I’m no technophile. I bought my digital clock radio at home 21 years ago, an eon in the life of what is basically a disposable product. What I like about technology can be summed up as “Does it save me money? Does it allow my small business to operate like a big business?”

Andrew at Southwest Windpower finds inspiration in Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat for “Going Global.” Technology and globalization have created the conditions for both the possibility and the necessity of selling products and services around the world.

I think of the basic technologies we use at Cedarcrest not only as leveling the field for international business, but creating a flatter world for small businesses to operate like big businesses.

VOIP Phone – Surprisingly cheap, especially for a business that makes many long-distance calls. I plug in my phone anywhere there’s a solid internet connection, and it’s ready to go as if I was at the office. For incoming callers to my office the phone rings and I pick up just as if I was sitting at my desk. For outgoing calls I call everywhere as a local call, no matter where I really am. I can intercom my colleague back in the office by hitting his extension.

Voicemails On Email – An audio file of voice messages arrives directly to my email box, allowing me to listen to phone message without picking up the phone. This is part of the VOIP package.

Laptop Portal Into My Desktop – I can remotely ‘take-over’ my desktop when away from the office through a laptop portal, thereby accessing Cedarcrest’s server and all of our business files. This has changed the concept of office location. My office is available wherever I’ve got an internet connection.

Crackberry – This needs no explanation due to its ubiquity, but still, it’s really cool to be able to respond to customers by email wherever, whenever.

Outsourced IT Support – My IT company charges a bare minimum to host my email account, and an hourly rate if I have a problem that needs fixing. They are always available and can usually fix problems remotely by a ‘Portal’ into my desktop.

None of these is ground-breaking or cutting edge technologies…BUT, the fact that they are affordable for small businesses is radical. It gives small businesses a level playing field when competing for big business. In addition, (for better or worse) affordable technology allows me to be in the office virtually, no matter where I go.