Yesterday, an article in USA today discussed the benefits of using software as a service for small and medium size businesses. Previously, most hosted applications have been used by large companies for CRM applications, like Salesforce.com. Now, some new startups, as well as companies in business for years, are seeing new growth as small and medium size businesses become more aware of some the awesome benefits of using hosted solutions.

From the article:

“Nothing is more fundamental than our ability to collaborate efficiently between our bicoastal business units and our partners here in the States and around the world,” says Malibu’s CEO, Henry Fan. The clothing manufacturer continually shares large work files among its designers in Los Angeles, a marketing team in New York and manufacturing plants in Asia.”

This raises some really good points. Online collaboration suites, such as Central Desktop, Box.net (as mentioned in USA today), and BaseCampHQ, make life so much easier for some small businesses, they can’t even imagine how they got work done before using them.

Why use a hosted solution, instead of using software on your desktop (such as Microsoft products). Here are some of the top reasons to use online collaboration software:

-Data can be eaisly shared among team members

-Tasks can be assigned and updated asynchronously (no more bottlenecks)

-Data is backed up and secured remotely, so one lost laptop or a server crash will not impact your business

-No setup time or tech problems

-No need for a full time IT resource in your company

-No expensive server or software costs, pay monthly!

There are some things to watch out for when choosing an online collaboration software suite.

1. Most importantly, make sure that any company you decide to use is reputable, and has been in business for at least 2 years. You don’t want to come to rely on a software suite then have the company go out of business.
2. Also, be sure to look for real testimonials from business owners of similar size and similar industry companies. A collaboration solution (such as Sharepoint) that works for a large company, may not work for  a small or medium size company.
3. Lastly, check the actual hardware and security procedures. Of the company. How many servers do they have? How often is data backed up? Do they have an offsite or disaster recovery site in case of major physical problems with their main site?
4. As a bonus, does the site offer a free trial? The best way  to determine is the software is for you, is to get a Free Trial and give it a shot.

All this criteria shold be weighed against the functionality and features that each software package offers.
For more info, read my detailed review here.

Get a Free 30 Day Trial of the BEST Hosted Online Collaboration Suite plus 25% Off When You Signup through this link, and try it out yourself.