1. Top Five Technologies Adopted by Small Businesses in 2011
Whether a start-up or an existing small business, they have realized that modern technologies
empower them to be on the same platform as that of medium/large enterprises or the multi-
national companies. Though some SMBs are reluctant to introduce technology in their
enterprises, many start-ups have shown interest in leveraging the latest technology to cut on the
IT operational costs and also to streamline their management tasks.
There is a growing trend among new entrepreneurs to use the latest gadgets and technologies to
propel their enterprise to new heights. This has led to rapid evolution of the virtualization
technology. Let’s have a look at the top five technologies adopted by start-ups/SMBs in the year
2011.
Want a FREE Project Management tool? Check out Apptivo’s Project Management
1. Tablets such as iPad are one of the devices that are commonly used by the new generation
entrepreneurs and those from the older generation, who love to bring about change. Today, the
touch screen operated computers offer a wonderful browsing experience. They also have many
specialized applications that are necessary to carry out their day-to-day business transactions.
Tablets are used by those who use social media extensively for business or personal purposes.
The reasons that many entrepreneurs gave are: tablets are portable and more compact than
laptops.
•They come with numerous features, which make it friendly for small business owners who are
always on the move.
•Another reason is that the battery life of tablets is longer than that of laptops. However, this
depends on the type of applications used.
• Last but not the least, you can store thousands of e-books and PDF files in tablets.
2. Mobile Phone Internet is the one that is currently in vogue among many young
entrepreneurs. Mobile phone Internet has given rise to mobile commerce. There is a promising
future in this commerce, and many apps are currently being developed specifically for mobile
social media and business networking. Today, many of the employees work away from office i.e.
they are remote workers. You can connect to your mobile workers through the company network
devices such as mobile phones or personal digital assistants. Mobility increases productivity by
improvising communication and collaboration.
3. Bluetooth technology is used by those start-up owners who are running their businesses on a
shoestring budget. Bluetooth technology is used for short range wireless connections. The
advantage of using Bluetooth is that you can connect two or more devices that are not of the
same model. Since this technology uses a technique called frequency hopping, you can avoid
interference from other wireless devices. Since the Bluetooth uses low power signal, the energy
© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

2. consumption is very low. Bluetooth technology is widely used and is here to stay for years to
come.
4. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is another latest technology commonly used by the
start-ups and small business owners. SMBs are increasingly investing in applications in cloud
technology to cut costs on software and hardware. While using the applications on cloud, you
need to pay only for what you have used. It is similar to paying your utility bill. Though data
security is a growing concern among the cloud users, using online tools such as invoicing,
project management, HR management and many more is the growing trend.
5. Android devices are commonly used by entrepreneurs because they are inexpensive and you
can connect devices such as Motorola Droid Pro keyboards to it. Android is highly
recommended for the small/medium business owners because the OS is Linux which is an open
source code. An android phone is compatible with hardware devices from different vendors.
Here you can buy an android phone and choose the applications and devices that best suit your
business at a reasonable price.
One of the trends that are currently seen in many companies is that the employees prefer to use
their tools instead of the ones provided by the company. The companies will soon have to make
employee policies and guidelines for those workers who use their personal devices to access the
corporate network and data.
© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.