In the last issue of Small Business Solutions we looked at software packages for smaller traders - the sort of all-in-one office system that claims to do everything and in a surprising number of cases actually does almost everything.
The trouble is, you have to have something on which to run the software. And most of the computers you can buy inexpensively off the page at the moment are stuffed with added extras - games a business won't want, a scanner when one might not be required and so on. Manufacturers accordingly are putting together systems they believe are appropriate for the smaller business, and the conclusions to which they are coming are interesting.
Broadly, there are three areas in which the manufacturers think small and medium-sized enterprises will be interested: size, the ability to link to other systems and cost of ownership.
Size, contrary to the advice of Dr Alex Comfort, is indeed important in a small or possibly home-based office. This is why companies such as Sony (see Guardian Online March 15) are releasing small but powerful systems for the general customer, and competitors such as HP are building systems like the ePC (pictured). This is a useful system on which the space-saving monitor actually costs more than the computer itself (£700-odd compared with £500-odd for the computer) and takes up much less desk space than whatever you had before; it also pivots, so if you're designing something like a web page and would like "real" A4 without having to scroll down, you can have it. There's also a load of business advice-type software and ready-made networking and web connections on board.
It won't suit everyone; HP is pitching it squarely at the small office rather than the home worker, so if your office is in your house and you were hoping for a single computer not only for business but for games and playing DVDs, this isn't it, and for the money that shouldn't be a surprise.
The idea of the compact computer isn't new. It's a matter of economy rather than technology that has prevented manufacturers putting laptop-style technology into desktop boxes before now to keep the size down. Expect to see more of this, with expensive monitors.
Something else that can cause a lot of office clutter is multiple computers at an individual desk, say when someone has to monitor a server as well as their own PC. Black Box's ServSwitch Simplicity is a little junction box that lets you share the keyboard, mouse and monitor between two computers for just over £100; Avocent's SwitchView OSD does the same for up to eight servers and costs £430 plus VAT. These are fine if you have a standard keyboard. Should you want easier access to email and the web for beginners - and therefore go for something like the Microsoft Internet Pro keyboard - they'll work less effectively because some of the keyboard's twiddly bits (such as the facility to attach extra devices to the keyboard rather than the computer) need a USB connection as well as a standard keyboard socket.
If you're still short of space, the multifunction device can be a valuable investment - most combined fax/scanner/ answering machine/telephones are built like brick WCs, but you only need one on the desk.
The other area most small businesses will be looking at is networking. Network specialists 3Com and Netgear supply everything the smaller business should want, from network cards and routers that will let more than one computer share the same internet connection, to a full-blown internet server from 3Com.
DICA technologies goes a step further with an internet server for the non-technical. Called the NetPilot, it handles internet connections and email but also puts in firewalls and other security measures. All of these are aimed at the small business apparently, except that similar technologies are used by the larger organisations as well.
And here's where you can't help but wonder whether "small business systems" are a real thing or just a marketing ploy. During the research for this article a number of companies got in touch and told us about their products. More than one printer manufacturer told us that its devices were well suited to the small business market because they cost less to run in the long term. That's fair, but we don't know many large companies that want to pay more than is necessary either. The networking products designed to support small networks will only support a limited number of people, granted, but there's really no reason a small business computer, if well made, shouldn't be used as a PC in a large corporate environment as well.
Nevertheless, the amount of small business support that comes with some of the products - such as HP's software and internet links - means that among the marketing and rebranding of "classic" (or old) technology as small business specials, there's enough substance for most small companies to come away with something worth having.
