Business Bargains

A weekly look at the latest products and services designed to help you run a better business.

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MerchantCircle, an online network of nearly 600,000 business owners, recently launched a new feature that lists cost-cutting deals on a range of business essentials. Accessible to MerchantCircle members, Merchant Marketplace includes discounts on credit cards, office supplies, and software.

Participating companies currently include American Express, AT&T, Office Depot, Enterprise and other products and services frequently used by small-business owners. For more information, go to http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/blog/2008/09/finding-best-business-deals-on-web.html.

High-Tech Recycling

Many business owners struggle to find the proper disposal methods for AA batteries, let alone old computer hardware. To help local businesses deal with high-tech waste, Stow, Ohio-based IT firm AtNetPlus will be hosting a workshop on enterprise recycling and disposal at its corporate headquarters next week.

The event will offer guidelines on the economical disposal of computer parts, as well as information on maintaining a secure and energy-efficient computer system. Neoshred, a company specializing in document destruction and recycling, will have trucks on-site to pick up old equipment. Businesses can bring up to seven file boxes of unwanted documents or electronics. Another recycling firm, e-Waste, will also be accepting old computer parts.

To register for the free event, go to http://www.atnetplus.com/events/index.shtml.

Upgraded Networks

Socialcast, a social networking platform for businesses, unveiled an upgrade this week that operates on a self-service model, allowing small-business owners to quickly customize their network pages. Workers can use Socialcast to share ideas, update others on the progress of their work projects, and connect with coworkers who share their interests.

Among the new features are in-line commenting that allows users to offer ideas on items in current activity streams, and social searching that connects employees searching for similar content. Employees can also send in ideas and status updates on the road, thanks to a feature that offers access via email or smartphone.

A 30-day trial is available at https://signup.socialcast.com/signup. After the testing period, the service costs $5 per user every month.