Aciron Consulting

The marketplace may have slowed down but that does not mean it’s any less crowded with applications that are geared towards managing your business. In fact, simply enter “time tracking application” into a search engine and you’ll already find three or four sites that offer an online time tracking program. These types of applications aren’t limited to simply company hours- CRM, Project Management, even Human Resources. There is an application for everything.

However, what’s missing is an application that lets you manage your entire business in a seamless fashion using a well connected program that guides you through every aspect of your business. Instead of multiple programs running from different points of your network, it would be nice to use a single suite of applications that truly better manage your company affairs.

From a business standpoint, having a function dependent on another application would not only reduce redundancies but also increase efficiencies. For example, you have an application that manages your customer information such as leads, opportunities and contracts won. At the same time, you have an application that keeps track of your employees’ hours. Typically with these applications, you would enter all the contract information into the customer/contract management program, and for the hours tracking program, you would once again type in that same contract information into the application. What would be nicer is that the latter application doesn’t force you (the business owner) to re-enter your entire project’s information but actually shows you a list of all active projects that you had first entered via the customer information application.

Such a solution, in fact, does exist. Aciron Consulting has developed and brought forth to the market a seamless business management suite of applications. From financials tracking to human resources, these applications work together and will help any business owner truly manage their company better. Feel free to check out our solution spotlight section on our site.

“Software Development” has easily become a “hot” service word in the past few years. It has clearly played a role in the number of rising software development firms around the world and with so many unique business structures and models, the use of such firms continues to rise.

Yet despite the temptation, an entrepreneur or any small business owner for that matter should ask themselves some questions before beginning the task of software development. For starters, one should ask themselves if automating his or her business process truly makes sense? Is the software development company one that specializes in the business process and could thus bring your best practices into technology reality? Essentially what should be asked is, is that software company developing software or are they creating a business management service solution. In today’s world, it is ever so important to defined what it is you need and from there you can see if technology can be used.

Today’s businesses are inundated with standards. Taxes, employees but there’s one standard especially important with a company’s electronic and information technology: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Amended in 1998 by Congress, Section 508 requires that each Federal agency’s “equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information” must be accessible to people with disabilities. This accessibility feature also pertains to solutions, reports, programs or anything that may have been initially developed by private entities but have become property of the Federal agency. Examples of providing accessibility are providing alternative keyboard navigation (ie a mouse), allowing for automated audible output, and inputting verbal tags such as Alt Text onto the screen.

What this all means is every business owner should take the time to evaluate if the technology they are currently using – whether it’s a web-based application or even simply the company’s public site- follows the accessibility standards set forth by Section 508. By voluntarily fulfilling the criteria, a company can set a technical standard for itself and when working for their clients.

As it is with every new year, many are setting their predictions for 2009. Entrepreneur Magazine has published what they believe are the “2009 Trends to Watch”.

Some of this year’s trends could be considered veterans. For example, being “Green” is on the list. From business practices to consumer products, Entrepreneur Magazine predicts that incorporating what is good for the environment can be good for any business. At the same time, a new trend has made its way onto the list: the Economy. With rising prices, financial instability, and an overall gloom economic outlook, business will have to adapt to the market’s newfound frugal tastes.

Do you agree with Entrepreneur’s trends, or better yet, what do you think are the 2009 trends to look out for?