Technology Trendspotting for 2008

Editor's note: This is the second article in a two-part series about 2008 technology trends. Last month, we covered e-Business trends. This month, we're covering general technology trends and what they mean to the success-driven entrepreneur.

Every area of your business is affected, in some way, by technology:

• Finance. Businesses need software to "slice and dice" the numbers and see what stories they tell.
• Marketing. E-mail marketing software allows us to reach out to our customer base on a regular basis.
• Sales. CRM software can keep track of where a prospect is in the sales cycle and what needs to be done to covert that prospect to client status.
• Operations. Keeping up with the company's day-to-day productivity needs to happen outside employees' brains. Software productivity suites can help speed the transfer and dissemination of critical information.

As we attend meetings remotely in airport lounges, hammer away at BlackBerry keypads and buy increasingly lighter and smaller laptops, the message is clear: If smaller businesses are the backbone of the global economy, then technology is the bloodstream.

Here are some technology trends making their way into the global technological bloodstream:

Green Technology
More than ever, businesses are aware of--and want to reduce--their carbon footprint. They have checked in with their corporate consciences and, in addition to swapping out energy-sucking light bulbs and reducing paper consumption, they are using technology in innovative ways.

Companies such as Better Energy Systems and CoolIT Systems are helping companies do just that.

The Solio is a universal "hybrid" charger from Better Energy Systems that receives power from either an electrical socket or the sun, storing the energy within its internal rechargeable battery. Once charged, it can hold the charge for up to one year or power handheld gadgets at the same rate as if it were plugged into the wall. Before you write this product off as a gizmo for teenage snowboarders, you should know that many companies are using the Solio to provide on-the-go, renewable energy for executives and mobile sales teams.

Laptops and computers that overheat and shut down aren't just a pain for their owners; they're bad for the environment, too. The hotter a computer gets, the more energy resources it consumes to function properly. CoolIT products offer a revolutionary way to cool computers and servers.

When it comes to transferring heat, hands down, liquid is better. The only thing superior is chilled liquid. CoolIT products use a patented technology, called MTECâ„¢, whereby the liquid is refrigerated and then used to cool down computer equipment. The units are pre-plumbed, factory sealed and maintenance free. CoolIt reduces computer "hum" and, because the system is cooler, it operates more efficiently and reliably--all while using less energy.

SaaS
Can you recall the ASPs of the late 1990s? They offered third-party applications in a client-server-type hosting environment which, for various reasons, ended up costing them the farm. Now, there's a new crop of ASP-like companies. They're back with an improved business model (along with some other key differences), and the latest buzz is all about SaaS, software as a service. SaaS is piping hot; so hot that companies such as Google are snatching up mid-cap SaaS companies.

Many SaaS providers, such as Mountain View, Calif.-based Adaptive Planning, offer their customers free test drive to try out their secure, online budgeting and forecasting software risk-free. "As SaaS becomes truly mainstream in 2008, it will help level the playing field for small and mid-sized companies, allowing them to compete more effectively with larger corporations," says Adaptive Planning CEO William Soward.

Essentially, SaaS enables businesses to use as much--or as little--of a particular software package as they like. Because the software package is always hosted on the web, companies don't have to make as much of an investment as they would if they purchased the software outright.

Outsourced, Offsite Backup and Recovery
Within the data backup space, there's a big shift under way as companies move away from tape-based backup to online or disk-based backup.

Business professionals from the IT department to the home office are realizing the importance of:

• Moving backup data offsite (and sometimes out of the entire region) in an automated fashion;
• Working with backup solutions that encrypt information while it's in transit; and
• Moving away from tape-based backup to avoid well-publicized risks such as lost tapes, exposed files, and the time and effort it takes to retrieve information in the event data needs to be recovered.

Offsite backup and recovery company EVault saw the writing on the wall as far back as 1997. EVault's Small Business Edition allows small businesses easily and cost-effectively to protect, store and restore their data. Ease of use and customer service are critical, not optional. Small and mid-size companies don't usually have access to the dedicated IT resources of a larger company.

What makes simple, secure backups even more crucial is that--depending on the industry--many smaller companies are held to the same level of regulatory scrutiny as larger companies. Companies such as EVault put compliance within the reach of smaller businesses.

Smart Gadgets
The rapid-fire use of "smart phones" and "smart gadgets" is a macro trend that manufacturer Research In Motion is noticing with small and mid-size businesses.

Electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants, and mobile communication devices, such as the BlackBerry, are becoming increasingly intuitive and offer computer-like capabilities with e-mail and internet access, scheduling, word processing and expense applications available on the fly.

"These 'smart tools' provide access to key information for increasingly mobile lifestyles. It gives decision-makers more freedom, has enhanced business performance and productivity, and has increased the quality of customer service," says Alan Panezic, vice president of software product management at RIM.

It also helps that the cost per unit is decreasing, making "smart gadgets" smart investments for road warriors.

No other business tool can help smaller businesses compete the way technology can. It's not always easy to use or maintain, but it's getting better. We rely on technology and--slowly but surely--we're embracing it more and more. After all, it's in our blood.