small business

Apple’s iPad Looms Large as Small Businesses Start Making Tablet Plans

Ina Fried in Mobile on December 29, 2011 at 5:49 am PT

The number of small businesses planning to buy tablets in the next 12 months is up five percentage points in the last quarter, with Apple’s tablet leading the pack.

IBM Stakes $1 Billion on Hope of Spurring Small Business Buying

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on September 8, 2011 at 2:59 am PT

Big Blue is hoping to prod small and medium companies to boost their tech spending with a billion dollars worth of easy credit.

AT&T Says It Can Help Crush More Cars (And Sell More Crabs and Bread)

Ina Fried in Mobile on June 8, 2011 at 5:00 am PT

In a series of new ads, Ma Bell is looking to position itself as an aid to small businesses looking to sell more stuff. The campaign, the biggest small business push since AT&T merged with SBC five years ago, comes as the company is also seeking regulatory approval for its acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

On Deck, Which Helps Small Businesses Get Capital, Lands Some of Its Own

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on January 27, 2011 at 4:50 am PT

On Deck Capital, which helps small businesses aggregate their financial information to help them get the loans they need, lands $15 million in a funding round led by SAP Capital.

Skype’s New CEO: Cisco’s Tony Bates [UPDATED]

John Paczkowski in News on October 4, 2010 at 11:03 am PT

Skype’s found a new CEO. And sources tell us (and others) that it’s Tony Bates, SVP and GM of Cisco’s enterprise, commercial and small-business unit. One good reason to believe the reports: Cisco just announced that he’s leaving the company and his duties are being assumed by CTO Padmasree Warrior.

Google (Finally) Finishes Swallowing Up DoubleClick, Announces That It’s Serious About Display

Peter Kafka in Media on February 22, 2010 at 8:00 am PT

Google announced plans to buy DoubleClick for $3 billion three years ago and finally closed on the deal a year later. Now the search giant has announced it is finally ready to get serious about display advertising.

As BoomTown Said: VMware Buys Zimbra From Yahoo (Plus the Full Press Release)

Kara Swisher in News on January 12, 2010 at 1:05 pm PT

As BoomTown previously reported, VMware officially confirmed today that it is buying Yahoo’s Zimbra open-source email unit. Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources said the price was well below the $350 million Yahoo paid for the start-up in late 2007. Sources also said there is a large employee-retention element to the sale to encourage Zimbra’s 110 employees to make the move to VMware. VMware said the acquisition is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2010.

Yahoo Will Announce Zimbra Sale to VMware Tomorrow, as It Considers Bids for Small-Biz Unit

Kara Swisher in News on January 11, 2010 at 10:46 am PT

Yahoo is set to announce the sale of its Zimbra open-source email unit to VMware tomorrow, said sources, for a figure north of $100 million but below the $350 million the company paid for the unit in late 2007. A week ago, BoomTown reported that the sale of Zimbra was likely. In addition, other sources said that Yahoo is about to consider bids it has solicited for its small business unit, which the company has also been trying to sell for some months, although Yahoo will not unload the unit if it does not receive a decent price.

FCC Chair Proposes Net Neutrality Rules

John Paczkowski in News on September 21, 2009 at 8:04 am PT

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski this morning proposed broad new rules prohibiting Internet providers–both wireless and wireline–from selectively blocking or slowing Internet traffic. “It is vital that we safeguard the free and open Internet,” Genachowski said during at event at the Brookings Institute. After the jump, Genachowski’s speech in full.