Mobi Madness for SMBs Round the Globe

http://go.mobi/

Got a Mobi, I mean, dotMobi (http://mtld.mobi/)? If not, you better listen up. Ireland-based dotMobi, the mobile Web solutions company behind .mobi recently announced highlights of its third annual study, "Mobile Web Progress," on mobile Web trends. It examines available websites via the world’s most-used global top-level Internet domains: .com, .net, .org, .info and .mobi.

What's the upshot on the study?  The mobile Web is continuing its explosive global growth (refer to chart below).

dotMobi’s Director of Engineering, Ronan Cremin, said, “The study demonstrates that apps are shifting to become a part of a broader mobile Web strategy rather than the strategy itself. While some brands build individual apps for multiple platforms like iOS, Android and BlackBerry, businesses are increasingly choosing a mobile Web solution for their content, as many of the Alexa top 1,000 have already done.”

Findings from the 2010 dotMobi "Mobile Web Progress"

Wait, there's more.

goMobi (http://gomobi.info) is another tool developed by dotMobi that allows small business owners to strengthen their presence on the mobile Web by creating customized, professional-looking (and functioning) mobile sites from an easy-to-use template. GoMobi here.

The advantages of goMobi site creation include:

• Affordability (eliminates the need for specialized developers)
• Ease of use (no programming experience necessary, drag and drop technology)
• Functionality (site will function on all mobile devices with web access)
• Immediacy (site goes live within minutes of completion)

Some other exciting resources and tools you might want to check out to learn more are:

• Visit http://dotMobi.mobi for information on .mobi domains and all dotMobi services.
• Visit http://mobiForge.com and http://goMobi.info for mobile site development and services.
• Visit http://mobiThinking.com for mobile marketing information and services (love this!).
• Of course, use the .mobi equivalents of these sites to guarantee a quality experience on your mobile device. And see the dotMobi blog at http://blog.mobi (excellent).

We wrote about dotMobi in our Top 10 Global Trends for Small Businesses for 2009. Find it here, refer to Point No. 2 (we are off by a year -- not bad), and see what others had to say about our report in the comment area.

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Global SMEs Drive Innovation and Competition

Did you know?

Small and medium enterprises (also SMEs, small and medium businesses, SMBs, and variations thereof) are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.

More importantly:

In many sectors, SMEs are also responsible for driving innovation and competition. Globally SMEs account for 99% of business numbers and 40% to 50% of GDP.

The term small and medium businesses or SMBs is predominantly used in the USA.

Read the official Wikipedia definition of an SME here. I like the global flavor to the piece.

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Wanted: UPS to Help Double SMB Exports

What a great job to have! The U.S. has asked UPS to help double exports for small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. UPS will use shipping data to identify those SMBs.

President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling exports to more than $3 trillion over the next five years to help create or support 2 million American jobs.

Less than 1 percent of America's 30 million companies export, which is significantly less than in other developed countries, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Of those that do export, 58 percent export to only one country, providing what U.S. officials see as a big opportunity to expand exports.

A lot of the above stats can be found at UPS Business Monitor.

Read more here.

Another interesting piece: Export volumes: Is it possible to double exports in five years? ~ The Economist

Graph source: here.

How It Works: Cloud Computing

With cloud computing, an on demand access to virtualized IT resources that are provided as a service over the Internet, you can reduce risk and gain control. This is not new. It has been taking place in some form or fashion for years. Just a new name has been coined to define it. For example, if you have an email account with a Web-based e-mail service like Gmail, Yahoo or Earthlink, then you've had some experience with cloud computing.

Cloud computing 101: "How Cloud Computing Works"
Wikipedia definition: Cloud computing

Whatis.com definition:

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams.

According to InfoWorld: What cloud computing really means

2010 Tipping Point for SMB Use of Cloud Computing:

Tip No. 5: SMBs use the cloud to avoid infrastructure problems faced by offering their services in different countries around the globe. The cloud will act as an equalizer in this manner and allow SMBs large and small to compete internationally.

In line with above, cloud computing has changed how companies market, sell, provision and deploy new services on a global basis.

As cloud computing goes global, you have to ask yourself: whose laws matter?

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How To Gain Global Customers

According to contributing writer Carol Tice at Inc., one-half of all small businesses do not have a website. Yes, you read that right.

Think about how many small businesses that might be if you polled the planet!

Half of Small Businesses Don't Have a Website

The actual study can be found here.

What are SMB owners losing by NOT having a Web site?

Customers.

What are you waiting for?

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Let's Work Together to Invigorate SMB Exports!

Who stands the best chance at boosting American exports? Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

'Every team within our building will be involved in this effort to determine what we can do now to make our trade policies more effective in helping small and medium-sized businesses, as we are in assisting ... multinational corporations,' U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters.

Read more here.

How the Mighty Global SMBs Succeed

Working with Verio -- one of the best global hosts on the face of the earth -- as an independent global SMB consultant and they just launched the first edition of an SMB newsletter: ACCESS - SMBs Guide to Success.

One of the feature articles is "Global SMB: How the Mighty Succeed, Despite Harsh Economic Times." Check it out here.

Let me know what you think of the resource and definitely email your small business questions to me -- thanks -- have a great weekend!