Taking the initiative: Intel and Hewlett-Packard push tech programs for small business.

Small businesses are at the center of a new marketing campaign designed to lure them to the technology arena. A ground-swell of programs, products and promotions from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Intel now target entrepreneurs who need to bring their businesses into the 21st century.

According to a report, "Technology and the Small Business" (Charles Rivers Strategies Inc.; www. crstrat.com), 30% of small businesses have no PCs and 76% have no networks in place. This creates a window of opportunity for companies like HP and Intel that want to market their products and services to smaller outfits and capitalize' on a relatively untapped market. The idea is to help small entrepreneurs compete by giving them the robust products bigger companies already have, but at lower prices and with more user-friendly setups.

D. Taitt, president of Frontier Underground Produkshunz, a film production company in Atlanta, is pleased to hear about more programs being targeted to small businesses. "Most of the time I feel like technology programs are geared for much bigger companies, so it would be good to see something for the little guy," he says.

HP, known for its printers, PCs, servers and peripheral products, has a comprehensive small business effort--the Small Business Solutions Initiative (SBSI)--designed to help small businesses develop their technological expertise.

Through the program, HP offers PCs, servers and networking products such as the Brio PC and NetServer E45. The Brio, priced at $999, has several built-in help features, dial-in capabilities for remote troubleshooting, and a keyboard with preset and programmable hot keys. For example, one key is programmed to get users on the Internet with a single keystroke--a feature not found in HP's high-end machines.

Kim Tchang, HP's director of sales and marketing for small/medium businesses, says the E45 (prices start at $2,047) is a full-featured system designed to help intermediate-level users easily manage a complex network. The system has built-in support features like Automatic Server Restart and Support Anywhere Auto Alert, a management tool that enables users to troubleshoot using intuitive red, yellow and green traffic icons.

HP also offers a new small business center on its Web site: www.hp.com/sbso/. There, small business owners can access information on topics ranging from government loans and venture capital to case studies of product installations and, of course, news about HP products. A new online electronic commerce center, also featured on the Web site, allows shoppers to research, price and purchase products through a nationwide network of HP dealers.

Intel's small business initiative focuses on getting entrepreneurs connected both internally and on the World Wide Web. Through the company's new hub of network server products and components--motherboards, processors, etc.--small business owners can custom build their own servers. Prices range from $2,500 to $5,000. As part of a new alliance program, Intel will partner with independent contractors to provide services to small business clients. "Right now, [Intel] customers can work with ViaWeb, a Web site development company, to set up a Web site to sell their goods on the Net," says Willy Agarstein, small business platform marketing director at Intel. Through this arrangement, ViaWeb develops and monitors the site for a fee. Posting 20 products on the Web site costs $100/month and 1,000 products costs $300/month.

Taitt, who has been interested in having his own Web site for some time, says a program like this could be what finally gets him online. "I don't have the time or staff to do it myself, but if Intel or another vendor does it for me, it's feasible," he says.

Before purchasing any products, find out whether they are designed to suit companies your size or if they are just scaled-down versions of more robust products. And, by all means, enlist the help of a qualified expert to implement more complex systems. Products aimed at the low end typically promote being "easy to use," but this definition is applied by the technicians who build them. If products you're interested in call for more skill than you have, ask about support services.