At Mobile World Congress 2018, Samsung grabbed the headlines with its Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones. but it wasn’t the only company. Huawei also made a splash with 5G notebooks and new tablet.
In other technology news, 5G continues to make waves across the country. Businesses of all sizes are eager to see if the technology delivers on all the hype surrounding it.
You can read the gadgets Samsung and Huawei presented at Mobile World Congress 2018, as well as this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.
Mobile
ASUS Announces ZenFone 5 and 5Z Smartphones with Options for Small Businesses
ASUS unveiled the new ZenFone 5 Series at Mobile World Conference 2018 recently with a lineup of four phones addressing different budgets and needs – and there may be something here for small businesses too. The Zenfone 5 and 5Z are getting the most attention because of the features and the price, as well as the same notch seen on the iPhone X.
Huawei 5G Mobile Tablets and Touchscreen Notebook Serve Businesses with Remote Workers
The new Huawei notebook and tablet announced at the 2018 Mobile World Congress, Feb. 2018 through Match 1, have been designed with connectivity and portability in mind. And the Huawei 5G CPE (customer-premises equipment) gets you ready for true 5G with the globally recognized 3GPP telecommunications standard.
Intel Says 5G Mobile PCs Coming But Will Price be Business Friendly?
In the second half of 2019, Intel’s collaboration with Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft will deliver 5G always-connected Windows PCs. But given the functionality and the cost of these new devices, will your business be interested? Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) announced it would be demonstrating the new PCs at Mobile World Congress 2018 Feb. 26 to March 1 in Barcelona.
Are Samsung S9 and S9+ Priced for Your Small Business Budget?
With $1,000 becoming the norm for high-end flagship phones, making them business friendly is a challenge, especially for small businesses.
Are LG’s New Budget Friendly Smartphones with Premium Features Right for Your Business?
The end of February in the mobile world means the time has come for the Mobile World Congress. And for the 2018 event, LG has come out early in announcing the new features of its K8 and K10 series of affordable smartphones. 2018 K8 and K10 Phones Are Coming Classified as mass-tier smartphones by LG, the K8 and K10 have been enhanced with more premium features.
More Tech
DreamHost Targets Small Businesses with New Managed WordPress Services
Web hosting company DreamHost is targeting small businesses using WordPress for their web presence by splitting DreamPress into three different tiers to give these businesses more options for running and managing their websites. DreamPress is a Managed WordPress service created by DreamHost in its open source cloud platform, DreamCompute.
Panasonic Debuts New High-Performance Scanner Designed for Small Business
Small businesses that struggle and lose a lot of time digitizing their paper documents and other paperwork may have another solution on the market. Panasonic High Performance Document Scanner for Small Businesses Panasonic has just introduced a high performance scanner to digitize paper documents at 30 pages per minute.
Teamwork Chat App Promises Better Business Collaboration – for Free!
Teamwork has rebuilt its Android and iOS chat app from the ground up so it is more responsive when users are on their mobile devices. In rebuilding the app from scratch, Teamwork Chat has been redesigned natively with the Android and iOS ecosystem in mind.
Key Stats
Restaurant Owners Learn 60% of Consumers Will Judge Them On Food Quality
Offering your restaurant customers the newest and fastest ways to pay or book a table is a great perk. In fact, there are lots of emerging restaurant tech options for owners to offer their customers and help run their business more smoothly. But one factor trumps all those — food quality.
Only 14% of Businesses Have Basic Mobile Security in Place
Only 14 percent of respondents in a recent survey say their organizations currently use even the most basic cybersecurity businesses. The survey was conducted by mobile carrier Verizon (NYSE: VZ) in an effort to raise awareness, not only of the mobile security landscape, but also of the growth of mobile computers among both consumers and businesses.
73 Percent of Businesses Completely or Partially Reliant on AI for Cybersecurity
The Cisco 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report, now in its 11th year, reveals an increased dependence on automation, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect potential cyber attacks.
Employment
Small Businesses in Wichita Get 63 Percent More Job Applications than Larger Competitors
Having a hiring advantage in this tight labor market is a definite plus, and if your small business is located in Wichita, KS, it is 63 percent more likely to get applications over large companies. This data comes from ZipRecruiter’s analysis of around 5.5 million job posts on its platform comparing small and large companies hiring for similar positions.
ZipRecruiter and ADP Partner to Make Small Businesses More Competitive in Hiring
A new partnership will integrate ZipRecruiter’s online employment marketplace platform with ADP’s RUN Powered HR packages. Together they will allow small businesses to quickly find the talent they need inside their HR and payroll solution.
Retail Trends
Brick-and-Mortar Stores See Sales Slump in January
The New Year didn’t start out well for brick and mortar retail stores across the United States. Sales declined 7.0 percent year over year combined with a 4.4 percent drop in traffic. The numbers mark the fourth time in six months sales numbers dropped quicker than those for traffic.
Sales
Salesforce Sales Cloud Integration with Google Analytics 360 Gives Businesses More Insight
The partnership formed by Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) in November of 2017 has resulted in the first of many integrations. This particular one can import data directly into Google Analytics 360 from Salesforce’s Sales Cloud. For marketers managing leads, this change will offer a comprehensive view of the customer journey to conversion.
New Zoho Chatbot Zia Geared for Small Business Sales Teams
There’s a new AI chatbot geared specifically to small business sales teams. Zia Voice will do everything from analyzing email sentiment to answering questions on new leads, deal revenue, and monthly forecasts. The additions to Zoho’s AI-powered sales assistant provides a voice interface so sales people get the info they need without having to look at a screen.
Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight: Planting Seeds Tutoring Creates a Business from Helping Students
Not all students learn in the same way. So having some personalized help can be a major benefit. Planting Seeds Tutoring specializes in offering that type of personalized tutoring service — meeting students in their homes, in libraries, or even working with them online. The company looks to build relationships and help students get excited about learning.
Small Business Operations
Hangouts Chat added to G Suite Providing More Small Business Collaboration Option
Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Hangouts Chat is now available after months of beta testing with companies enrolled in its Early Adopter Program. Google Hangouts Chat is out of Beta A year after Google overhauled Hangouts, the Slack-like chat capabilities of this app are going to allow teams to come together along with the G Suite of services.
Having A Clean Business Can Improve Your Sales
If you have ever watched one of those cleaning shows like ”How Clean is your House” or ”Extreme Hoarders,” then you know how easy it is to accumulate dirt and grime in a room. While this doesn’t sound like a problem that could affect a business, you’d be surprised at how common the dirt problem is, especially among smaller organizations.
Cisco, Apple, Aon and Allianz Work to Shield Small Businesses From Cyber Attack
A new partnership between Cisco, Apple, Aon and Allianz seeks to protect small businesses from the growing threat of cyberattack. The threat to small business is growing, with around 43 percent of all cyber attacks squarely aimed at this segment.
Marketing
Brands Make Decisions on NRA Support, What Should Your Small Business Do?
The data says your company should probably voice its opinion on the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. If not that specifically, then at least the debate on gun control and gun laws. In a recent survey from Sprout Social, 66 percent of consumers say it’s important for companies to take stands on issues like this.
Startup
‘Small Business Revolution – Main Street’ Returns for Third Season
Have you seen “Small Business Revolution — Main Street”? It’s the show where a whopping $500,000 revitalization prize is awarded to one city, by Deluxe Corp. This month, Small Business Trends connected with Amanda Brinkman from the program to discuss its third season, which begins later this year with co-host Ty Pennington.
Taxes
Time is Running Out! Remember These 5 Tax Challenges and the Solutions to Overcome Them
It’s tax season, and that means small business owners everywhere are starting to worry about how and when they’ll file their year-end returns.
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