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Tech ideas on a shoestring

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) worldwide have three major concerns: rising operational costs, insufficient access to capital, and growing competition.According to a recent study conducted by AMI-Partners, in mature markets like the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, SMBs cited the uncertain economic outlook and insufficient access to capital as the top two issues hindering their business goals.
Written by Isabelle Chan, Contributor

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) worldwide have three major concerns: rising operational costs, insufficient access to capital, and growing competition.

According to a recent study conducted by AMI-Partners, in mature markets like the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, SMBs cited the uncertain economic outlook and insufficient access to capital as the top two issues hindering their business goals. Concerns were not too different over in Southeast Asia's newly industrialized markets, although the biggest concern was getting access to market intelligence and information.

IT adoption has been billed as a panacea of an SMB's woes, but the money that these companies have to fork out may be a hinderance for those on a shoestring budget. The good news is: in today's increasingly "consumerized IT" landscape, there are lots of new possibilities and it may not cost an arm and a leg to acquire good technology.

For example, there are more affordable alternatives to package software. SMBs can consider open source versions and software-as-a service, which address SMBs' concerns over cost and lack of in-house tech expertise. Leasing hardware is also an option for businesses that want to avoid technology obsolescence. And let's not forget the business opportunities on the Web. Amazon's Affiliates and Google Adsense are two popular programs that many Web site owners currently use to boost site content and earn money at the same time.

Any other suggestions for cost-conscious SMBs?

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