Communication has a tremendous impact on the most important person – the end user of the technology. And while many programmers excel at structuring and writing clean code, they often don't understand even the most basic needs of the users, the people the program is written for.

How does this impact on you, the small business owner?

Well, unless you're a technical guru yourself, a key aspect of your technology decisions should be the 'usability' of the product. In a nutshell, good usability is the result of good communication, and can be summarized as how easy the product is to use overall. A product with good usability is easy to learn, and a pleasure to use.

How can you assess the usability of a product? If possible, it is ideal to try before you buy, an option that is now commonly available with software products. Don't let a sales person's demo drive your final decision; the only way to really get a feel for a product is to actually try it out yourself.

When making a purchase decision, if possible try out the product before you buy it. By doing this you should get a sense for how easy the product is to learn and use. Of course there are many other things that you'll need to factor into your final decision, such as the reliability of both the product and the company, the availability of features that meet your specific needs, warranties, and support options. When you find all of these together in one package, you will likely have found the solution that is best for you.