TECH TOOLBOX BY LEVI SMITH

Overview of useful and cost effective applications and services to improve your business and productivity

Where we’re headed

Communication

Brainstorming

Document Creation

Document Storage & Sharing

Collaboration

Tackling Information Overload

RoadTools

Other Tools

Terminology

Archiving: Storing email or data for long-term retention usually to satisfy regulatory or legal requirements.

Custom Branding: Ability to customize the site URL, color scheme, logo, etc. to fit company branding.

Collaboration Capable: When internal or external users are able to access documents or data to review, edit, etc. in collaboration with other users. Live Collaboration: When multiple users are able to edit a document together in real-

time. Exchange: A Microsoft server used to send and receive email that is delivered to

Outlook, etc. Hosted: Data stored in a third party data center that is accessible over the

internet, whether through a web browser or local application (e.g. Hosted Exchange accessed via Outlook Web Access site or local Outlook application).

Office Integration: Software that can interact with Microsoft’s Office suite (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint) so you can create/update/view Office items (documents, tables, tasks, calendar items, etc.) from within the software.

RSS: A technology that delivers news or blog articles/updates to an RSS reader. Software as Service (SaaS): When a provider licenses a hosted application for

use as a service on demand over the internet (subset of Cloud Computing) VOIP: A phone service that allows voice to be transmitted over broadband (cable,

DSL, T1) internet connections.

Communication: Hosted Email

Hosted Exchange

• Advantages• Familiar interface• Complete mobile support• Outlook offline

synchronization• Office integration

• Disadvantages• Cost for additional space

and online archiving• Extra charge for

blackberry or iphone support

• Cost• $10-15/mailbox/mo for 2

gb• $10/blackberry/mo• $3/iphone/mo

Google Enterprise (Email/Calendar/Contacts/Tasks)

• Advantages• Good value• Archiving included• Free, limited mobile

support• Outlook offline

synchronization• Custom Branding

• Disadvantages• Limited mobile support• Unfamiliar interface• Slow, lots of clicks

• Cost• $5/user/mo for 2 gb

Communication: Other Tools

Fax• eFax (local and toll-free numbers available)

Conference Calls• Freeconferencecall.com (free for toll numbers)

Phone/Auto Attendant/Voicemail• Google Voice (free)• VirtualPBX (auto attendant with call routing;

soft phone available; $10-50/users/mo)• 8x8 (Hosted VOIP; $40/user/mo + phone)

Web Conferencing• GoToMeeting ($470/yr for unlimited webinars

for up to 15 attendees)

Brainstorming

MindJet

• Advantages• Office

integration• Easy to learn

and use• Live

collaboration capable

• Disadvantage• $350/user

FreeMind

• Advantage• Free

• Disadvantages• Less polished

interface• No Office

integration

Document CreationWord processing, spreadsheets & presentations

Open Office

• Advantage• Free

• Disadvantages• Unfamiliar

interface• Limited

features• File format

really limited to open office

Google Enterprise

(Docs)• Advantages

• $5/user/mo• Custom

Branding• Disadvantages

• File formats limited to office, pdf, Google Docs and picture files

• Unfamiliar interface

• Slow, lots of clicks

Office Web

• Coming Fall 2009

• Free light version expected

Document Storage & Sharing

Dropbox

• Advantages• Free for up to 2

gb• Offline

synchronization

• Disadvantages• Unfamiliar

interface• Limited

features

Office Live

• Advantages• Free for up to 5

gb• Office

Integration• Collaboration

capable• Disadvantages• Limited to

office, pdf and picture file formats

Google Enterprise (Docs)

• Advantages• $5/user/mo• Custom

Branding• Offline

synchronization

• Disadvantages• File formats

limited to office, pdf, Google Docs and picture files

• Unfamiliar interface

• Slow, lots of clicks

Collaboration

Hosted SharePoint

(internal)•Advantages

•Familiar interface;•Windows and Office Integration

•Disadvantages•Limited task, calendar and project collaboration

•Cost•$25/mo for 100 users/500 mb•Light version included in some hosted exchange plans

Basecamp (internal & external)

•Advantages•Task and calendar collaboration•Excels as a project management tool

•Disadvantages•Features not as rich as SharePoint•Not intended as a document storage tool

•Cost•$24/mo for 15 projects, 3 gb and unlimited users

Tackling Information Overload

Hire a Virtual Assistant. 5-20 hrs/mo for $12-25/hr depending on experience. Recommend

Secretary In Israel

Use ClearContext, an Outlook plug-in to score and organize email based on

conversation/sender priority instead of date/time received.

Use an RSS reader to keep up to date with news/blog feeds. Recommend Google homepage or Google Reader and Viigo for mobile devices. Use

Tabbloid to schedule a PDF to be created and emailed from RSS feeds.

Use Google Alerts to notify you by email or RSS feed of new results for monitored search

terms

Road Tools

Faxzero.com• Send two, three page faxes a day online

for free

WorldMate• Intelligently assembles and updates travel itineraries

by forwarding reservation emails• iPhone and Blackberry applications available

Remote Access• LogMeIn (free for one computer)

Phone• Skype (free for VOIP calls)

Other Tools

Note taking: evernote.com (local, web and mobile; free version available)

Voicemail to email transcription: phonetag.com ($5-30/mo)

Voice to email transcription: jott.com ($5-30/mo)

Comprehensive Hosted Services & Applications Suite: zoho.com (free version available)

Online backup: mozy.com (First 5 gb free; $0.50 for each additional gb)

File Sharing: filesanywhere.com (secure ftp, rich feature) or drop.io (simple)

Quick & Easy Presentation: drop.io

Free PDF creation: primopdf.com

Free web site analytics: google.com/analytics

Synchronize browser bookmarks across computers: xmarks.com

Free Directory Assistance: goog-411 (via call or SMS)

Free File Format Converter: youconvertit.com

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): salesforce.com

Questions?