Social media is playing an increasing role in the marketing efforts of small business and consuming an increasing share of the marketing budget, but most SMBs' use of social media is relatively simplistic and lacking in metrics, according to the 2012 Yellow Social Media Report.

Hewlett-Packard’s worldwide restructure with the planned axing of around 27,000 employees, including a number in Australia, has been described by a leading market analyst firm as “painful but necessary” in order to restore market and customer confidence in the company after two years of turmoil .

A fall in sales of optical networking equipment in the Chinese and European markets has put a large dent in the revenues of global ON vendors, with quarterly revenues for the start of this year down year-over-year for the first time in almost two years.

IT services and software company, Kroll Ontrack, has released a new data recovery technique which it says addresses logical failures, or operating system failures on personal Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.  

Critics of the national broadband network (NBN) are underestimating its ability to remove the biggest supply chain impediments to e-commerce growth, according to one leading logistics and transportation company.

Whichever way you look at it, IT mobility, including the use of smartphones and other mobile technology, is already having an impact and influence on airports and air travel and that trend is only going to increase.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is to collaborate with Kaspersky Lab to co-develop key components of the debate agenda for ITU Telecom World 2012, its major annual telecommunications conference and exhibition. And Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky will deliver a keynote speech at the event.

Apple, IBM and Google are the world’s top three most valuable brands, with the newly floated Facebook the 19th most valuable brand, up from number 35 in the list of 100 global brands.  Technology companies once again dominate the rankings this year, with seven of them in the top ten most valuable brands.

The use of smart technologies can lower the demand and cost for aged care services in Australia by allowing older Australians to remain in their homes longer, with the technologies supporting older people by promoting independence, quality of life and wellbeing, according to a study of the challenges facing the country and its ageing population by the University of Melbourne’s Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES).

Microsoft has launched a new innovation centre in Queensland which the company says will focus on accelerating the growth of small to medium enterprises, start-ups and student entrepreneurs by supporting Queensland-based software ecosystems.

Just days after signing on as coaches’ sponsor with AFL club, Collingwood, security company Kaspersky has announced that it will continue its major sponsorship with NRL club and current premiers, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, for another three years.

Nearly two-thirds of Australian small to medium businesses don’t have their own website and, according to a recent market research report, these businesses are putting themselves at a real disadvantage to their competitors who have an online presence and higher revenues, better sales conversion and a greater number of customer leads.

Australians bought more than 15 million digital ‘lifestyle’ products with a total value of $6.3 billion from Aussie retailers last year as the market booms for a wide range of digital products including personal computers, LCD and plasma TVs, cameras and video recorders. However, while consumers are getting better quality technology at less cost, the bottom line for retailers was impacted with prices dropping by around 13.5 percent.

Australian IT services and enterprise software company, TechnologyOne has continued its upward growth path with new contracts, an increase in marketshare and half year results ahead of market expectations in defiance of what the company describes as “challenging market conditions.”

Australian network equipment manufacturer, Opengear, has achieved a 49.9 per cent increase in first quarter sales this year compared to 2011 just as the company announced an expansion of its presence in the UK and European markets.

Business and IT leaders in the United States are now accepting, and in some cases embracing, bring-your-own devices (BYOD) as a reality in the enterprise, according to a study of 600 companies, with the vast majority of those business chiefs saying their organisations already permit employee-owned devices in some way, shape or form in the workplace.

Security company, Kaspersky, has secured a sponsorship deal with AFL club, Collingwood, as its official coaches’ partner this year, with the company’s logo to appear on all coaches’ apparel, laptops and match-day signage at the MCG.

Many Australian businesses are missing out on sales opportunities because the rapidly growing population of smartphone users are browsing heavily but strongly favour mobile-optimised sites, according to research commissioned by Google.

A new worldwide forecast has predicted that in five years time mobile phone users will, on average, consume 6.5 times as much video, over eight times as much music and social media, and nearly 10 times as much games as they did last year, causing an explosion in traffic for most mobile data services due to the spread of smartphones and an increase in the number of mobile users.

Accounting and business management solutions vendor, MYOB, has launched what it says in an Australian-first cloud platform – Ilisys cloud services -specifically designed to give greater control to its website designer and developer partners.