SB means what I think it means...
Susan's blog Entry is right on the money.
SMB is a rather nebulous world, where red and white mix into various shades of Pink...For some, my brother for one, SMB is defined as anything less than Multi-Data Center, multi-platform. For others it may mean, anything larger than a Mini Cooper with a cellular data-link. I think all of us who cater IT services to SMB have a pretty good idea of what it is, but few articulate it well. We, at Annabel Watters, PC have been focussing on, not necissarily by choice, on what some may call the Micro Business. These are those with a handful of employees and have a pretty straight forward needs base...Share file, share internet access, send and rec. email, etc. These have become my customers, but what is different, is that rather than telling htem, hey go over to Joe's Hosting, they'll give a Terra-Byte of data and a thousand email addresses for $20/month, I look at who they are and what their business needs are. Not just today but 6 months from now, 2 years from now, 4 years from now, etc... We spend time over lunch and a couple of meetings. I learn as much as I can about them and their business. Hopefully I share as much about us and our business.
Back on Topic...Samll Business is not nec. less than 75 users, it's a state of mind...what does your business want to be. Are you looking to grow? Are you willing to invest in that future? Are you looking for more than a Open Office and Joe's web hosting? If you aren't, that is O.K., I'll be glad to replace your hard drive, or whatever. If you are, however, then there's some GREAT Stuff out there. It doesn't have to be $20k for that first server...You don't have to send that $200/user/3mos to Salesforce.com. You don't have to run Norton AV becaus that's what came with that Laptop from Big Box store A,B, or C. You CAN have Enterprise grade solutions, at a Small, even Micro, price, compared to what it was 3, 5 10 years ago.
Small Businesses CAN have the Silent Partner on their Payroll, without having to pay unemployment and labor taxes...
so, Susan, to me, SB means a business that happens to be small in number of people, but not in ambition, or in needs...
-bill