eBox, a home network solution par none

eBox, a home network solution par none

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eb
eBox Platform is a unified network server that offers easy and efficient computer network administration for SMBs. It can act as a Gateway, an Infrastructure Manager, a Unified Threat Manager, an Office Server, a Unified Communication Server or a combination of them. These functionalities are tightly integrated, automating most tasks, avoiding mistakes and saving time for system administrators.

I have a fairly complicated home network, which includes several desktops , a linux server, laptops, media centre, x-box, nintendo, wifi access point, wifi phones, etc. All of these gadgets connect to the internet for email and other connectivity based stuff.

To make matters worse, we also run a B&B on the same property, so have guest access into our home network via the Wifi access point (via WPA2 encryption).

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Cape Town Joomla Day

Cape Town Joomla Day

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Joomla Day

I attended Joomla Day in Cape Town this weekend. Ryan Ozimek from the Joomla core leadership team gave the keynote address, giving us an overview on the people and passion behind Joomla. It is good to know that there is real professionalism and drive behind this great open source innovation.

One of the several highlights for me  was the overview of the new Morph template framework introduced by the the joomla junkies.  Another was the talk by Phehello Mofokeng on the real life world of using Joomla.

Four interesting point raised during the day are as follows: …

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Small Business Rescue Service

Small Business Rescue Service

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Office Reliance introduces a service aimed at entrepreneurs wanting to ride out the current recession without seeing their businesses closing down.

edfaDesperately seeking a way to save your business? Make use of the admin and office services supplied by Office Reliance and cut your overheads to the bone.

In these taxing economic times, turnover and profits are taking a nose dive and business owners must do everything in their power to keep expenses to a minimum.

Salaries, administration and office space are three areas that tap your business and can easily suck dry the diminished cash flow still generated when times are tough.

Joomla Web Design training comes to the Garden Route

Joomla Web Design training comes to the Garden Route

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Office Reliance is hosting the Garden Route’s first Joomla web design course. The course will run from 2 to 4 December at the Reliance training center.

“Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.”

The course is split into three separate parts, on consecutive days.  This allows participants to pick the days that are suited to there particular skill level. …

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George Tourism in crisis

George Tourism in crisis

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George and surrounds is arguably the heart of the Garden Route, and as such is a major tourism destination. For years now the local Tourism office has worked tirelessly to benefit the locals, market the area and attract tourists to the region. They have won numerous awards, including best Tourism Bureau, best Tourism stand, International Star Award for Quality, etc. This is all about to change…..
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Company website overhaul

Company website overhaul

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Office Reliance is one year old! As part of the celebrations we decided to redo the website in line with our updated web 2.0 branding. The site has been simplified and streamlined along usability guidelines.

Before After

The new site uses lots more images and unfortunately the template is fairly bloated with icons, styles and scripts, but the overall load time should be manageable.

After burning lots of midnight oil the new site has finally gone live. Go visit the new Office Reliance website, then let me know what you think.

Dynamic salesforce – appointing part time reps

Dynamic salesforce – appointing part time reps

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This is part 5 of a series of posts for a local newspaper.

Generating sales is the key to a successful business. Often companies offering mediocre products and services are successful simply because they are good at converting leads into sales.

Investing in your sales force is one of the most important aspects of any business, and could well be the difference between a good and a successful company.

This is not always easy for a small or struggling business, as sales staff can be expensive the long term commitment associated with employing staff may well not be the right strategic solution for the company. Employing part time or contract sales staff may well be a viable alternative, but beware, it is not that straight forward….

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Products without borders

Products without borders

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This is part 4 of a series of posts for a local newspaper.

Having a product or service offering is one thing. Getting it out to distant consumers is quite another.

Products without borders are those items that have universal appeal and could be sold almost anywhere.

A common evolutionary step for small businesses is to expand  their marketing channel to include distance customers, either by way of web, mail order catalog or door to door selling.  Easier said than done I hear you say. Correct, but if you following some basic principles it is not only possible, but also relatively painless.

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Getting the fundamentals right so the rest falls in place a little easier

Getting the fundamentals right so the rest falls in place a little easier

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This is part 3 of a series of posts for a local newspaper.

Often new (or even experienced) entrepreneurs would come up with a brilliant concept or product, wondering why no-one has ever thought of it before. Chances are (and more often than not) than many others have thought of the same thing, but has discounted it due to the lack of some of the essential ingredients.

Just like a good recipe, a business idea also needs the right mix of components in order to be a success.

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Become a big fish in a small pond in no time at all

Become a big fish in a small pond in no time at all

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This is part 2 of a series of posts for a local newspaper.

How often have you paged through the newspaper or yellow pages looking for a company offering a specific product, only to become suspicious when you see only a cell phone number or P.O. Box address?

Unfortunately the reality is that for many small businesses having a land line and office address is a luxury they cannot afford. It does not just cost money having a land line, it also needs to be manned, from 8am to 5pm every day.

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