Small businesses are relying on tech more and more. This week, several companies introduced new products to make life a little easier and in other news, we learned that some of this technology isn’t always a benefit. At the very least, it’s presenting new challenges and new potential dangers which require our attention.
Check out what happened this week on that front and more in our small business news and information roundup.
Technology Trends
Epson Adds 3 Printers Designed for Home Offices
The office can now be anywhere, and when you are at home having a solid reliable printer means you won’t have to go to the office to get hard copies. Epson is addressing this segment with the introduction of new affordable and compact printers for the home, whether it is for the family or your home office.
1 in 4 Organizations Using Public Cloud Services Experience Data Theft, McAfee Reports
McAfee’s third annual cloud adoption and security report says 97 percent of organizations, including small businesses, now use cloud services from public, private, or a combination of both platforms. The bad news is 1-in-4 of organizations using the public cloud have experienced data theft.
SmugMug Acquires Flickr, What Small Business Account Holders Need to Know
The online photography industry has been consolidated further with the acquisition of Flickr by SmugMug. The good news for Flickr users is, both companies will be working as separate entities after the deal closes. SmugMug Acquires Flickr SmugMug bought Flickr from Yahoo for an undisclosed amount. Yahoo itself is now owned by Verizon.
Economy
Stats Suggest North Dakota Might be a Great Place to Start a Business
If you haven’t looked at North Dakota for your next business venture, you should reconsider doing so now. According to a new infographic based on research conducted by PlayUSA, the state gets high marks. The infographic, “The States With The Best Economic Prospects” asks which states you should gamble on when making your decision to set up your life.
Service Companies Bolster Small Business Job Totals, ADP Reports
The March ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) Small Business Report revealed the service-providing sector was greatly responsible for the 47,000 jobs small businesses created in March. Although the number for small businesses came in 19,000 lower than February. Still, overall the national employment numbers were higher at 241,000, compared to 235,000 last month.
Marketing Tips
How a Small Business Can Capitalize on Big News Like the Royal Wedding
The Upcoming Royal Wedding is big news for small business. For example, GoDaddy Email Marketing stats show open rates for emails with royal wedding related subject lines has spiked by 25%. Entrepreneurs are known to take advantage of big news like this to bump profits. Small Business Trends asked GoDaddy’s Chief Product Officer Steven Aldrich how.
Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight: SellApp Enables Chat and Sales on One Platform
Messaging apps have become commonplace for a lot of consumers. But for businesses, many of these apps lack the ability to actually complete sales and get paid without leaving the conversation. That’s where SellApp comes in. The company aims to provide a solution that actually works for businesses and their customers alike.
Small Business Operations
New Stripe Billing Feature Automates Small Business Subscriptions for Products and Services
Online payment solution Stripe has launched a new improved version of a feature the company says will help its customers, including small businesses, better manage subscriptions to their own products and services. Stripe Billing will, according to the company, help you automate, optimize and scale the recurring business models you have in place.
Social Media
Facebook Introduces Prime Time Anytime Offering Businesses More Training – Free
The Prime Time Anytime program by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) may sound like a nod to traditional prime time TV. In reality it’s a new resource center with informative articles and even video tutorials. The resource center provides marketing insights and solutions to help businesses understand concepts in digital advertising for building their brand and more effective campaigns.
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