Free Software Options for Small Businesses on a Budget

When you’re running a small business, controlling costs is the key to keeping your head above water. Of course there are certain unavoidable things that require an investment, such as overhead and staff. But the good news is, there are also a number of free resources available to help small businesses with their software needs, and they’re pretty impressive. Here’s a handful that we recommend.

Google Docs – When it’s powered by Google, you know it’s good. Google docs is a free application that lets you create everything from documents to spreadsheets to calendars and even surveys that you can use to get valuable feedback from your customers. The best part is that everything is stored securely in the cloud, letting you share any and all your data instantly right over the web.

OpenOffice – If you prefer to store your documents on your hard drive or internal server but can’t afford the hefty price of Microsoft Office software, OpenOffice offers similar programs for free, including word processor, spreadsheet and presentation applications. What’s more, it’s compatible with a variety of other file formats, including MS Office and is available in nearly 30 different languages.

Skype – More and more small businesses are beginning to see the value of using Skype for their telecommunications. It’s especially attractive because you can make person to person and video calls to other Skype users for free. Even the more robust packages they offer are extremely cost effective. Skype gives you lots of options at little to no cost. You can even integrate it with your Synclio account. (Check out our article about how you can use Skype as your business phone system for more information.)

Distributed Source – CRM is the practice of effectively managing your communications and relationships with your customers. There are a number of CRM software products on the market, but Distributed Source offers a free basic plan for up to 3 users and 3,000 contacts. It’s the perfect way for a small business to organize and track leads as well as manage contacts and tasks efficiently.

WordPress – Blogging is an extremely important part of SEO because search engines like Google give particular preference to sites that are frequently updated with fresh content (i.e. a blog). WordPress provides a user-friendly free way to create and manage your blog so you can help get your business noticed on the web.

These are just a few of the many free resources available to help small businesses achieve success on a tight budget (just do a Google search to find countless more). For those companies trying to cut costs, Synclio also offers a free trial of our virtual phone system as well as a variety of affordable plans to choose from. With all of these tools, you’ll be armed and ready to take on the competition and come out on top!

Labels: budget, skype, small business tips, virtual pbx free trial

Use Synclio’s Virtual PBX with Google Voice

Not too long ago we blogged that you can Use Synclio’s Virtual PBX with a Skype Number. What we forgot to mention (or perhaps held back intentionally to squeeze out another blog post *evil smile*) is that the same applies to Google Voice.

Simply use your Google Number when setting up the service, and Synclio will automatically treat it as it does any other landline or cell-phone number. This lets you enjoy all the awesome features of Synclio’s virtual PBX while taking full advantage of Google’s cheap VoIP service. Wait—did I just say ‘cheap’? Scratch that—I meant to say ‘Free'

Google Voice offers free calling in the US and Canada (at least until the end of 2011) and ultra-low rates to all other destinations across the globe, rivaling even those offered by Skype.

At the very least, this should pique your interest. We’re not only talking about empowering you to give major telecoms the boot, we’re talking about challenging the most renowned VoIP telephony provider to date!

This may be fast turning into a phone-eat-phone world full of cut-cord competition—but hey, as consumers, we only stand to gain from seeing a good dog-fight!

So seat back, enjoy the show, and reap the benefits—starting with a brand new virtual PBX phone system from Synclio with free VoIP calling courtesy of Google Voice.

Now that's sweet!

To learn more about the common features of a virtual phone system, check out our 'Anatomy of a Virtual Phone System: What’s in it, and why you need it?'

Labels: business, free calls, google number, google voice, hosted pbx google voice, skype, virtual pbx google voice, virtual phone system, voip

Why Did Microsoft Buy Skype, and How Might it Affect Current Users?

Ever since the news broke out last Tuesday the internet has been abuzz. Everybody seems to think they know Microsoft’s business better than Microsoft—but seeing as the software giant didn’t rise to where it did without merit, shouldn’t we at least give them the benefit of doubt?

Why did Microsoft buy Skype?

The major criticism is that Microsoft has grossly overpaid for the acquisition.

It’s no secret that, while amassing users by the millions and growing popular enough to have become a verb, the telephony provider has been having a hard time converting this popularity into profit. However, the company has come a long way, with 20% increase in revenue and 40% increase in earnings through 2010. This still didn’t quite bring them over to see a profitable bottom-line, but all in all, they only dipped $6.91 million as opposed to a whopping $368.8 million in 2009—which is a huge improvement. They are further projected to earn 1 billion in 2012, which is expected to be their first profitable year, and Microsoft evidently has faith in this forecast.

Then, though popularity can’t guarantee profit it can certainly be a powerful auxiliary, especially in the hands of a company with products and services that can realize the conversion. Just to put this popularity into context, Skype has had over 100 million connected users every month with 30 million concurrently connected at any given time, and 600,000 new registrations every day. In 2010, the company facilitated a total of 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations.

This is one huge chunk of the market when directed at the right product.

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer additionally suggested monetization opportunities that have only been scratched so far, such as premium services and video advertising.

Then, of course there are synergies. Microsoft has many products and services that can readily benefit from the incorporation of voice and video—including Windows Phone 7 products, Xbox, Kinect, and Lync—but perhaps most imminent is integration with their Email service, where they’ve been pushed to the sidelines by the big G.

Google’s Gmail offers a robust one-stop-shop for managing email accounts and document through Google Docs, with integrated chat, voice and even video capabilities. This is one powerhouse of a system.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has its services scattered between Windows Live Mail on the web and Outlooks on the PC, with nothing that can hold a candle to Google’s communications offerings.

Now, Microsoft could start investing time and resources to develop its own VOiP/video service and then attempt to capture a market-share—but that’s an expensive and time consuming process with no guarantees of success. On the other hand, they could do just what they did and buy Skype outright, part-and-parcel with its entire dedicated user-base. Has this been any less expensive? Probably not. But it’s certainly a hell of a lot faster—and the folks at MS must’ve felt that they can afford the cash more than they can afford to lag behind Google any longer.

Buying Skype also landed them with a development team that has pretty much made video-calling what it is today. So if the goal is to keep pushing the boundaries, this definitely gives them a competitive edge.

All this shows that at the very least there’s some method to their madness (if Microsoft has indeed gone mad as suggested)—and perhaps even a good chance the deal will turn out very well for both companies.

How might this affect current users?

Both Steve and Tony Bates (formerly Skype CEO, now head of Skype division at MS) have made it clear that they will continue support and development of Skype on multiple platforms. In fact, Microsoft is one of the only big players that can show a track record of doing this. So if you’re a Mac user and the news got you worried, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Next, users might be concerned that the free service offerings will come to an end. But you don’t buy something that works only to mess it up—you buy to build up on it. Microsoft knows that the bulk of Skype users won’t stick around without free calling options, and they’ve just paid an arm and a leg (or at least a finger and a toe) to win these users over. It then stands to reason that rather than billing users for services they’ve gotten used to getting for free, Microsoft will come up with additional premium services and products that incorporate the technology and sell them separately.

Moreover, if a main driving force behind the deal was to stay competitive with Google, there’s simply no way they can start charging for voice or video calling while Google is offering both for free. That would be an economic suicide.

Lastly, consider that with pockets as deep as Microsoft’s, new features and services are likely to come out quickly—and many of them will be geared towards business users.

So rather than getting apprehensive, we should really be excited about what the future holds in store. After all, the biggest gamble here was made by Microsoft. As a user, should you find yourself unhappy with the way things turn out, you’ll always be able to opt out and switch over to the next big thing as it comes along. Microsoft, on the other hand, will left footing an $8.5 Billion dollar bill.

For those interested, here's the conference video:

Labels: business, how will it affect users, microsoft, skype, telecommunications, video calling, voip, why did Microsoft buy Skype

Use Synclio’s Virtual PBX with a Skype Number

If you’re one of the forward-thinking business owners who’ve already made the switch from traditional landlines and cell phones to Skype but felt the one thing keeping you from true bliss is the inability to integrate a proper phone system—you’ll love what we have to say!

So here it is: you can.

All you’ll need is a Skype online number.

Synclio’s cloud based vitual PBX treats your Skype number just as it would any other landline or cell-phone number, giving you full access to all the awesome features. Now you can reap the benefits of a full-featured PBX while using Skype’s mega low rates and calling plans!

So whether you have completely done away with the major telecoms (and the associated major headaches) or only use Skype to supplement your traditional means of communication, you can now enjoy one powerhouse of a system!

What’s more, with features like Find Me Follow Me and customizable call routing rules, you’ll experience a seamless integration of all your devices—so it’ll truly be YOUR business, anywhere.

To learn more about the common features of a virtual phone system, check out our 'Anatomy of a Virtual Phone System: What’s in it, and why you need it?'

Labels: business, cost saving, IT, phone system, skype, technology, virtual pbx skype number, virtual phone