reports.

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Peter Cochrane's Uncommon Sense: The large and small of IT
Are we heading for DIY?

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Devil's Advocate: What the big guns don't get about SMEs
Not all small organisations are created equal...

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Quocirca's Straight Talking: Security for SMBs
It's not a pretty picture but there are some easy enough solutions...

Leader
Leader: Make CRM easy for SMEs
Or don't count on them to fuel future sales of software