Category: Software
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Most business software is now rented by the month or year. That makes budgeting predictable in theory, but prices rarely stand still. What’s happening – Microsoft’s July 1, 2026 price changes raised commercial Microsoft 365 list prices by roughly 5% to 43% depending on the plan, while adding bundled features like Copilot Chat. – AI…
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Open source is already everywhere in business, often unnoticed: inside routers, firewalls, cloud services, web hosting, and countless applications. Where open source is strongest – Servers and cloud infrastructure: Linux dominates web servers and runs much of the public cloud – Containers and automation tools – Databases and development tools – Security and monitoring tools…
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The biggest Microsoft news for most small businesses this year is about price and packaging. Price increases from July 1, 2026 Microsoft raised list prices for commercial Microsoft 365 suites worldwide on July 1, 2026. Reported increases range from roughly 5% to 43% depending on the plan, with entry-level, frontline, and small-business plans rising the…
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Self-hosting means running software on servers you control, either on-premises or on rented infrastructure, instead of using a vendor’s cloud service. Popular self-hosted tools – Nextcloud: file sync and sharing, calendar, contacts, and collaboration – Bitwarden: password management, with a self-hosting option – Mattermost and similar chat platforms: team messaging – Uptime and monitoring tools:…
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Migrations fail when planning is rushed. A structured approach reduces surprises and keeps your team working. 1. Define the goal and scope Why are you migrating, and what exactly moves? Identify systems, data, users, and integrations. 2. Inventory and assess – Current data volumes and quality – Dependencies and integrations – Customizations that may not…
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Licensing terms decide what you can legally do with software and what you’ll pay. Misunderstanding them leads to overspending or compliance trouble. Common models – Per user: each person is licensed, often across multiple devices (Microsoft 365) – Per device: each computer is licensed, regardless of how many people use it – Concurrent: a set…
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Shadow IT means technology used for work without IT’s knowledge or approval. It usually starts with good intentions: someone needs to get something done faster. Common examples – Personal file-sharing accounts used for client documents – Free AI tools used with company data – Messaging apps for work conversations – Project tools signed up for…
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Several capable AI assistants compete for your business, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. They improve constantly, so choose based on your needs and test with your own work rather than relying on rankings. Criteria that matter 1. Data protection. Does the business plan promise that your content is not used to train models?…
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Employees are already using AI tools, with or without permission. Clear guidance is better than hoping nothing goes wrong. Where AI helps – Drafting and editing emails, reports, and proposals – Summarizing long documents and meetings – Brainstorming and outlining – Explaining code or spreadsheets – Translating and rephrasing text The main risks – Data…
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“We need better reports” can mean very different things. Understanding the difference helps you invest wisely. Basic reporting Fixed reports from a single system: sales totals from your accounting software, tickets from your helpdesk, hours from timesheets. – Strengths: simple, familiar, inexpensive – Limits: siloed data, manual combining in spreadsheets, little interactivity Business intelligence (BI)…