Dear Dan: This is the year we plan to upgrade some of our hardware and software, and maybe look for new web-based solutions to save money. Where can I find the best choices for a small business like ours? – Tech Shopper
Dear Tech Shopper: Technology awards tend to be real yawners because there are so many. But there’s one annual competition I love because the winners in over two dozen tech categories are chosen by popular vote of small business tech buyers themselves. In other words, the folks who use the stuff day-to-day under real business conditions are naming the hardware, software, e-commerce services and security products that they think have performed best.
Voters in the 2008 Excellence in Technology Awards run by SmallBusinessComputing.com continue to back perennial small business winners such as Dell, Symantec, HP, Intuit and Microsoft. But Apple has seen a surge of popularity, gaining hearts, minds and market-share among small business and earning top honors in two categories for the first time.
Here are some of the key results:
Desktop PC: Despite the move to more mobility, desktop computers are still the main small business workhorse, and Dell remains the most popular brand for the 5th straight year. This time it was Dell’s Optiplex 755 in the winner’s circle. This powerful but power-saving new line of PCs meets Energy Star standards and starts at around $800. Runner-up was the HP Compaq dc5750.
Notebook PC: The sleek and powerful MacBook Pro surged to the top for the first time, as business users embraced its speed and versatility. The Apple entry grabbed 53 percent of the votes to run away with the award. In second place, with 16 percent of the votes, is the HP Compaq 6820s.
Printers and multi-function devices: HP rules the printer and multi-function categories with an iron fist. For color printers, HP took top honors in a landslide with its Officejet Pro K5400dtn model. Tied for runner-up were the Brother HL-4070CDW and Xerox Phaser 8860. HP also earned both top places for black and white printers, with its LaserJet P1505n (1st place) and P1006 models, suitable for both home and office.
Mobile Device: Here again, Apple took the trophy in impressive fashion with its ground-breaking iPhone. That’s all the more impressive since this device wasn’t designed with business in mind, and Apple even seemed to discourage business purchases. Nevertheless, the iPhone won easily, and could stay there now that software firms are designing business-related applications for this amazing device (I’m an iPhone owner myself!). The Blackberry 8830 and Palm Treo 755p tied for runner-up.
For a complete list of winners and finalists visit SmallBusinessComputing.com. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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