Wise Buys

Maximizing contacts: Being able to target your marketing efforts successfully means having the right data about your potential contacts. Multiactive Software Inc., maker of Maximizer Enterprise, another popular contact manager, has teamed with HotData Inc., a Web-based provider of consumer and business information, to include HotData features within Maximizer. Now its users will have instant, real-time access to U.S. and Canadian business and consumer demographic profiles from leading data providers like Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Polk, as well as change-of-address information from the U.S. Postal Service. Prices range from $350 to $750, depending on the number of users and configuration. For more information, visit http://www.multiactive.com or call (800) 804-6299.

Fax meets e-mail: Get ready for fast, easy faxing straight from your computer. Faxing paper-based documents can be a real hassle and a true time waster. Keep your office productive by outfitting your entire enterprise with NetMoves' FaxMailer, an e-mail-based Internet fax service. Users send an e-mail message either with or without an attachment to any fax machine in the world, simply by inserting the recipient's fax number in the "To:" field. FaxMailer supports the most popular types of documents, including Microsoft Office, MS Project, Lotus SmartSuite, Corel, Visio and HTML. By adding NetMoves to your network, you can essen-tially use one system to perform two functions. There's a one-time license fee of $39.95 and a cost of 10 cents for each fax page terminating in the United States. Visit http://www.netmoves.com or call (800) 828-7115 to find out more.

Keeping secrets: Trade secrets are good as gold when in the right hands. However, if your company's secrets get into the hands of your competitors, they can lead to ruin. According to Corpedia.com, makers of a CD-ROM titled "An Employee's Guide to Protecting Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets," the theft or loss of trade secrets is estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $200 billion annually. To make sure your employees know what intellectual property is and the consequences of losing it, Corpedia.com offers this course to educate employees on your company policies for just $40 per user with available group discounts. This can help in your fundamental goal of keeping trade secrets and can also benefit you in court if a secret is made public. An Internet connection, Windows 95/98, a 4X CD-ROM, 16 MB RAM, a sound card and a Pentium 100MHz processor are required to run the program.