The Hoc 100 - Buyers Guide

Home Office Computing, Dec, 2000

This pioneering application service provider is a Web-based e-mail, calendaring, and virtual intranet solution suitable for soloists and workgroups alike. If our ISP hadn't conked out for a day last week, we would have given HotOffice the Gold.

Bronze: GoldMine 5.0

($295 single user, $995 five users; FrontRange Solutions, 800-654-3526, www.frontrange.com)

Ready to step up from contact management to customer relationship management? GoldMine's browser-and-tabs interface is easy to grasp, and the way it updates all relevant files as you enter changes in any area is smart. Best of all, it's ready to grow with your needs as mere contact managers like Microsoft Outlook can't.

.... Collaboration/Virtual Intranet Solution

Gold: WebEx Meeting Center

($100 per seat after free meeting; 877-50WEBEX, www. webex.com)

WebEx can get pricey (although four-member, one-hour meetings are free), but it offers our favorite combination of presentation delivery and conference services for professionals. Users can take advantage of shared file storage, e-mail, calendars, and other tools while planning projects.

Silver: Microsoft NetMeeting 3.01

(Free; 800-426-9400, www.microsoft.com/windows/ netmeeting)

Microsoft's get-togetherware is free, easy, and powerful enough to handle video- and audioconferencing, whiteboard and chat sessions, and even application sharing and remote PC control. Its built-in bandwidth optimization features automatically adjust audio and video quality to match connection speeds, so even users with slow modems can enjoy the show.

Bronze: Astound Conference Center

(Free for fewer than four users, $3,000 for one-year, 10-user license plus $300 per additional user; 877-278-6863, www. astound.com)

If you need to give a presentation, it doesn't get any easier (or, for small groups, much cheaper) than Astound. This friendly Web service will help you deliver interactive multimedia shows, get feedback from associates, and share applications with coworkers.

... Business/Marketing Tool

Gold: Business Plan Pro 4.0

($90; 800-229-7526, www.paloalto.com)

Need a plant Palo Alto Software's got a one-two formula: Create your business plan with its comprehensive yet easy-to-use Business Plan Pro software, then post your plan on its LivePlan.com site to share it with colleagues or investors.

Silver: Business Insight

($795; Business Resource Software Inc., 800-423-1228, www. brs-inc.com)

When you can't get feedback from a roomful of Harvard M.B.A.'s, Business Insight is the next best thing, Feed this software your marketing strategy, and get a detailed analysis of strengths and weaknesses with tips for improvement.

Bronze: ThinkDirectMarketing.com

(877-288-DATA, www.thinkdirectmarketing.com)

Sometimes, the quickest way to a sale is a good mailing list. ThinkDirect's targeted demographic and geographic lists ($195 and $395 per year, respectively) help get your products and services in front of the right people--for pennies per head.

... E-Commerce Solution

Gold: Bizfinity

(Free three-month trial, then $10 per month per user; 877-789-3464, www.bizfinity.com)