Source: Intermedia. Click the image for more.

Intermedia handles around 350,000 premium hosted Microsoft Exchange servers, making it the largest such email provider operating worldwide. It surveys the device makeup of its customers’ ActiveSync-capable smartphones and tablets (basically any device that isn’t a BlackBerry) in the process of running said servers, gathering the data in cloud mobility reports.

This time around, for the period between the end of May and August, iPad activation rose a considerable 102 percent compared to the period immediately preceding it, making it the number two most-activated device (including smartphones) that Intermedia supports. The breakdown of total activations for the period saw the iPhone at number one with 51 percent overall, followed by the iPad with 21 percent. Rounding out the top five were Motorola devices with 9 percent, HTC handsets with 8 percent, and finally LG, Nokia, Palm and Samsung devices with a combined total of less than 4 percent.

Apple’s success with SMB customers can likely be accounted for somewhat by the greater willingness of smaller enterprise customers to embrace “bring your own device” models of IT hardware support, but it’s a trend that seems to apply equally among enterprises of all sizes.

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In the version of Screen Sharing that currently ships with Mac OS X Snow Leopard (1.1.1), users can log in to a remote system, but will only see the screen that’s currently active on the target computer. Mouse or keyboard is shared between the remote computer, and the computer using Screen Sharing to remotely access it, so if a user was actively interacting with each, only one could effectively use the target computer at one time. In Lion, however, a local user can go about their business uninterrupted, while a remote users enjoys their own separate graphical session.

Screen Sharing also gets some additional tools borrowed from Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), which is the professional remote management and distribution client Apple sells, aimed mostly at business and enterprise users. Screen Sharing lifts an Observe mode (viewing, but no control), a Control mode, and a Screen Capture tool from ARD.

Screen Sharing’s new multiple user login support and ARD features should make it a fairly capable tool for managing small, Mac-based offices, or for managing a home network of Macs. It will, for instance, be possible to remote into another computer using an admin account and change software installations or perform remote upgrades while the local user works away uninterrupted. Apple seems keen on breaking down the barrier between consumer and professional software (Lion Server will be integrated free in the regular shipping version of Mac OS X Lion, for example); this Screen Sharing redesign is another step in that direction, and one which small businesses will relish.

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For the past few months, I’ve been in the process of moving from one side of the country to the other. Now that my family and I are settling into our new location, I thought I would share some stories of small business owner encounters I’ve had during my travels. From the end of April to the middle of July, I crossed the country twice by car, and three times flying. Each time, I was reminded of why a Mac is a great small business machine.

iPhones Everywhere, Not a Mac in Sight

During my travels, I met people from all over. Being a tech guy, I would immediately ask questions about what they did for a living, what types of tools they used, the problems their business faced, etc. Of course, for me, the most fascinating part was the software and hardware they used.

Generally, I would hear that they used Microsoft Outlook to manage their email and contacts, Microsoft Word or Publisher to manage their documents, and Microsoft Excel for spreadsheets. Basically, the standard issue PC purchase and Microsoft tools. Some were a little more advanced and used QuickBooks Pro or Adobe graphics tools.

The funny thing is that of the half-dozen or so folks I met, all of them (and yes, I mean all of them) had an iPhone to manage their information on-the-go. They would explain how they loved the user experience, the apps available (not to manage their business, just fun apps) and the cool factor.

Elevator Pitch

Of course, I would then ask why they didn’t use a Mac instead of their current PC. Most of the replies blamed a lack of initiative, the cost of switching, or a fear of change. The cost issue tended to be the less significant of the three. The biggest was the fear of change. Would their documents work? Would they have to change how they completed their daily tasks? What would they do without Outlook (other than have hours of their lives back instead of waiting for that molasses app to run)?

Generally, I would explain the standard Apple business proposition to them: premier/high quality hardware and software, simplicity and fun factor. I would then explain how their documents would migrate with minimal fidelity loss (not every file converts perfectly). I would then begin to sell them on how their data would be better managed.

I really enjoyed showing these business owners how powerful the iPhone can really be when you use it for business. I would demonstrate MobileMe sync and how changes made to their contacts/calendar on the iPhone would be waiting for them when they got home (this usually drew gigantic smiles).

Next, I would open the App Store and show them different Office Apps (QuickOffice and/or DocsToGo), CRM Apps (Daylite, Salesforce, Highrise) and more. I would also show how they can manage tasks with a variety of tools, too.

Support is Key

Before trying to really pitch the Mac, I would spend time understanding their workflow. It’s pretty amazing that regardless of how computer literate people claim to be, they’re often missing huge chunks of know-how. Literacy comes at many levels. So does hardware/software support. That’s why I really believe small business owners need a Mac more than a PC.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, small business owners are inherently busy. Because of their limited resources, they don’t have the money to afford onsite IT support. Hiring a consultant to come fix their software problems is expensive, and the service isn’t always consistent.

Once the discussion began centering on support, it was easy to pitch the Apple Store experience (Genius Bar, One to One, etc.). I mentioned how they could call an 800 number and get support from a technician here in the U.S., and how they also have potential access to a local user group for additional help. You could see them coming around. Everyone has heard the horrible PC software support stories. The prospect of something better never fails to impress.

If you’re a small business owner, I highly recommend looking at the Mac. It isn’t just about avoiding viruses and spyware. It isn’t about being the cool kid on the block with the new shiny device. It’s about having a solid, well-supported product so that you can conduct business without wasting your precious time on IT issues.

Please note, I am neither an Apple employee nor affiliated with Apple in any way. I just like seeing people successful in what they do, and to my mind, a Mac helps make that happen.

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Apple made quite the fuss about the App Store download total reaching the 1 billion milestone, complete with a contest and what was probably a fairly expensive advertising campaign. It seemed appropriate at the time, but I’m now wondering if promoting the landmark achievement didn’t cost more than it was actually worth.

Jeremy Liew, the managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners, reported in a blog post that, according to his estimates, Apple couldn’t have made more than between $20 million and $45 million on all those apps. That’s not a whole heck of a lot, when you consider that maintenance and advertising could carry a hefty expense.

Liew talked to developers and others in the industry to arrive at a rough estimate of what the ratio of paid to non-paid apps in the App Store was, and came up with between 1:15 and 1:40. He then used O’Reilly’s recent survey about the mean price for apps, which is $2.65 (which he points out is probably much higher than the weighted average mean), and then multiplies that by 25 million to 50 million paid apps, what you get when you apply the ratio estimates Liew arrived at in the beginning.

Total revenue for all paid apps would then fall between $70 million and $160 million. Apple, according to its revenue-sharing model, then gets 30 percent of that, leaving it with between $20 million and $45 million. Liew also notes that if you do the same calculations with a weighted average app price of around $1.50, which is probably closer to the truth, the number drops to only $12 million to $27 million. $12 million probably doesn’t even cover the App Store’s advertising budget to date, let alone operational costs.

There are a lot of speculative numbers there, but even given the generous range of revenue possibility, that would mean the App Store is far from being a cash cow for Apple. It would, at best, be a minor direct contributor to its bottom line, and at worst actually an income drain that costs more to run than it takes in. Of course, even if it is operating at a small loss, that’s to be expected for a venture in its first year, so Apple wouldn’t really be acting out of the norm there. Sony sold its PS3 consoles at a loss initially, counting on the software revenue to cover the difference.

Apple seems to be doing just the opposite. If Liew is correct, it’s using the App Store as an incentive to get buyers to pay up for iPhone and iPod touch hardware, which is where the real money is made. That’s great news for us Apple consumers, because as long as the store keeps bringing in hardware buyers, Apple will make sure developers get lots of new hardware feature updates to play with to entice those buyers.

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I thought Daylite 3.7 by Marketcircle was just another PIM, kind of like Microsoft’s Outlook or Entourage. Daylite is not just another PIM; it is a business tool that organizes your data better than any other application I have ever used.

Currently, I am part of FiniteComedy.com, a small video production company that makes video for the web. Creating and producing video content creates tons of projects that require plenty of attention.

My Old System

I had been using a kludge of applications to keep myself organized. I regularly used a combination of Google Calendar + iCal integration and GMail and its Contacts feature. I’ve experimented with 37signals and its Highrise web application — Highrise is an online address book, contact manager, task list web application; I don’t believe it has a calendar. It is a fine web application, but for some reason it never stuck with me.

I have also had a lot of past experience using Microsoft Outlook, but hardly used Entourage.

Enter Daylite: Installation

Installation is done via an installer (no a drag and drop install here). It takes up 141MB of space. While installing, Daylite asks if you want to create your own database or take a look at other databases to get a feel for Daylite in action. I created my own database. At that point, I did not know exactly what I was doing, but I figured I could learn as I go. A “database” in this context is just a term for your Daylite set up. Daylite also asks for personal information and you can import your address book and iCal information. You can also import all or some of your iCal calendars. Those of you who have jumped on board with Google CalDAV integration will be annoyed to know you cannot import these calendars.

The last step is choosing from a template. There are a number of specialized templates to choose from including Film & Video, Law, Print & Design and more. There are also blank and General templates. Each template contains some presets for categories, keywords and settings. I tried General to get a better overall feel for the program.

Life with Daylite: First Thoughts

I started using Daylite like I would any program. I just jumped right in. First I wanted to create a new contact. The default toolbar has often used (or the most useful) functions. When I hit the “New Contact” button, a window pops up with plenty of options for any contact.

After a couple minutes of use, I saw that Daylite provides you with a wealth of options in presenting you your data. To some this may be daunting. In my opinon, this is the kind control that is needed to keep track of multiple projects and data. Connecting projects to contacts is a snap. Just add some one to the “Linked” section. That way, when you look at a project, you can find whoever is connected to that project. Projects can also be linked to to-do lists.

Daylite also puts in an icon in the menu bar with quick access to create new contacts, appointments, notes and more while you are not in the actual program. Daylite is very stable and crashed only once during the testing period.

Daylite has an odd way of searching. The search field looks like a spotlight search, but you must hit enter to get results. Not a big gripe, but I thought it was odd (or at least inconsistent with the Mac interface nowadays) that the results did not populate as you type.

It seems that every bit of information in Daylite can be displayed in at least three different ways depending on how much information you want up on the screen at one time. Personally, I like seeing as much information as I can on someone or some event to get a bigger picture on what I’m doing.

Life with Daylite: Project Management

I have never been completely satisfied with the project management solutions I have tried. The best thing I had found to manage projects and link them to contacts is just using a dry erase marker and my whiteboards. It is an inelegant solution that does not provide any of the comforts of a computer-based solution, but it kind of works except for space issues.

Daylite has excellent project management capabilities. I am currently trying to set up a live taping of “ChannelFlip Tech” and some other shows at the Digital Life Show held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City this September. There are several elements to this project. There is my contact at Digital Life, my co-host and his schedule, potential sponsors, and material for the show.

Setting up the project is simple. Create a new project and input some data like a name for the project and due date. It is the “Linked” field that I found the most helpful. You can link a project to a contact, an organization or a group. The Digital Life project can be linked to my contact at Digital Life, my co-host, sponsors and any one else who has a contact file.

Daylite’s project window shows you your different projects and you can choose to see the data in different ways. You can get a feel for your projects at a glance. I am not completely familiar with every feature yet, but I know there are many other customizations that could make Daylite more useful for my particular needs.

Daylite: The Rest of the Features

There are some very good components to Daylite. There is a calendar that works as you would expect any calendar program to work. It does allow smart calendars which is nice. Events can be categorized, although they can be assigned to only one category at a time.

There is an Appointments feature that takes your calendar data and lays it out like the Contacts section. It is pretty much an alternative view to just looking at the standard calendar.

Contacts are presented in a similar way to projects. You can see your contact list, selecting a contact will show you what is linked to that contact. I am using the “General” template so there is plenty of data fields already. Contacts also support smart contact lists. I am a big fan of smart lists that actively change as information changes. It saves a lot of time over the long run. The “Organizations” feature is similar to the contacts, just organized by organization instead of individuals.

“Opportunities.” You can add a New Opportunity to the Opportunities section of the application. I have never seen this kind of function before. This feature is obviously geared towards a business. Since I am pursuing advertisers and sponsors, this is a great section. Once an opportunity is acted upon, you can create a project. “Opportunities” is like a pre-Project zone.

There is also a “Notes” feature. I have never been a big fan of notes outside of putting notes in appointment data or in a contact file. You can link notes to contacts or projects. This seems to be the best way in Daylite to add notes to Projects. This allows for greater organization of notes as the note appears linked to the project, and the project appears linked to the note.

Conclusion

Daylite is one of the best solutions I have used to manage information. However, it is not something everyone needs. If you want to use Daylite as an iCal replacement, then it is overkill. This is software built for a small business that wants to manage its contacts, calendars and projects well. Daylite is priced at $149 US for 1 user, $745 US for 5 users and $1490 for 10 users.

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