In today's competitive market, small businesses need every advantage they can get. Many are looking for new ways to improve the bottom line, as well as protect their existing business.

One area you might not have looked at is the experiences of larger businesses. With their greater resources, it's easy for them to "test drive" new ideas and strategies - which you can then borrow and apply as needed. Take a look at these four best practices borrowed from successful enterprises and try to put them to work in your business today.

Get plugged in to social media
According to a new study by marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, over 456 million users in Asia - almost a third of the world's population - are using social media. Japan, for example, has the highest blog readership in the world.

Never in the history of advertising and marketing has there been the ability to reach so many people so directly and personally at so little cost - which is great news for small businesses with limited marketing budgets. Maybe it's time for your company to start a blog?

Small businesses can use cloud computing, too
The cloud model offers a much cheaper way for businesses to acquire and use IT. And in the current economic downturn, the appeal of that cost advantage is greater than ever. According to industry analyst IDC, "This advantage is especially important for small and medium businesses, a sector that will be a key target in any plan for recovery."

Cloud computing enables businesses to do more with limited IT staff and budgets. It allows them to access enterprise-class technology with low up-front costs and easy scalability. Find out more about the benefits of cloud computing for smaller businesses.

Virtualize for real benefits
Statistics show that many small businesses know that virtualization can save time and money, but aren't implementing it out of a belief that it's better suited to larger corporations.

However, new solutions like Microsoft Hyper-V are making virtualization accessible to everyone. Some of the outstanding resources that Hyper-V offers includes a demonstration that shows how, with a couple of mouse clicks, anyone can virtualize. What's more, if you have Windows Server 2008, you can download Hyper-V for free.

Don't wait until it's too late
Every enterprise has a backup and recovery strategy. Disaster recovery is not so much a best business practice as it is a necessity - and data loss affects small businesses just as much, if not more, than bigger ones. Market research firm Gartner says that less than one percent of small businesses perform daily backups, but the risk of not doing so can be catastrophic. Don't wait for disaster: back up your data.

While small companies may not have the financial resources of big business, by learning what other companies have successfully done, a small business can save money without taking on excessive risk. With these four best practices, you can obtain enterprise-sized success!

Call your Account Manager at Databranch today to discuss how you can leverage these IT Best Practices for your business.