Jason in his spare time is a connoisseur of Caribbean culture, being a passionate amateur Caribbean cook and an avid traveler, while keeping in close contact with family and friends living in the United States and Jamaica. He also enjoys reggae music and other genres of music which call the Caribbean home.

The crisis in Japan is heart wrenching and hard to fathom. It's been said that this will be one of the most closely examined disasters in history. The lessons learned will help generations for years to come. But what can you do today to prepare your business and family for a large scale event? Simply put, prepare to go it alone for the first 72 hours.

FEMA recommends to be prepared with adequate supplies for the critical first 72 hours after a disaster. This includes operating under the assumption that utilities (phone, electricity, gas) as well as public safety (police and fire departments) may be unavailable. The following items should be included in a 72 hour "go bag" or kit:

All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.

Bob Burg

LOGICAL VAULT. PEACE OF MIND IN NO TIME AT ALL

Complete & redundant hourly backups of all your company’s data and servers, up and running in less than a day, no maintenance required!

LOGICAL VAULT plugs right into your existing network so no major interruption in day to day operations will result from this configuration. Plug and play as they say.

Keep downtime to a minimum with these unbeatable features:

Now that the costs are reasonable, the technology friendly, and the hosting services hassle-free, it's hard to resist the benefits of webcasts.

As a result, demand is growing. The worldwide market for real-time and team-based collaboration technologies is now about $681 million and expected to top $1 billion by 2008, according to market researcher Gartner.

Business-to-business marketers of all sizes and types are discovering they can save money and boost sales by engaging in collaborative web conferencing. It's worth checking out. Here are six things to know before you do.

What is a webcast, anyway?
Online conferences or Web seminars — webcasts — use the Internet to broadcast a live or delayed audio and/or video transmission to a targeted group of users who log in for the event. The online meetings are interactive and collaborative. They're in real time so there's two-way communication via instant messaging applications or other software between a participant and the conference leader or across the team or group, depending on how you customize the meeting. You can instantly share content and visuals, watch and listen to presentations or ask questions and make comments — often simultaneously.

When relying on a webcast hosting service to run the show, such as Microsoft Office Live Meeting, participants need only a phone, a computer and an online connection, whether dial-up or broadband. Most providers also allow for recording or archiving the presentation, so it's available on-demand after the event. Typically, promotional webcasts are invitation-only and free. Sign up for a free trial of Live Meeting to see how it feels.

Read On

Should You Own Your Servers?
used with permission from the Microsoft Business Site
 

Technology buyers today have more choices than ever before. Hardware and software can be purchased, leased or rented. Software can deployed "on-premise" or accessed "on demand" using cloud computing offerings, where you pay a monthly fee for software access. Each of these options have their place.

In spite of the trend toward cloud computing, many companies are still buying servers and software to run their business. In fact, most businesses will deploy one or more servers in-house for needs which are not effectively met by in-cloud services.

Before you go out and buy your own servers, consider your options. A server purchase requires an upfront investment, but over the course of several years, you may meet your business objectives much more effectively by buying servers and software vs. using cloud computing or co-location (data center rented server space) options.

When you use cloud computing, you're also usually limited to standard options. Extensive software customizations are normally installed on your own server. For example, if you want store documents among your team "in the cloud" using Microsoft SharePoint Online that's easy. But if you want to customize SharePoint extensively, or use it as your external website, a traditional on premise SharePoint implementation is going to be the right choice for you.

Read On

Few things are as critical to your business as a phone system. Even with the sky-rocketing percentages of people using social media and the steady rise of email correspondence; people still use the phone as a critical business tool. A phone call allows instant communication and response time. With a phone call you can pick up the subtle nuances of speech and timbre that do not translate in electronic communications. All the emoticons in the world can’t clarify the simple things you can pick up on a phone call. There is also something comforting about talking to a live person. You know they understand your need and that they are willing to meet that need.

The problem is that so many businesses are using outdated or home-use phones in a commercial environment. There are many options out there for Business Class Phone Systems. Remember all phone systems are not created equal!

When selecting a Business Class Phone System ask the following questions:

1. What is the total purchase price, including any additional needed equipment and any suggested equipment? Sometimes the system itself isn’t the real cost issue; it is all the added things you will need for it to operate properly.

2. What is the total cost of ownership for the next 2 years? 5 years? 10 years? Some systems look good at first blush. The equipment may be less expensive, but the installation is lengthy and the configuration complicated. Some systems have an easier install, but if you look at the yearly fees you know the TCO is not what you thought. And how much are the updates going to run you?

Read On