While I cannot profess to mastering the fine art of being in absolute control of my digital ‘ball and chain’, there are a few things that all of us can do to reduce the stress created by the expectations of our always-on, instant gratification society.

Disable Notifications and Alerts
While knowing about everything almost instantly seems appealing, it really does contribute to your stress level. Eech time your phone goes beep, for a text message, email or notification you become no better than Pavlov’s dog. Conditioned by these alerts, our knee jerk reaction to check and respond to everything is actually quite distracting and unproductive. In fact, multitasking is overrated, so it’s best to keep the number of tangential activities to a minimum. By disabling the notifications and alerts, you’ll find yourself more in control of your time and less affected by every new demand for your attention. It’s worked for me, so may the force be with you also.

Check Email Less Frequently
I have a few clients who check and respond to e-mail twice a day. While at times I find it quite annoying that I have to wait for a response, I quietly envy how in control that person must be of their time and more importantly their mental bandwidth. I haven’t yet mustered the courage to do this, considering that immediacy of response is a big part of my business, but I think it’s a great way to regain control. To be successful with this strategy, you must 1) set expectations with your clients on e-mail communication, 2) setup an auto-responder that informs senders of your protocol, and 3) stick to it.

Streamline Your Mobile Communication with Google Voice
If you are a solopreneur or started as one, it’s very likely you may have given out your cellphone number to everyone who would take it. Now you’ve grown, and the sheer volume of incoming calls is a bit too much to manage. A tactic that we’ve been suggesting to our clients is to get a new number from your cellphone provider and have your old cellphone number ported to Google Voice. With Google Voice you can control where and when your old number can ring to (if at all). With the use of a Google Voice application on must major mobile platforms, you’ll be able to dial out from your old number and your clients will be none the wiser. It’s a great way to permanently park your pesky number in the cloud, and regain control of your voice communication workflow.

Get Off the Grid
Even with these coping mechanisms, nothing is better than disconnecting entirely from what we IT folks like to call the ‘grid’. Take some time off, take a trip out the country, go hiking,  or go relax on a beach somewhere. Whatever you do, turn off the gadgets and leave them behind if possible. We all need to disconnect from time to time, life is too short to do otherwise.

1. Go though that Inbox

We all get more e-mail that we can handle and way more than we actually care about, so it’s a good idea to go through your inbox and delete all the junk that you know you’ll never read and file those e-mails you need to keep. Now would also be a good time to create some rules/filters so that your e-mail application (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook) can automatically do most of this organizing for you on an ongoing basis.

2. Clean up that Desktop

I know not everyone puts every file they’ve ever encountered on their desktop, but we all have that folder where we throw everything; for some people it’s the Desktop (for me it’s my Downloads folder) where there’s an icon for every program ever installed and every file ever downloaded. Clean it up. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you only need a handful of the files you’ve accumulated either because you’ve gotten whatever you needed from them or you can easily get them again if you needed to. You’ll enjoy the cleanliness of that Desktop and you’ll spend far less time searching for your Excel icon.

3. Uninstall those programs

Even I’m guilty of accumulating applications that I hardly ever use; I may have needed a utility at one time or another and never used it again, 6 months later I still have it installed. Go to your Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Programs and Features (Windows Vista/7) and go through the list of programs you have installed and uninstall those programs you know you no longer use. CAUTION: If you don’t recognize a program do not uninstall it (it may be something you or your system needs).

4. Update, Update, Update

We should be doing this all year round but there are some updates that just require more work than others. Make sure that those utilities you use frequently are at their latest version. Some more popular applications include: Adobe Acrobat Reader, iTunes, QuickBooks, and of course your system updates for Microsoft Windows. This will ensure that you have the latest security patches and the latest features.

Invizio's Kevin V. Michael Presents at the Attorney Breakfast Club of Miami Dade at Hotel Urbano in Brickell

Check it out! Our Managing Partner, Kevin V. Michael, was invited to present at the Attorney Breakfast Club of the Miami-Dade on March 30, 2012 at their swanky Hotel Urbano meeting location.

Attorneys on hand were treated to a discussion on the latest trends and technologies that law firms are leveraging to manage their operations and communicate more effectively with their clients. We couldn’t have asked for a more engaged audience and questions came flying in on topics such as cloud computing security, mobile device platforms, technology fatigue and a whole lot more.

Many thanks to Don Wilson and Spencer Aronfeld of Aronfeld Law for making the appearance possible and to the many attorneys presents who kept the discussion lively.

Libre Office (formerly Open Office)

The “official” open source alternative to the Microsoft Office Suite. It opens and saves Microsoft office files and includes the ability to create PDF files (more on that later). For basic document creation and editing it can more than get the job done, and that’s the just the word processor. Libre Office, like Microsoft’s offering is full suite which includes alternatives to Excel, Powerpoint, Access and Visio. Unless your small business NEEDS the Microsoft Office suite, give Libre Office a try, it’s completely free – which could work out to hundreds of dollars saved if you’re looking to outfit a whole office of PC’s – plus it works on Mac and Linux in addition to Windows.

Paint.NET

Occasionally you may need to make some basic edits to an image of some kind. Paint.NET is the paint.exe that comes with Windows on steroids. Again it’s completely free and will handle most basic image editing jobs. If you’re doing photo edits or creating images from scratch for an advertising agency then you need Adobe Photoshop or something similar but if you’re not Paint.NET should do the trick.

PDFCreator

Don’t be one of those people who e-mail word documents around. If you’re sending a client a proposal, report or any kind of final document for review sending a PDF shows that you’re computer savvy and looks more professional to boot. PDFCreator is an applications that allow you to make PDF’s out of your documents whether they are Word documents, spreadsheets or slides. Anything that can be printed on paper can be converted to a PDF and sent off. If you need more robust capabilities like the ability to create PDF forms or other interactive PDF documents you’re going to need Adobe Acrobat or another full featured PDF program but if all you need to do is create and send a PDF this utility will get the job done.

Dropbox

Dip your toes into the cloud and see how good it is. Dropbox is a service that syncs your files between multiple computers and mobile devices. Some businesses keep ALL of their data on Dropbox because of how easy it is to share data among multiple computers or even other people. The great thing about Dropbox (or Box or SugarSync) is that it has mobile apps for every major mobile platform, so you can access you files (documents, pictures, music, videos) from your mobile phone or tablet. Dropbox gives you 2GB of storage on their service for free but you can pay for additional storage or to use it for your whole team.

Pandora (honorable mention)

Almost every client we have has users that rely on Pandora Internet Radio to make it through the day. Pandora allows you to choose an artist, song or genre and it will play similar tracks. This normally results in you hearing some of your favorite songs and new songs that you’re bound to like. It also lets you “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” a song so it knows which songs you like and which ones you don’t. If you don’t have an account, there’s no reason not to create a free one which gives you unlimited listening with ads. Pandora got me through the writing of this post, give it a try.

The great thing about technology is that it gives us options, if you don’t have special needs give some (or all) of these tools a try, small businesses need all the help they can get. Now with these tools (and services) I’ve bestowed upon you go forth and be productive, without breaking the bank. Your welcome.

LinkedIn

In the world of social networking sites for business professionals, LinkedIn is the 800-pound gorilla. Based on the principle of six degrees of separation, the site allows you to create a professional identity (skills, work experience, etc.), connect with professionals you know and trust, and provides you the social data that you’ll need to connect with others. Personally, I’ve used LinkedIn to find prospects, identify partners, market my company and reach out successfully to complete strangers. I could spend hours explaining how to use LinkedIn to your advantage, but I’ll leave that to the marketing pros. Just take a moment, register and make LinkedIn a cornerstone of your relationship development strategy. Trust me, it will be worth your while.

CardMunch

It’s pretty safe to say that we all enjoy meeting new people and collecting business cards, but hate the process of entering business card information into our contact systems. In comes CardMunch. This nifty iPhone application allows you to snap a picture of a business card, submit it to the CardMunch system and voila! In less than 5 minutes you’ll have the complete contact data sent back to the app for you to save to your phone, send a follow up email and even connect with that contact on LinkedIn. It really helps you skip the tedium and get down to what matters; fostering connections. In lieu of an iPhone, Android users can get similar functionality with Google Googles or can wait until the Android version of CardMunch launches. For folks on other platforms, I would recommend the Shoeboxed service. It’s not free or quite as immediate, but it does the trick and a whole lot more.

LetterMeLater

I came across this service after the unceremonious demise of my previous favorite, DeferredSender. LetterMeLater allows you to schedule an email to be sent at a future date and time. This comes in handy for following up promptly with contacts and avoiding being labeled a vampire when you send out that 3am email. The service is great because it works for any email client and for any whimsical purpose you can find. I would caution you to avoid sending sensitive data using the service (but that really applies to email in general) since the email is stored on LetterMeLater’s servers until it is delivered. Another great option for anyone using Gmail or Google Apps, is a helpful Chrome/Firefox web browser extension called Boomerang.

This post was originally published by Kevin V. Michael on the ICABA website.

SaaS typically refers to a software application that is hosted by the software company and for which to use you pay a monthly fee (Our good friends at Wikipedia have a more detailed description).

Once you start your search and selection process for a SaaS solution here are the five most important aspects to consider:

Pricing Model

Most SaaS solutions are priced per user per month, but some are priced by groups of users (eg. $50/month for 1-10 users) or some are priced based on how much information you’ll be storing in the system. For example a SaaS CRM may price based on the number of contacts stored in the system (eg. $10/month for up to 250 contacts). Be sure to take into account future growth, and how it will affect your costs. This provider prices by number users & features but also limits the number of users you can have in each tier.

Reliability

Besides not having to make a large up-front investment in software, another big advantage of SaaS is that you don’t have to invest in maintenance. The SaaS provider has the responsibility of ensuring that the service is available 24/7/365 or as close to that as possible. Read the terms of service before you commit any time or money to a solution. Companies usually explain their policy regarding up-time, so ensure that their policies work for your business model. Larger providers may have a status page, where you can check the current status of the service (whether it’s available or not) and you can view the history so you can evaluate how well the service performs. Have a look at the Google Apps Status Dashboard for example.

Integration

Another advantage of hosted services is that they’re generally accessible from any web browser anywhere but you may need integration with other applications or devices you use in your business. Maybe your company makes a product for which you provide support but for a fee, if you were evaluating a hosted help desk solution it would be important that it integrates with your billing application. This will minimize or ideally eliminate double data entry, and streamline your business operations. Some applications also provide mobile apps for accessing you data on your mobile device (phone or tablet), have a look at the integration’s this SaaS application provides.

Data Import/Export

If you’re moving from an existing application it’s very important that you can import your data into your new SaaS solution. Evaluate the options the provider gives you to import your data so you or your employees don’t spend endless hours on data re-entry. Also keep in mind that a SaaS solution may not be the best solution forever and if you ever need to move your data out of the system it should be relatively easy. Remember, the harsh reality is that the company you’re using as your SaaS provider may fold or be acquired in which case you don’t want your data locked in. This time-tracking SaaS application provides import/export options.

Training/Support

As always you want to make sure that someone will be there to help if and when you run into any issues. Evaluate the training and support options available. Some providers have online training and phone support while other may only provide FAQ’s and e-mail support, or you may have to pay to a higher level of support. This application only provides e-mail support make sure whatever your SaaS vendor provides is enough for you before you sign up.

Be diligent when choosing a software solution for your business and always try it first before you commit. When selecting a SaaS provider keep these 5 key items in mind when making your decision and you’ll have a much better experience.

Tip#1: Prepare Your Organization For Change
There is no amount of technological advancement that can overcome our very human and natural resistance to change. In my experience, technology projects seldom fail because the solutions fail to work as advertised, but rather because of a failure in leadership to act. Before undertaking any technology, understand that the project is fundamentally about change to the way people in your organization perform their work. Projects affect business processes, systems and people. You must be willing to champion these projects by communicating with and involving the people who are affected by the change. Ignoring this reality results in systems that never get used, or used ineffectively by people who did not ‘buy-in’ to the vision.

Tip #2: Calculate the ROI
It may sound like a fairly standard business practice to consider cost/benefit and return on investment when making a decision, but you’d be surprised by how often this analysis is overlooked. Technology has to create leverage by making life for you or your employees easier, although these benefits are often hard to measure. It is absolutely essential for you to determine what a technology solution means to your team in terms of money, time or hassle saved. Does the solution increase productivity so you can do more with less? Does the solution create time for your team to focus on more valuable initiatives? Does it help you close more business? Does it mitigate risks that could have significant tangible or intangible losses? If you can’t answer yes to these questions and attach numbers to these answers, avoid justifying a purchase solely on the promise of its bells and whistles.

Tip #3: Seek Help
Whether you’re the CIO of a large enterprise or the owner of small home-based business, its important to take an inventory of the skills, knowledge and bandwidth available within your organization that will be necessary to effectively execute on a technology project. If it turns out that you will be deficient in any of those areas, you’ll need to revise your plans or seek external help. It’s always appealing to go it alone when you consider the additional cost, but I would argue that getting it done right is better than simply getting it done. Many a project has gone up in flames due to an unwillingness to incorporate skilled consultants or by forcing a project onto an overburdened IT staff.

I think it’s safe to say that there is a definite, almost visible line that separates consumer from business technology. This is especially true for larger companies that tend to need more robust solutions for their technology problems. I can’t say the same is true for small business though; while PC makers have differentiated between consumer, small business and enterprise in their product lines for years, I’ve found that this year, more and more, we’ve considered consumer software, services and “gadget” solutions for our small business clients. No longer is it the case that software and services that are specifically tailored to consumers is “no good” for business use. For a small company with less than 20 employee’s there’s no reason not to consider LogMeIn as a REAL remote access solution versus a more complicated VPN and maybe Remote Desktop setup. The importance of having access to your files everywhere, means that we’ve walked into environments where there is no server but Dropbox is installed on each employee’s laptop. Is Dropbox specifically a business solution for sharing files? Not at all, (although now they do have a business plan, they call it Dropbox for Teams) but provided that the information being shared isn’t “three-letter-agency TOP SECRET” why shouldn’t a small business use it if it makes sense for them?

We’ve also had a few clients specifically ask us about iPad‘s; they wanted to know how and iPad could fit into their “technology lifestyle” (my quotes, not theirs). Some other client’s were a bit more proactive, and would come to us after the fact and say “Hey, I got myself an iPad and I have an app that let’s me access my desktop at the office and an app that let’s me review client files…” The great thing about small business IT is that it doesn’t have to go through tons of red tape before it’s adopted by users, and depending on what you need, an iPad my be the perfect device for you to get work done while you’re away from the office. I think for most users (especially in a Windows environment with specific Windows only applications) a laptop is still probably the best portable device, but I don’t see that being the case for much longer.

Enterprise IT has been struggling in the past few years as employee’s have been ditching their Blackberry’s for iPhone’s and Android based handsets. The IT organization has had to find solutions other than BES to manage mobile device security. Small Business IT hasn’t really had these issues around mobile device management and security. What we have come across this year is a lot of: “Hey I got a new [insert name of device here] how to I get my mail and contacts on it?” and then we have to figure out how seamless the integration is going to be between their new device and their e-mail server or provider. The truth is that consumers have quite a few options for getting e-mail, contacts and calendar synced across their multiple devices with offerings from Google, Microsoft and Apple. The fact that both Google and Microsoft have solutions specifically tailored to small business means that these services that consumers have enjoyed over the past few years have moved up to the small business space in terms of features but remained decidedly prosumer in terms of pricing and we’ve found ourselves implementing either solution where the case was right.

This portion of this blog post is brought to you by the buzzwords “virtual” and “cloud”, words which we couldn’t seem to get away from this year. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 95% of the clients or potential clients we got in front of this year specifically asked us about “going virtual” or “using the cloud”. After hours of evaluating different scenarios, solutions, use cases etc. we’ve come to two fairly simple conclusions:

1. Virtual Desktop technology is not yet priced right for small businesses. Unless your business is currently managing close to 100 desktops, you’re unlikely to save any money by rolling out VDI. The caveat however is that if you have very basic software needs, and a distributed workforce of less than 10 users a Microsoft based Remote Desktop Solution may fit your small business perfectly.

2. Hosted E-mail and Collaboration is the only cost effective way to handle e-mail in a small business environment. As I’ve mentioned before we’ve deployed both Google Apps solutions and Microsoft BPOS and now Office 365 solutions for some of our clients. Most of these clients were previously on basic POP/IMAP e-mail service from their web host so moving to a collaboration platform like Google Apps or Office 365 completely changed the way their business functioned with the ability to share calendars and communicate using IM. It’s clear though that small businesses that are currently managing e-mail using an on-premise server stand to gain a lot from moving to hosted solution, especially where the path is on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server to Office 365. For businesses not as tied to Microsoft products (Windows, Office etc.) Google Apps continues to be an excellent option.

As always every case is different but over the past year we’ve found these general observations to hold true.

It’s heartening to look forward to next year and wonder what new and exciting technologies we’ll come across that will benefit our clients. Undoubtedly prices will continue to fall, and new small business technologies will mean that you won’t need a 20K IT budget to get robust IT solutions for your small business.

Invizio co-founders Kevin V. Michael and Kyle Hurst ruminate on their predictions and expectations for what 2012 has in store for business and consumer technology. In this episode, tablets and smartphones, mobile broadband internet, cloud connected cars and a host of technology wants and needs are all fair game.