Finally someone has written a book on computer networking for the man/woman who signs the check rather than the network technician.
There are more than 40 million organizations in the small-to-medium business arena – 20-1,000 employees and last year we shelled out over $75 billion for information technology – hardware, software and services. Most of that money was spent or misspent on blind faith that by adding the new technology we were going to increase the control over our businesses.
While there are hundreds of books for executives about management style, organization, profit/loss, people selection and marketing. This is the first easy-to-read, easy-to-understand book we’ve read that tells you how to use technology to streamline your business processes and use the dizzying array of previously mysterious technologies to monitor and control business processes, product/service development and reaching the right customers profitably.
Ms Aber has balanced her technical background at 3Com and Cisco with her practical SMB experience gained involved in a struggling start-up – OneWorld Systems – and modestly successful mid-sized firm – Novartis.
Power-Up Your Small-Medium Business is divided into four logical sections – the value of networking, network basics, advanced technologies and implementation considerations. The network basics section is probably very intriguing to people who tinker and tweak technology, for most business owners and managers we thought it was a lot like reading a book on how your car engine works – interesting but more than we wanted to know.
Because most SMB owners/mangers are more focused on results rather than the how-to, the first section – value of networking – is a good primer on the strategic aspects of the technologies. Forget about having to take a computer science course on how network technologies do whatever they do. Whether you sit at the desk where the buck stops or have to make recommendations that will help your area of responsibility – engineering, manufacturing, logistics, marketing or sales – Ms Aber explores why business people need to use the technology in dollar and cents as well as real business terms.
Since we know enough about the technologies to be dangerous, we skipped to the fourth implementation section because this is where most sales and technical people seem to throw up all the smokes and mirrors as to what they are going to do for you. Again using words that real people can understand she lays out a variety of application scenarios that small – medium business managers can consider.
Her approach is to give you a set of basic to full-blown technology recommendations you can use depending upon your budget. More importantly, unlike most technologists who fall in love with and design/implement a closed-loop solution for you she outlines some technology growth plans you can use.
As a result you don’t have to commit to solution A, B, C, D or E but can buy off on solution A/B and have a plan on how you can get to E as your company grows. In addition and equally important she gives the reader an insight into the technologies you may want to consider – wireless everywhere, video-enablement and electronic business-to-business or business-to-consumer – that firms may possibly use to give them a competitive edge in their markets.
Just by reading these two sections a business manager or unit manager has the tools he or she needs to hire someone – internally or externally – to carry out the company’s network-powered program.
The reader is well armed with information to know what questions to ask, what to expect, and how to use the technologies once the company has them in place.
The middle sections are really reference chapters. Want to know networking basics? Ms. Aber lays out the areas – computer networks, switching/routing, security, intranet/extranet and virtual networks – so you can understand the concepts. Again she delivers enough information you can actually understand so you know when people are making recommendations that will benefit your company or their profit.
The advanced technology or “gee whiz” section is fun to read. She actually makes it easy for you to understand what is here now and on the horizon that can be used to give you an edge over the guy down the street, across the country or half-way around the globe. It is pretty obvious that Ms Aber thoroughly understands her technologies because she explains them so well that whether you have an accounting, marketing or MBA degree you can do a little dreaming and imagine how the technologies can be used in your organization or by others in your marketplace.
Ms Aber’s writing makes dry and dull disarmingly easy to understand.
Whether you head a small-medium size company or are a business unit manager, Power Up Your Small-Medium Business is a good primer and working tool to understand what is out there and available to you as well as what it can do for your company’s bottomline.
If you are in one of the ten million 100-1,000 employee firms that have an IT department the book will help you understand what your people are recommending to you, and whether you believe the recommendations will help you reach your goals.
If you are like us and in the majority of American business – 20 – 100 employees – where a network manager has to wear two or three hats, the book becomes even more valuable. Most of us outsource the network technology implementation and have a service person on call…just in case. Ms. Aber gives the business owner the power to understand what the technologies are, what they are going to be and how we can use them to our advantage.
Finally the biggest segment of American business has a roadmap they can read – and understand – about the mysterious field of network technologies that focus on discussing them in business terms, not techie terms.
######
Power Up Your Small-Medium Business: A Guide to Enabling Network Technologies - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 Power Up Your Small-Medium Business: A Guide to Enabling Network Technologies
|
| |
Power Up Your Small-Medium Business: A Guide to Enabling Network Technologies – Robyn Aber; Cisco Press, 800 East 98th Street, Indianapolis, Ind 46240; ISBN 1-58705-135-4; March 2004; 295 p; $39.95
|
|
An Introduction to Web 3.0
|
| |
Web 3.0 is the new generation of the World Wide Web, through which Web 2.0 technology joins hands with the Semantic Web, making it possible for humans as well as machines to access and use the information stored in ...
|
|
Are There Holes In Your Network?
|
| |
 Once you build a little trust with your clients they often come to rely upon you for more than the scope of your products or services. “I know you’re my accountant, but do you know anyone who can fix my garage door?...
|
|
Create Your Own Referral Sales Force
|
| |
Joining referral networks like BNI or local chamber groups can be a great way to help you network and generate referrals. The most powerful way to use this strategy, however, is to grow your own.
|
|
Is Video on Cell Phones the Killer Application for Telecom
|
| |
Cell phone video and camcorders? Third Screen or Fourth Screen? Who cares? Lets make movies!
Is cell phone video the future of Video over the Net? Killer applications for cell phones
|
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation.
BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them?
If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|
Vwodek Wojczynski
Business Coach and Consultant Vwodek Wojczynski (pronounced Voy-chin-ski) brings fun, awareness, accountability and fresh perspectives based on his diverse experiences in life and business.
Born in Poland and educated in Greece and Canada, he is trilingual with 8 years experience in business development with clients in Canada, USA, Switzerland and Poland.
His approach is systematic and process-driven. He fuses the know-how of proven business methods with his commitment that entrepreneurs experience satisfaction and joy based on their values, motivations and strengths. He believes that businesses succeed based on their ability to generate value by providing what’s needed and wanted.
Ultimately, he trains executives and true business owners - people who work less, produce more, own businesses that run automatically after a while and make a difference globally.
His current research focus is the development of intelligent business systems and the application of emerging artificial intelligence technologies in business.
He is also an avid traveler, spoken word performer and visual artist. He resides in Toronto, Canada. - Visit Vwodek Wojczynski's Website |
|
Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development.
Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit.
He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine.
He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball.
He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|
George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance.
Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson.
His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more.
George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|
David Barr
David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business.
David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|
Accessible Business Consultants
Dave Turkin, President, of Accessible Business Consultants is a full service business consultant that has over 32 years of experience working with small-medium size businesses. Dave has designed and implemented numerous business and marketing plans, designed internal programs for accounting and operational procedures. He has analyzed businesses and prepared strategic plans setting budgets for growth, expansion and business restructuring.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors of various corporations as an advisor. For many years he has been the Business Coach to many executives offering advice and guidance from old and established companies as well as new companies just getting started.
Dave has the ability to analyze a business quickly and get a strong indication as to the necessary steps to improve operations, productivity and profitability. - Visit Accessible Business Consultants's Website |
|
Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations,
networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business
ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
