In our rush to get online, sell online, get high-speed access to the Internet and so many other things, some small businesses have been sidetracked and may have lost sight of the upkeep and care of their basic computer systems. Let's face it - the small business world is computing centric. Yes, soon we'll all be computing on tiny finger held PC's, and LCD monitors connected to our glasses, but for now, we work with traditional computers, mice, keyboards, printers and other peripherals. It will not do any good to have the very best site on the ‘net if your in-house technology is outdated. Who cares if you're INITIALLY getting thousands of visitors to your site per day if you can't handle the load because your in-house technology doesn't work?

If when you print, all you get are blank pages...

If 10 years of financial records are not backed up...

If your 14" monitor has caused you to wear Coca-Cola sized glasses...

If you've gotten used to exchanging hard drives between computers since your network is so unreliable...

If you're computer technician is in your office so much (repeatedly fixing things) that you know them better than you know your spouse...

If your office is like this or worse, then all of the cool online features in the world won't matter. If your employees have to share one e-mail account, with AOL, or walk to the library to get their HotMail e-mail, your business is going to die and be eaten alive by a competitor.

In upcoming articles I want to bring us back to the drawing board to make sure that in the next few weeks you can ease stress, work easier, be more efficient, smile at 5:00pm, give your employees a raise and enjoy the upcoming holiday seasons with no stress. Often we forget that technology is not supposed to be our master. I've come across so many small businesses that are enslaved by technology instead of using technology to grow and manage their businesses.

Together, we will explore the areas of: Mobile Technology, Communications, Networking, Business Applications, Software tools and accessories, Useful Hardware Peripherals. We can all use technology to grow and manage your business successfully.

Ramon Ray, small business technology consultant and analyst http://www.smallbiztechnology.com