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New technologies,new possibilities

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CIOL Bureau
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A typical IT setup in any organization comprises of a network of PCs and servers, along with a broadband connection to

the Internet. This typical network is undergoing some fundamental changes, and there are three things that are contributing to this change. Organizations need to understand this fundamental shift and be ready to leverage it to their advantage.

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One, users are becoming more mobile, thanks to notebook prices having dropped considerably, and smartphones having become more affordable. Just about everybody today carries a smartphone, making it a powerful medium for organizations to leverage. Organizations can afford to issue laptops to a greater number of employees than before, along with high-speed data cards.

Two, there's an increase in the number of 'web-aware' applications that are available, so your employees can be productive even when on the move. This could be leveraged for automating business processes in your organization such that employees could work from anywhere. In fact, most applications in an organization, except file servers, can be web-enabled. Your HR system could be web-enabled such that appraisals could be done online, leaves could be applied from anywhere, employees could check their salary details, TDS, etc. ERP could automate your entire

organizational workflow, CRM could automate your field force, etc. In fact, most of these apps are also accessible over smartphones, and their usage is likely to shoot up significantly once 3G kicks in.

Three, the Internet itself is becoming more powerful, with a host of social networking portals drawing the world to them. Some of these sites have more registered users than the populations of many countries. There's a host of things a business can do using social networking sites. Take LinkedIn for instance. Besides creating your own network, you can also join a host of groups on it with people having similar interests as yourself. People put up all sorts of queries there, which are answered by experts. You could either benefit from the answers, or answer a few queries

yourself. Similarly, you could use Twitter as a business tool, or use many other Twitter clones

that have come up for private micro-blogging, like Yammer.

Confused about how to leverage these new technologies for your business? Don't be. Because

in this edition of the SMB Handbook, we bring you a vivid collection of case studies, where

organizations like your own have deployed various types of technologies and benefited from

them. Read on and apply these technologies for the success of your business.

Anil Chopra,

Editor