SMB

In Part 1 of this primer for small offline businesses that want to go online, we saw how much planning is involved in making the move, from selecting the inventory that will be sold, to choosing which companies will design and host the site. In Part 2, we learn that setting up an e-tail outlet a...

Setting up an e-tail outlet is a natural progression for small offline retailers, according to experts, but in order to succeed, retailers need to plan, plan, plan. For starters, Gartner research director David Schehr told the E-Commerce Times, retailers need to carefully evaluate whether they ar...

E-commerce service provider Beyond.com launched an online software and hardware shopping mall Monday, offering computer-related products from Beyond's eStore clients. "The mall is a marriage between our old retail site and our eStores -- leveraging our brand, but still directing consumers directl...

Web infrastructure services provider VeriSign said Monday it is offering a new Shared Hosting Security Service aimed at helping small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) receive the kind of e-commerce security previously reserved for much larger companies. "It's kind of gluing together the pieces the...

Technology support and services firms are leading U.S. small businesses in using and investing in the Internet, but manufacturing firms are a surprising second, according to a report released by IDC on Wednesday. Manufacturing firms, often deemed late-adopters of technology, have incorporated th...

Linux distributor Red Hat is set to launch a new e-commerce suite built on an open-source platform, the company told the E-Commerce Times on Friday. The new product is aimed at mid-size businesses that want to expand their e-commerce platform to support more transactions, enable more complex me...

IBM said Thursday it is now offering over 30 new Web hosting packages aimed primarily at the small-to-medium business market. The fully-managed programs provide pre-packaged, ready-to-operate services for both e-commerce security and infrastructure, the company said. "We're making these (packages...

Although small businesses have had ample opportunity to tap a wealth of available resources designed to help them sell their products and services online, many are still sitting on the sidelines when it comes to e-commerce, according to a report released Tuesday by IDC. The Framingham, Massachus...

The ranks of profitable e-commerce firms are growing, with the end of this year circled on the calendar by many high-profile e-tailers, including Amazon.com, as the time to move into the black. However, other e-tailers are already profitable and many have been for some time. These companies are...

A recently acquired subsidiary of Microsoft, Great Plains Business Solutions, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with business-to-business (B2B) software provider Clarus Corporation to offer B2B e-procurement software. The new product, called eProcure, is designed for use by businesses looki...

In a bid to tap small but lucrative business markets, Amazon.com announced Monday that it is launching a software licensing unit that it says will enable customers to save up to 20 percent off full retail pricing. According to the e-tail giant, the venture will also enable business owners to redu...

Internet liquidator Overstock.com on Tuesday launched a new business-to-business (B2B) site, OverstockB2B.com, aimed at helping small business owners buy liquidated merchandise at deep discounts. Gartner senior research analyst Gale Daikoku told the E-Commerce Times that OverstockB2B would help ...

Auction leader eBay launched its much-anticipated storefronts project, known as eBay Stores, on Monday. The project will begin with a two-week pilot program involving leading eBay sellers, and will be available to all qualified sellers starting June 18th. Designed to give a sense of the range o...

Not content to rest on its laurels as one of the true e-commerce success stories, auction giant eBay plans to launch a storefronts program in coming months, chief executive officer Meg Whitman told investors Friday. Whitman also told shareholders at eBay's annual meeting in San Jose, California...

Most small businesses in Australia are "barely active" in e-commerce because they are not fully convinced of its benefits, according to a new report from the Australian arm of IDC. The market research firm said that 56 percent of small businesses surveyed currently have no Internet-related reven...