Amazon.com Inc. has unveiled a new category store, the Amazon All Business Center that aims to help entrepreneurs find products and services to fit the needs of their businesses.

The store serves as a one-stop shopping destination to help business owners start, manage and develop their business. In addition to providing access to software, computers, printers, books and office products, the store provides access to online Services, fulfillment and offers corporate accounts. To learn more, click on www.amazon.com/allbusinesscenter.

AIG Small Business has added Agility Recovery Solutions to the companies participating in The AIG Edge, the firm’s services for small business owners and their employees. Within 48 hours of being alerted to a business interruption, users can access Agility’s ReadySuite service to assist them with dealing with the effects of losses of power, technology, space and computer connectivity. For more information, click on www.aigsmallbusiness.com.

AT&T Inc. has launched AT&T Remote Vault, a secure online backup service for small business customers. The service enables small businesses, equipped with a broadband Internet connection, to remotely access, copy and store data from personal computers or laptops to an AT&T Internet Data Center, where it is centrally managed and securely protected. Small businesses interested in more information or ordering the service via credit card can visit www.att.com/RemoteVaultPC.

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In a salute to October’s national Cyber Security Awareness Month, Verizon Business is offering all users, regardless of current Internet service provider, online access to the company’s Internet security suite. The service updates every three hours and is backed by free round-the-clock technical support. To learn more, go to www.verizonbusiness.com.

HispanicSMB.com will join Admixture’s multicultural online ad network. This will allow the community of 2 million Hispanic-owned small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to make its audience available to Admixture’s advertisers. For information, go to http://www.hispanicsmb.com.

Internet marketing firm TruePresence has launched a local search enhancement program, designed to increase the chances of local businesses appearing in local natural search results. The program injects such data as business names, addresses, telephone numbers, Web addresses, e-mail address and hours of operation into the search engines, online directories and industry specific portals. Additional information such as specific products, services or brands carried by businesses can also be included in the data feed. Visit http://www.truepresence.com to learn more.

Largely because of doubts about credit availability, small business owner optimism declined slightly in July, according to the quarterly Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. The index, the sum of both current and future perceptions, dropped to 100 in July, down 13 points from April. The index tracks six key measures for expectations: financial situation, cash flow, revenues, capital allocation, job hiring, and credit availability. The survey polled 603 small business owners across the country.

U.S. mall businesses added 44,000 employees during August, based primarily on the strength of the service-providing sector. Figures released by the ADP Small Business Report show that businesses of fewer than 50 employees in the manufacturing sector lost 8,000 jobs during August. At the same time, jobs in the service sector increased by 52,000.

MGN Technologies Inc. has launched the Frazoo Local Network, an advertising network of local businesses found through tier-three search engine Frazoo and its network of search engines and publishers. The network consists of local businesses in several large U.S. cities that want to advertise in search engines and directories. The network will launch in Seattle and Atlanta this month, with more than one hundred local businesses participating initially. To find out more, click onto http://www.mgn-inc.com.

EzySoft Developments has launched Ezy Invoice7. The Windows-based software helps business users create, print, e-mail and manage documents like quotations, invoices, credit/ debit notes and purchase and delivery orders. It also allows users to track sales, receipts, debtors and helps fulfill tax reporting obligations. To learn about the system, go to http://www.ezyinvoice.com.

Small and medium businesses in Germany are on track to spend $7.3 billion on Internet-related technologies this year, up some 5% over 2006, according to a survey from Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc. Among those that currently own a company Web site but have yet to adopt e-commerce, 16% indicate plans to implement an online selling tool in 2007. For additional information, e-mail [email protected].

A newly published book, “Solving the Capital Equation: Financing Solutions for Small Businesses,” offers more than 25 case study examples of what business owners have done to creatively secure capital to expand their businesses. Topics include what is available, what works best for different business types, how to go after business-friendly community banks, how to form strategic alliances and how to tap supplier financing. For information, visit http://www.TocaFamilyPublishing.com.

Ernan Roman Direct Marketing is offering small and mid-sized companies use of the 3-Step Opt-In Marketing Process, a system that helps gather detailed customer self-profiled information. For more information, e-mail [email protected]

CDW Corp. has launched ConduIT@CDW (http://www.cdwconduit.com), an online community for small business IT professionals. The site features technology news, views and forums and online technical resources and contests for registered users. To learn more, visit http://www.cdw.com.

Taxes, overall economic conditions, energy and healthcare costs were cited as key concerns affecting small businesses during the second quarter, according to a survey from management consultancy International Profit Associates. The survey polled 700 small business owners and senior managers across the country via phone and e-mail.

Marauder Corp. has designed and developed Bill Collector In A Box. The software centralizes the management of past-due accounts from initial contact to resolution of the outstanding invoice. For more information, go to http://www.billcollectorinabox.com

San Jose, CA-based eOn Communications Corp. has unveiled Business Connect, a VoIP phone service designed for small businesses. The service allows users, regardless of location, to be part of a virtual telephone system that includes voice mail and auto attendants. For more information, visit http://www.eoncommunications.com.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Business Software Alliance have joined forces to educate nearly 100,000 small businesses on proper software management and the risks associated with the use of unlicensed software. The multi-year partnership will provide small businesses and SBA resource partners with a set of software asset management tools and educational materials that will help small businesses establish, communicate and enforce policies that ensure copyright compliance in the work force. To learn more, go to http://www.smartaboutsoftware.org.

To help small businesses comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Keeton Resources is running a set of four-day workshops in Las Vegas and Irvine, CA later this summer. The workshops are slated for Aug. 29-30 and Sept. 26-27 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and Aug. 27-28 and Sept. 24-25 at the John Wayne Airport Courtyard by Marriott in Irvine. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. has unveiled a new media application server platform for small- to medium-sized enterprises. Applications compatible with the system include auto attendant, voice mail, automated speech recognition, fax, text to speech, unified messaging, interactive voice response, automatic call distribution and others. To learn more, go to http://www.toshiba.com.

GiGcom Inc., a unit of Online Sales Strategies Inc., has signed an exclusive agreement with Small Business Members of America, to provide online services to its members. For more information, visit http://www.onlinesalesstrategies.com.

Legacy Associates, a consulting firm, has launched a new Web site, Consulting Services for Entrepreneurs, http://www.legacyai.com, to provide first-time visitors an introduction to the firm’s programs and services.

Fewer small business owners expect to take a summer vacation of at least a week this year — but those who do plan a break aren’t likely to feel guilty about it, according to an American Express small business survey. Though 72% say they get away guilt-free, the majority of those surveyed (65%) admit they worry about their business while on vacation. The survey, conducted between March 26 and April 12, is based on a nationally representative sample of 626 small business owners and managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Healthcare giant Humana has unveiled a new portfolio of individual health insurance plans under its HumanaOne brand. To learn more, go to http://www.humanaone.com.

The Cal State East Bay Small Business Development Center has teamed up with the U.S. Small Business Administration to present the Economic Summit 2007. The first of four sessions of the Summit will take place on Mon., June 11, from 12:30pm – 8:00pm at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.economicsummit2007.org.

Imation Corp. has unveiled its RDX removable hard disk storage system providing backup, data security and expandable storage for small- to medium-sized businesses. Imation will manufacture, market and sell the system under a licensing agreement with ProStor Systems, the developer of the RDX technology. For more information, visit http://www.imation.com.

Small business is a big contributor to the nation’s economy, generating 50% of the private, non-agricultural gross domestic product (GDP), according to a study by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. However, there has been a long-tern decline from the late 1950s when the small business share of GDP was approximately 58%. For a complete copy of the report, go to http://www.sba.gov/advo.

Portaga has debuted TripSync, an online travel tool aimed at small businesses which works with Microsoft Outlook. To find out more, click on http://www.tripsync.com.

Economic confidence among small business owners increased in March, driven in part by improved cash flow and rising confidence among consumer-focused merchants, according to the Discover small business watch. The telephone survey was conducted March 6-7.

The U. S. Small Business Administration has recognized NBT Bank as the top third-party lender of 2006 in the SBA’s 504 loan program in Central New York. According to reports, the bank led all third-party lenders in 13 central New York counties with eight 504 loans valued at $2.13 million. The combined value of the projects is over $4.13 million, and over 80 jobs have been retained or created. The loans were made to businesses in Albany, Clinton, Herkimer, Fulton and Oneida counties.

Having professional-looking communication materials was ranked as “very” to “extremely” important by 66.2% of the small businesses surveyed in a poll by Office Depot earlier this year. Surprisingly though, nearly half (46%) said they didn’t have a business card for their organization.

Software for Websites has just released FormXP 2007, software that allows site builders and administrators to design and build their own custom forms. For more information, visit http://www.eCardMAX.com.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has approved $350,000 in loans to help four young research-based companies pursue more investment, and develop products within the state. That funding includes two $150,000 small business research loans and a pair of $25,000 business development loans. To find out more, click on http://www.ncbiotech.org.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded ArmorWorks a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a software package designed to evaluate the risk of personal injury before a combat mission is carried out. Using existing laboratory and real-world data, ArmorWorks will design a program to assess the injury risk to military personnel before the start of a mission. The field commanders can then take this data and adjust their strategy to reduce the percentage of lives lost. For more information, click on http://www.armorworks.com.

Owners and managers of small businesses in the western states are by far the most confident in the country about prospects for the next 12 months, according to International Profit Associates. However, the near term forecast for the southern and southeastern states is far less confident. Despite these differences, small business owners largely agree the most significant issues they’re now facing include contending with energy expenses, the continuing increases in the costs of materials and health care benefits. For more information, visit http://ipasbrb.com/regional-business-confidence.htm

CheckFree Corp. has renewed its contract with SunTrust Banks Inc. to offer electronic billing and payment services to its retail and small business clients. CheckFree also will continue to work with SunTrust to educate small businesses and consumers on the prevention of identity theft and fraud. SunTrust is implementing CheckFree FraudNet, a service that scales and detects inconsistencies with increased transaction volumes.

Casa de Domains has launched WebSite Tonight, a product that allows users to design and create a MOBI-compliant Web site. MOBI is a domain dedicated to directing mobile Internet users to Web sites that are constructed to work well on handsets. To learn more, go to http://www.casadedomains.net.

A new survey shows that while fewer small business owners will reward their staff this holiday season with bonuses, more will give time off. According to American Express Small Business Monitor, only 47% of small business owners say they will hand out bonuses compared with 54% in 2005. By contrast, 55% of owners surveyed plan to give employees time off, up 8% from last year. The survey also shows that overall, holiday gift budgets for clients and customers remained steady at $1,065, on par with last year’s average of $1,064 and up from $923 in 2004. The survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 625 small business owners/managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Small business owners’ confidence in the U.S. economy rose for the fourth straight month in November according to the Discover Small Business Watch, which surged 10 points to 130. Powering the increase was a substantial increase in the number of owners who say that conditions for their business will be better in the next six months.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has instituted several measures to help small businesses secure more federal government contracts. The centerpiece of SBA’s efforts is a new regulation requiring small businesses to recertify their size status on long-term contracts when a contract option is exercised, when a small business is purchased by or merged with another business, or at the end of the first five years of a contract. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov.

Microsoft Corp. has unveiled Microsoft Office Live, a set of Internet-based services tailored to the needs of small businesses. Office Live is designed to help small businesses attract new customers, generate repeat business and establish an online presence. For more information, visit http://www.officelive.com.

TalkPlus has debuted Voice 2.0 calling services that work with existing mobile phones globally. The technology was under development for over two years. Offerings include the TalkPlus Number, which is applicable to small business owners, lawyers, doctors, business executives and consultants, as well as members of virtual and real world communities. To get connected, go to http://www.talkplus.com.

Central Connecticut State University will replace the University of Connecticut as the new host of the state’s Small Business Development Centers. The agreement, which takes effect Jan. 1, carries with it $1.6 million in federal, state and other grants.

The Sage Group plc has teamed with MySQL AB in a deal that enables Sage to embed MySQL database technology into its product portfolio. Sage intends to introduce MySQL into its small business range over the next few months. For information, visit http://www.sage.com.

The state of Connecticut has set up a search engine online to help small businesses compete for state contracts. Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the site was designed to make it easier for Connecticut state agencies to identify certified small, women and minority-owned businesses. To find out more, go to http://www.das.state.ct.us.

Early next year, Microsoft will introduce Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007, the successor to Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006. This is solution aims to help small businesses with inventory management, multicurrency invoicing, multi-user access and fixed asset management. The estimated retail price is $149. Visit http://www.ideawins.com to find out the details.

Pennsylvania’s small businesses could receive tax credits for the cost of providing health-care benefits to employees under an amendment sent to the state Senate earlier this month. The state House unanimously approved House Bill 2774 and an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Yudichak, (D-Luzerne). Under the amendment, businesses with 100 or fewer employees would be eligible to receive an annual personal income tax credit for 50% of health-care costs for up to $1,000 per employee. Yudichak said the legislature is only expected to meet a handful of days before the end of the two-year session in November, but he is hopeful the Senate will move the bill to the governor’s desk before the deadline.

BlueTie Inc., a supplier of small business e-mail services, has begun offering its online service for free. In so doing, the firm hopes to introduce the next generation of collaboration software free as a service, replacing client-server solutions like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. A business model that generates revenue through partnerships with trusted business service providers supports BlueTie. For more, go to http://www.BlueTie.com.

Smart Online Inc., a marketer of small business software, has unveiled its enhanced Web-based group calendar software. For information, visit http://www.smartonline.com.

Financial services aimed at small businesses have become fashionable, but are they genuine? “In our research, we found few firms that actually had fully functional small business brokerage platforms, versus those that were designed for individuals and simply re-labeled as small business,” said Michael Ellison, executive vice president at Corporate Insight and author of the Broker Monitor report. ” In its 53 page report “Business Investor/Cash Management Accounts,” the market research firm looks at business account capabilities at 14 major brokerage firms, gives detailed findings of each company’s offerings and makes recommendations to the industry on how to improve or enhance their products and services for small and mid-sized companies. To catch the trend, click on http://www.corporateinsight.com.

The New Mexico Small Business Administration has signed a strategic memorandum with the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico to help strengthen and expand American Indian small business development in the state. Officials say the memorandum will help increase American Indian and minority business communities’ access to capital and technical assistance, and will help Native-owned, small, disadvantaged businesses that are interested in government and private sector contracting.

Web2 Corp. has launched the International Chamber of E-Commerce, an entity designed to help small businesses use the Internet profitably. The chamber offers a variety of reference materials, promotional directories, a community place for online business owners to gather, and a selection of services and products to encourage and simplify e-business. For more information, click on http://www.chamberecommerce.com.

Iomega Corp.

The state of Pennsylvania is investing $1 million to help small business owners enhance energy efficiency and promote pollution prevention at their companies. Since July 2004, the Small Business Advantage Grant Program has awarded more than $2 million to 400 recipients across the state. The program provides a 50% matching grant of up to $7,500; applications will be accepted through Dec. 15 and can downloaded from the DEP’s Web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us, using the keyword “SBAdvantage.”

ACCION USA, a nonprofit organization that offers loans to small business owners who cannot access traditional business financing, has kicked off a new financial literacy training program called Your Money and You. Funded by a seed grant from the Allstate Foundation, the free bilingual program was created to support low- and moderate-income individuals who are interested in starting or expanding businesses. The two-hour seminars are now being offered in Miami, and will be expanded in Boston and Atlanta later this year. Registration and additional information are available at 305-548-3360.

Seagate Technology has launched the Maxtor Shared Storage II product family which allows users to access, share and protect digital content from a centralized location on a small office or home network. The products allow users to automatically back up business files, accounting records, videos, photos, music and other digital files stored on multiple networked computers every day without swapping out tapes, CDs or DVDs. To learn more, click on http://www.podtech.net/seagate

* Nortel has unveiled several new products designed to help small and medium sized businesses, including the Business Ethernet Switch 100 Family, Business Secure Router 222, Business Access Point 120 and Business Element Manager. These products, available starting in August, are designed to address unique requirements, challenges and budgets of smaller businesses. For more information, visit http://www.nortel.com.

* The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers, a large provider of entrepreneurial assistance in the state, have helped create 3,363 new businesses in the past year. That amounts to one new business every two hours and 36 minutes, according to a study from Mississippi State University. The study also found that 80% of companies that started with such assistance were still in business eight years after opening, a nearly 40% greater success rate than the average start-up company. To learn more, see http://www.pasbdc.org.

* Discover Financial Services LLC has launched the Discover Business Card, a no fee card designed for small business owners. The card also offers Discover’s Cashback Bonus Rewards program. Details are available at http://www.discovercard.com.

*John Battelle’s The Search (Portfolio, 2005) is more than just a review of search engine technology in general and Google in particular. Battelle analyses both the practical and philosophical implications of the technology. For example, he cites one online small direct marketer who was knocked from the top of the search list when Google adjusted its algorithms. Sales plummeted overnight. However, the vulnerability of small direct marketers to such casual, if not callous, destruction is not Battelle’s main point, which seems to address such concerns as to whether Google reflects reality or creates a new reality, whether Google is a database of information or a database of intentions. A founding editor of both Wired and The Industry Standard, Battelle may well know whereof he writes. And with the increasing popularity of Froogle with consumers, something small direct marketers may find worth reading.

*Small direct marketers who feel out of their depth with e-mail authentication issues may want to check out the December 6 issue of PC Magazine. Matthew Sarrel, an information security consultant, provides a nice overview of the two major systems (DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM, supported by Yahoo!, and SenderID Framework, SDIF, backed by Microsoft) for e-mail authentication and the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The technologies, by the way, don’t block spam; they only authenticate domains. The matter is not just for DMA members: as the use of the rival technologies increase, unauthenticated emails will more and more be relegated to the spam folder, if not deleted altogether.

*The $6 billion dollar online education market has a new player in PrepMe, the year-old first place winner of Forbes Small Business Student Startup Competition. Unlike three of the four runners up, PrepMe doesn’t want to be acquired. Its goal is be the major test-preparation provider.

*Almost two thirds of all small firms surveyed by Direct magazine use direct marketing to generate almost a third of their revenue. However, they spend only 33% of their total marketing budget on DM, compared with 48% for larger companies. Small firms are defined by Direct as those with less than $10 million in revenue.

*Small companies were six times as likely as large companies to have no opt-in or opt-our mechanism on their e-mail lists, Direct reported.

*67% of all small business owners say that blogs, interactive maps, e-newsletters and Web-based business forms are important to their business, according to the Spring 2004 Business Barometer of Online Activities. In addition, 62% rate search engine optimization, keyword advertising and e-mail marketing as vital.

*Small business owners are increasingly getting news and information online. Forty-five percent spent more time reading e-mails and newsletters last year, and 36% increased their business Web site sage, according to the Spring 2004 Business Barometer of Online Activities In contrast, only 8% said they are reading trade publications more, and 40% said they don