Home > Technology News > Microsoft announces new SME-tailored applications

Microsoft announces new SME-tailored applications

Published On 25 January 2007 at 14:40:05

Microsoft has announced that its industry partners are to build an array of applications for SMEs.

The new applications are designed to ease SMEs through the difficult start-up process, with Microsoft noting that 50 per cent of US small businesses fail within the first year and similar rates are seen in the UK.

Built for the Windows Vista operating system and 2007 Microsoft Office system, the new applications will help SMEs through the crucial first 12 months, Manufacturing Talk.com reports.

"The odds are stacked against small businesses keeping their doors open during the first year of business, let alone the first five," said Dave Wascha, director of the Windows Client business group at Microsoft.

"Our industry partners have built applications on Windows Vista and Microsoft Office that will give small-business owners the tools they need to buck that trend."

The applications have all been built by independent software makers to utilise existing features in Windows Vista and Microsoft Office.

It is intended that they help SME owners manage cashflow, stay productive, track orders and sales leads and ensure protection and privacy of business information.

The net result will see SMEs able to dedicate a greater proportion of their time and energy to increasing revenue.

"We fully recognize our business reality and are dealing with it. We have a plan and we are on track to deliver."

Market analysts believe that the canonical American brand will lose its position as the second largest carmaker in the US to Japanese giant, Toyota.

 

Related Technology News:

• Office workers 'waste time emailing'
  8 June 2007 at 08:55:35
  Office workers - including those at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - spend nearly ten years of their working life dealing with emails, a new report suggests.
• 'Spam spikes' target SMEs
  6 June 2007 at 12:37:55
  Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are being targeted in more 'spam spikes', which are harming their operations, a new report claims.
• More SME owners apply to protect their ideas
  4 June 2007 at 14:11:25
  Television programmes like Dragon's Den are encouraging more and more people to try to start their own small business, official figures indicate.
• SMEs 'think customers are more demanding now'
  1 June 2007 at 16:57:13
  The owners of the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) think that it is harder now to run a successful business than it was in the past.
• SMEs 'unhappy with company websites'
  29 May 2007 at 12:23:11
  The majority of the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not think that their company website truly reflects their brand, a new survey revealed.
• FSB welcomes EU action on mobile phone charges
  24 May 2007 at 09:20:48
  Small and medium-sized enterprises from the UK that do business in Europe have welcomed the EU's decision to cap the roaming charges levied by mobile phone companies.
• Consumers reveal their top business grumbles
  22 May 2007 at 09:01:29
  The owners of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to make sure their businesses have excellent channels of consumer communication if they hope to be successful, a new study has revealed.