Microsoft Talk

Microsoft Dynamics

PressPass: The economy is top of mind for so many business leaders today. How is Microsoft Dynamics helping customers face this challenge?

Tatarinov: I’d highlight two areas in which we’re innovating to help customers maximize the value of their existing investments. First off, we recently released a set of tools, available at no charge, that enable businesses to track their energy consumption and environmental impact, and identify opportunities to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint — all from within their ERP solution. The Environmental Sustainability Dashboard for Microsoft Dynamics AX is a great example of how doing the right thing also makes compelling business sense. Complementing the dashboard, we’ve issued detailed guidance on how to implement environmental management accounting with Microsoft Dynamics GP and will shortly be doing the same for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Second, I’d call out the announcements we’re making at Convergence 2009 about Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The new service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, code-named “Release 3,” delivers significant enhancements. These include improved ease of use, server uptime and performance. Plus it has new features like Internet lead capture and certificate-based authentication. We also recently released eight Microsoft Dynamics CRM Accelerators, a suite of add-on modules that significantly extend the capabilities of customers’ CRM platform at no additional cost, allowing them to improve efficiency while they increase customer satisfaction. An example is the e-service accelerator, which allows businesses to create a self-service portal for customers to troubleshoot issues 24×7. This generates considerable savings on the call center costs they’d otherwise incur in offering such a service. Again, we’re enabling customers to drive bottom-line savings and top-line growth at no additional expense.

To read the full Q&A, click above.

Microsoft Office Live Small Business

Glad to see Microsoft thinking of the little guys in business, the Small Business owners. With this shaky economy, they need all the help, hints and tips they can get.

In the interview, they talk about how companies can be more efficient, competetitive and better use of technology.

Microsoft feels having the best software for small businesses will help them compete for business, streamline their workflow and be more lean in these trying times. Here are some examples:

We recently heard that Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager helped MagicBus.com trim its invoice process from 2.5 hours to 5 minutes. That process is now 30 times faster. The Internet-based tech consulting firm Intellium and its five employees increased productivity by 20 percent and saved $50,000 by deploying virtual meeting software. And these examples keep rolling in.

Excerpted from the interview:

PressPass: What is an example of a new technology that shows promise for the SMB market?

Risse: My favorite example is virtualization technology. Today many companies run several servers, and each of those servers may be dedicated to running one application, one function, or one workload. Virtualization enables the consolidation those workloads into one physical server by creating multiple virtual images of an operating system, each running on its own.

By consolidating numerous environments into one physical box, you save power, you save air conditioning, you save IT cost because there’s only one machine to administer, and you save, of course, on the number of boxes you have to buy. This is a great example of how software saves a lot of real-world time and effort and makes the organization as a whole more efficient.

PressPass: What about making individuals more productive?

Risse: One of the key focus areas of business software across the board is maximizing the time spent on work that directly improves the bottom line. Familiar, easy-to-use business productivity software, such as Microsoft Office, is a key component there.

Today we’re building on those capabilities in a number of ways to help people work more effectively and reduce direct costs such as travel expenses and electricity. Videoconferencing and new collaboration tools are making virtual meetings much more like face-to-face interaction and enabling people to share and collaborate more effectively. Companies are also cutting computer energy usage by using online services, and are reducing IT management costs with infrastructure software.

Small Businesses Build Online Presence, but Fail to Invest in Search Marketing. Surprising 73 percent surveyed would rather do their taxes than start a search marketing plan.

Surprisingly, seven in 10 small-business owners who participated revealed that they would rather try to do their own taxes than start a paid search marketing campaign. In an effort to minimize the intimidation associated with initiating a campaign, Microsoft offers free* search marketing assistance for those looking to get started.

“Given today’s current economic conditions, small-business owners need more effective ways to optimize their marketing dollars,” said Brian Boland, director of adCenter at Microsoft Advertising. “By investing in paid search marketing, small businesses can track online sales and determine the return on investment for their campaigns, while at the same time boosting traffic and visibility for their Web sites.”

Despite the lack of investment in paid search marketing, the weakening economy and increased competition, nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) small-business owners surveyed felt that they could be missing opportunities to grow their business, while three in four believed prospective customers could be searching online for the type of service their business offers. Although most do not embrace the practice, the small-business owners who use paid search marketing are very satisfied, as 72 percent reported an increase in sales inquiries and 68 percent consider their paid search marketing efforts successful.

Among the participants’ chief concerns, most cited the common misconceptions of cost, time and complexity as major hurdles to conducting search marketing campaigns for their businesses. Other key insights included the following:

• Nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) feared keywords may become too expensive.

• Eighty-one percent questioned if paid search marketing is the best use of their marketing budgets.

• One quarter of respondents believe paid search marketing is too complex.

• Twenty-one percent thought it would be too time-consuming.

• Thirty-five percent felt they would need an agency to help set up a search marketing campaign.

“These opinions run counter to widely held marketing industry views on paid search marketing, which recognize the practice as one of the most cost-effective, easy-to-use, measurable and accountable forms of marketing,” Boland said.

The Microsoft adCenter QuickLaunch program offers free consultation with a search expert for advertisers that set a minimum monthly budget of $500. The program also helps advertisers manage their search marketing campaigns by providing advisory services, classroom-style training programs through the Microsoft adCenter Learning Center, and tools such as building keyword lists with the Microsoft adCenter add-in product for Microsoft Office Excel and finding your target audience. More information is available at http://advertising.microsoft.com/search-advertising.

Global study of small businesses reveals growing demand for software as a service.

The research highlighted that many small businesses struggle to compete with big businesses and are unsure of how to get access to higher-quality IT services that could help them. Government support is often widely used and well-received, but in some cases, it is thought to be too limited. Small businesses face numerous challenges with IT but are also seeing the benefits that mobile working and social networking can bring.

Despite global concerns about an economic slowdown, most small businesses reported that they had performed well in the past year. Globally, 39 percent of businesses had grown, while 36 percent had remained steady in the past year. Hosted IT solutions appear to offer some of the answers raised by the small businesses surveyed. Not only does buying software on a subscription basis reduce the reliance on IT skills and offer enterprise-class security protection, but it enables businesses to focus on other business priorities.

The research also highlighted that some emerging markets are outpacing western countries in terms of new technology adoption. About 87 percent of Russian small businesses surveyed have branded company e-mail, while 63 percent have a customer database and an above-average 24 percent use mobile e-mail. Similarly, Russian small businesses are the most likely to have IT (97 percent), while fewer (91 percent) U.S. small businesses used IT.

Meanwhile, 67 percent of Chinese small businesses use social networking applications to talk to existing customers and 57 percent use them to promote their business. That compares with just 26 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of small businesses in the U.K. — typically seen as a mature market — that use social networking to talk to existing customers or promote their business. The research also found that 65 percent of the small businesses surveyed would consider buying IT services on a subscription basis, such as hosted e-mail, shared calendaring and other applications.

“Despite their varying businesses and greatly differing needs, many small businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on information technology and the Internet for networking, communications and sales. As they become more Web-savvy, we’re seeing that small businesses are starting to seriously consider hosted services to meet some of their IT needs,” said John Zanni, general manager, Software + Services Industry team, for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. “At this time of economic uncertainty, the benefits of buying IT services on a subscription basis become ever more apparent.”

The research, which surveyed small businesses’ attitudes on a range of areas, also found that many have “IT envy” for the resources of larger businesses. A vast majority — 79 percent — think that larger businesses gain significant advantage from having access to better IT resources. Despite this, 37 percent still use Web mail, such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! services, rather than business e-mail services such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange.

Meanwhile, small businesses’ main priority — managing relationships and customer service — was found to be highly dependent on IT, because 89 percent of firms also agreed that professional communications are important to their business.

Free event offers expert advice, new product offers with today’s concerns in mind.

Beginning today, Microsoft Corp. hosts its fourth annual Microsoft Small Business Summit. This free, virtual gathering will feature more than 35 experts offering small businesses valuable information and insights on topics ranging from marketing and finance to productivity and technology. Broadcasting live to more than 370 syndicated Web sites and partner sites from Microsoft Studios, the Small Business Summit will reach more than 1 million small businesses worldwide during the three-day event. Summit participants can connect with each other and partners for recommendations during topical seminars and use new interactive components such as Twitter (http://twitter.com/sbsummit) and a live chat room located at http://www.sbsummit.com.

“With the issues of today’s complex global economy, the Small Business Summit is more important than ever,” said Bill Rielly, marketing director of U.S. SMB Solutions at Microsoft. “Small businesses want to learn what they can do to keep up with their larger competitors. We are blending key presenters from our March 2008 event with a new lineup of experts that will share tips and strategies for small businesses to remain competitive and operate efficiently.”

Expert Advice on Riding the Economic Seas

One of this year’s featured speakers is Nell Merlino, co-founder, president and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources to help women grow their microbusinesses into million-dollar enterprises. During her summit segment — as well as in a separate podcast available at http://www.sbsummit.com and various online outlets including the Count Me In Web site, http://www.countmein.org — Merlino will share advice for maintaining and growing a small business, especially in tough times. For example, she will recommend ways for small businesses to be more valuable by aligning with customer needs and give tips on how to streamline operations with information technology for greater efficiency.

Summit participants also will hear from peers about what measures they are taking to stay afloat and be successful in a down economy. These peer presenters will include winners of the Microsoft Bump the Slump contest. The contest, held July 31, 2008, to Oct. 1, 2008, recognizes small-business owners who provided the best tips in one of three categories: IT, marketing and general business. Three of America’s top small-business experts, Steve Strauss, Rieva Lesonsky and Jeff Wuorio, judged the tips in each category based on their clarity, application and potential business impact. Clay Johanson, Matt Lewis and Pamela Viveiros were selected as the award winners. In addition to the opportunity to present at the Small Business Summit, the winners in each category also received $25,000 in Shell gas cards.

Green IT solutions can bring small businesses cost savings.

Small businesses increasingly rely on technology to help the environment and save money, according to results of a survey released today. Findings show that 60 percent of small-business decision-makers save money by using sustainable technologies.

The telephone survey — conducted on behalf of Microsoft Corp. by KRC Research — of 250 small-business IT decision-makers nationwide discovered a growing focus on environmental concerns. Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported that their companies are more focused on being environmentally friendly than they were one year ago.

An overwhelming majority (69 percent) of respondents reported that environmentally friendly practices are important for their business. When it comes to methods for greening their business, 94 percent of those surveyed also believe technology is an important tool to help accomplish that goal.

“Technology can play a significant role in helping businesses lower their impact on the environment,” said Francois Ajenstat, director of environmental sustainability at Microsoft. “Microsoft helps by reducing the energy consumption of technology, helping manage environment footprint and rethinking business practices. This enables organizations to improve both their bottom line and the sustainability of their operations.”

The survey results reveal practices that small businesses see as most beneficial for the environment. Respondents identified a paperless office as the No. 1 green IT practice they feel also offers the greatest cost savings.

One survey participant, Joseph Hommel, chief operating officer and co-owner of Maui Office Machines and Furnishings, considers environmental practices for his business a natural extension of his personal lifestyle.

The survey results highlight sustainable practices that small-business decision-makers believe represent the most savings potential for their business including the following:

• Setting up standards to manage power consumption for computers, such as setting computers or monitors to sleep mode after a period of not being used (28 percent)

• Allowing employees to telecommute (26 percent)

• Upgrading server infrastructure with the most energy-efficient technology available (16 percent)

• Using mobile technology (15 percent)

• Conducting live meetings that share resources over the Web such as presentations (14 percent)

for Nation’s Top Home-Based Businesses for Second Annual “Home-Based 100”

StartupNation (http://www.startupnation.com) and Microsoft Office Live Small Business (http://www.smallbusiness.officelive.com) have launched the second annual “Home-Based 100” to find the top home-based businesses in the country. Home-based businesses interested in making the list can submit their business profile at http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100, with results to be announced in November.

According to the Small Business Administration, over half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home, and home-based businesses contribute more than $530 billion to the U.S. economy each year. With more than 19 million entrepreneurs currently running a business from home, most experts believe this trend is at an all-time high.

“2008 is the year of the home-based business. While home businesses have long been the backbone of the U.S. economy — surpassing more than half of all businesses — this year’s economic pressures have accelerated this trend and fueled a new crop of home-based entrepreneurs,” said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation LLC and one of the country’s leading small-business experts. “Our 2008 ranking of home-based businesses will showcase these unsung heroes of entrepreneurship and demonstrate that home is not only where the heart is, but also where passion, drive and tomorrow’s business success stories live.”

The StartupNation Home-Based 100 is composed of 10 top-10 lists making it not just an ordinary business list. Including the grungiest, the most innovative and the best financial performers, the unique and diverse list highlights the home-based businesses that are often unrecognized, but which still play a vital role in the economy today. The 10 categories for 2008 follow:

• Best Financial Performers

• Most Innovative

• Boomers Back in Business

• Greenest

• Yummiest

• Wackiest

• Grungiest

• Recession Busters

• Most Slacker-Friendly

• Most Glamorous

Check out fellow blog Dealing with Headaches.