The financial industry has experienced several major technology shifts in the last few years.

From the explosive growth of mobile applications to the sea change in cloud computing, the tools of the trade continue to adapt to finance professionals' need to keep up with the times. Much of the technology shift to the cloud is being driven by the need for increased mobility.

One example of this shift is the transition to online fax as opposed to utilizing traditional fax machines to transmit or receive sensitive, hand-signed documents...

Faster and more convenient airplanes, a truly global economy and the growing importance of large conferences have all led to a recent surge in business-oriented international travel.

In fact, in terms of professional travel, 2011 exceeded most expectations, and 2012 looks even better...

According to a study by the Journal of Medical Internet Research, physicians are interrupted nearly five times an hour by phone calls, emails, and face-to-face interactions. The 2012 National Physicians Survey showed something that is unlikely to surprise many doctors - fax remains the dominant method of communicating with colleagues, patients, insurance companies and pharmacists. All told, 63 percent of healthcare providers rely heavily on the technology, according to MMRGlobal...

In a recent podcast interview, Kyle Flowers, director of marketing for eFax, made note of three critical elements that startup businesses need to have to reinforce a professional business image: a domain name, a phone number, and a fax number.  

"These three pieces of information are commonly placed on a website," said Flowers. "They’re also all pieces of information that are commonly placed on business cards. It all has to do with that credibility factor of being a legitimate operational business that can then transact business.”...

Starting a small business is often a process filled with significant expenses, including building out an IT infrastructure, making a property down payment, hiring employees or creating a successful marketing strategy – costs which can quickly drain a nest egg.

For these reasons, successful entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for ways to cut costs. And when they find them, it can mean the difference between a successful venture...