Great changes come to SMB Networks

This week I’m wearing one of my other hats – that of managing editor of Network World Fusion’s SMB Networks Web site – to bring you some great news. We’re getting ready to unveil a newly revamped site – the premier destination for everything you need to know about small business networks, telework and home networks. Sure, you’ll still find all the breaking news, features and great columnists you rely on, but we’ve added new elements, new content and restructured the site so it’s easier to browse the topics of most interest.

Up top, we’ve added new Research Centers that better serve small business networkers: broadband access/VPN, storage & backup, routers & switches, as well as telework.

Next, you’ll find breaking news and top stories as you’ve come to expect. But you’ll also find a “Getting Started” box. What’s this? Getting Started is the place to go when you need a quick education on a technology that’s new to you, or a quick hit on a topic without doing a lot of searching. Want to broach the idea of sending your call center agents home to your boss? Head to Getting Started/Virtual Call Centers to find out what’s involved. Got a meeting in an hour with your value-added reseller to discuss network-attached storage (NAS) options? Head to Getting Started/NAS, and you’ll walk in armed and ready. 

Initially, we have Getting Started sections on backup, NAS, videoconferencing, virtual teams, and virtual call centers. We’ll add to these over time and create new ones, such as voice over IP. If there’s a Getting Started topic you’d like to see, please let me know. 

Scroll down a bit to reach our three new dedicated sections: Small Business Networks, headed by our small business expert and “Small Business Technology” columnist James Gaskin; Telework and Home Offices, lead by me; and Home Networks/Convergence, lead by Instat/MDR analyst and “Digital Domicile” columnist Mike Wolf. Each section includes specific Getting Started pages, complete with rich information and resources. You’ll also find Network World columns relevant to small to midsize networks: “Gearhead” by Mark Gibbs; Tech Update, which examines new technology; Steve Blass as Dr. Internet, who answers your tech questions; and Keith Shaw’s “Cool Tools,” a guide to the latest high-tech mobile devices.

Speaking of cool tools, how could we forget mobile and wireless? We receive more requests for news and information on these topics than any other, so we’ve created a research center called Mobile Corner. Mobile Corner is your destination for mobile news, features, reviews, the wireless research center, the Wireless in the LAN newsletter, the Mobile Computing newsletter and white papers.

Last, if you’re reading this column as a newsletter, please take a moment to subscribe to our new newsletter, SOHO Life. SOHO Life brings to your mailbox Jeff Zbar’s “Home Base” column and Wolf’s “Digital Domicile.” Follow this link to the “Networking for Business” section to sign up. https://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Default.aspx?keycode=foc311. Let us know what you think.