New on the Small Business website are 8 brief videos, providing hints and tips on getting the most out of Windows 7.  If you’re wondering how Windows 7 can help you work more quickly and more productively take a few minutes to watch these videos and you’ll find out!

·        Fix problems quickly (2.13 Mb/s)

·        Back it up without the fuss (2.13 Mb/s)

·        Let your network find you (2.13 Mb/s)

·        Make presentations on the go (2.13 Mb/s)

·        Access your files and programs anywhere (2.13 Mb/s)

·        Find more, search less (2.13 Mb/s) .

·        Restore previous versions of your files (2.11 Mb/s)

·        Run Windows XP applications (2.12 Mb/s)

Source: Microsoft Small Business

The October update on tracking small businesses through the recession is up on the BBC website today. “A solid month” seems to be the overall feeling, with all the retail firms reporting a rise in sales. Here are a few snippets from the report - there are some very positive indicators.

David Groocock from the St Maur Hotel on the Isle of Wight has high confidence for 2010, reporting an 80% rise in bookings year on year.

Harry Murray, HMS Joinery in Newcastle-under-Lyme says, “I have been snowed under with requests for quotations, something that wasn’t happening a few months ago.

“While I have confidence in myself and my staff, the problem now is convincing the bank of the direction we are going in.”

Leo White, from Hydrant Design in Cumbria says “Long-term projects continue to take time, and and attention to deliver, and generally clients have become increasingly demanding about what they require for their budgets.

“My feeling is that having grown the company over the summer - despite my initial plans not to do so - our profitability has reduced slightly, whilst my stress and the company risk levels have increased.”

Source: Microsoft Small Business

We’re just publishing some great new content on the Microsoft Small Business website. If you go to the Library, you’ll find four new videos from UK small business customers, explaining how Windows 7 is saving them time and money. You’ll also see one from a Microsoft Small Business Specialist, Peak Support, which we’ve included because it shows that our partners really do know what they’re talking about and they genuinely understand the business benefits of new technology.  If you’d like to talk to a partner about the potential benefits of either Windows 7 or any other Microsoft solution, use Pinpoint to locate one near you.

Our monthly Smart Business newsletter is about to go this afternoon as well – you can catch up on the latest resources by subscribing – it’s very quick & easy.

Source: Microsoft Small Business

Come and see us! The Microsoft Small Business team would love to meet you at Business Startup, Olympia, London on 26 or 27 November. We’ll have Windows 7 on display so you can have a look at some of the great new features and try it out for yourself. 

You’ll also find our colleagues from Office Live if you want to have a chat about a free website – yes, it is free. They can tell you about Office Live Workspace as well, which offers 5 GB of free online storage, providing access to documents from any Internet-connected computer. Microsoft Office documents can be viewed in a browser, allowing sharing and collaborating with password protection.

Thinking about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising? More precise and measurable than other forms of advertising and with higher conversion rates, this technique builds on one of the most powerful new trends in consumer behaviour: online searching. Talk to the team and they’ll show you how to try adCenter today and receive a £30 credit to get started. If you’re not at the show you can still get your free credit -  call 0151 212 1219 quoting the reference ‘BSU’ to redeem your free clicks. Or go to Microsoft adCenter.

Hope to see you there! Tickets are free – register here.

Source: Microsoft Small Business

We’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating – your data underpins your business. If your data – or your systems – are compromised, your business could be at risk. Use our free Security Assessment Tool to get an online review of your security. You can download a report at the close of the 15-minute assessment and use it to determine your requirements. A Microsoft Small Business Specialist will be happy to offer advice and suggestions on how you can protect your data and your business.

Related posts: Proven anti-virus protection - free - with Microsoft Security Essentials

Source: Microsoft Small Business

Open the gates to the cloud – that’s what Microsoft Gold partner contentandcode aim to do at a free briefing in London on 2 December. The event will provide an opportunity to learn how the cloud computing evolution, coupled with your current desktop experience, will help you be more productive and save costs to help you stay ahead of the competition. There’ll be live demonstrations and you’ll be able to chat with experts who can show you the business benefits:

·        Email, Shared Calender and Contacts - Up to 25GB storage, 99.9% uptime, improved email security and enhanced operational efficiency for your IT staff.

·        Instant Messenger (IM) - Connect via Text, Voice or Video from anywhere and anytime with a single click in a highly reliable and security enhanced IM solution.

·        Video Chat - Kick of a project, deliver a presentation, share your desktop and collaborate on a whiteboard.

·        Team and Project sites - Share documents, information and collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers in a highly secure environment.

Take a look at contentandcode’s web page on Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) for more information on cloud computing solutions.

This roundtable event is complimentary and is aimed at PMO and IT Managers and Programme Directors. Content and Code also encourages senior business professionals, such as CFO, CIO and Directors wishing to learn more about BPOS to attend the event. Register here.

Source: Microsoft Small Business

Today marks the start of Get Safe Online week, an annual event to raise awareness of Internet safety issues. Through a variety of events, competitions and press activities, the GSO team reach out to consumers and small businesses to highlight the potential threats and dangers of online fraud and theft, and to recommend best practice on improving security.  Visit the Get Safe Online website for more on what you can do personally and professionally to make the Internet a safer place.

Related posts: Proven anti-virus protection - free - with Microsoft Security Essentials; New security assessment tool on the Small Business website

Source: Microsoft Small Business

Small businesses can kick-start recovery by selecting smart technology. So says Robert Epstein, Microsoft’s Head of Small Business Sales & Marketing in the UK. We all of us know that technology can make a difference – something simple, such as learning how to use categories in Outlook 2007 for example, can drastically reduce the time you spend searching for emails – but on a larger scale, the right technology really can boost your competitiveness.

I’ll give you one of Robert’s tips here – Live online. “Work is no longer a place we go to, but a thing we do. The computer has become our office - select your hardware and software carefully, considering products such as laptops running Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system, which helps your remote workers easily connect, access, and share all their work computer programs, files, and network resources, securely, regardless of where they’re actually working from.”

You’ll have to read the article to find out what Robert’s other 6 tips are tops are….

Source: Microsoft Small Business

This is according to one of the latest newsfeeds on the small business website, which states,

“Research conducted by gadgethelpline.com has indicated that their superior patience and listening skills prove vital when problems are experienced with computers and other appliances.

The study found that women spend on average 32 per cent longer on the phone than men attempting to find a solution, but males are almost twice as likely to call back having not resolved the issue first time around.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent of men surveyed admitted they had not initially read the instruction manual, compared with just 24 per cent of women.

You can read the whole story here and browse latest small business stories in the archive.

Source: Microsoft Small Business

Prices (minimum of 5 PCs) start from just £6.69 per user per month, and for that, you get a messaging and collaboration solution that will:

·        Decrease your business’s collaboration costs

·        Reduce travel

·        Provide instant communication

The BPOS Standard Suite includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Online. These online services are designed to give your business streamlined communication with high availability, comprehensive security and simplified IT management. Your business benefits from always up-to-date technologies that are deployed rapidly, maximising your valuable IT resources and reducing your need for infrastructure investments.

Or to put it more simply, you get the latest technology to help you work more productively without having to worry about your IT.

There’s also a Deskless Worker option, which is ideal for segments of an organisation that do not have messaging and collaboration capabilities today. The suite includes Exchange Online Deskless Worker (which includes a 500MB mailbox for e-mail, calendar, contacts and Outlook Web Access Light along with anti-virus and anti-spam capabilities) and SharePoint Online Deskless Worker. Each standalone offer is priced at £1.34 per user per month; the Deskless suite is priced at £2.01 per user per month—a 25% discount.

Find out more – and get a free 30-day trial - on the Microsoft Online Services website.

Source: Microsoft Small Business