The difference between netbooks and laptops is getting quite blurred nowadays, as new netbooks are coming out with fairly high processing speeds, large hard disks and many applications that were to be found only on a standard laptop. Add to this the fact that a netbook is highly portable and costs much less than a laptop and you know why many businesses are now beginning to take a second look at netbooks.

First of all, it is quite true that netbooks can prove to be great cost-savers for business, especially if they have a highly mobile staff. However, netbooks are not suitable for all businesses. Keep the following facts in mind as you consider purchasing a netbook for your business.

1.    First of all you should understand the exact computing power of a netbook. If your business needs to run highly complex software for its daily operations, it is highly unlikely that a netbook will be able to perform that function. Netbooks can only run web applications and a few other local applications without any problem. The reason is that the processors fitted in netbooks are low performance processors. These were specially designed to run at low speeds so that they would take up very little power. Such processors can at the most handle applications being run in a browser.

2.    Netbooks also have very small displays. The standard display now is about 10 inches while the largest business netbook has a 12-inch screen. If your business runs applications that will need larger resolution screens in order to view all details properly and interact with the application better, then a netbook will not meet your requirement.

3.    If you have a highly mobile staff, which needs to often go and meet clients or suppliers, then you might be interested in the netbook as a companion device. Here they will serve your purpose the best. Most netbooks are incredibly light and are just right for traveling. You can certainly invest in a few netbooks as a secondary device to be used by your staff when they travel.

4.    The only feature where netbooks do match up to requirements are in the data storage area. Businesses typically need very large data storage areas and the current netbooks with hard disks of at least 160 GB should be more than sufficient for your business needs for now. On the other hand, if you will be requiring more storage space, you can look at external storage devices or at storing files on the Internet.

Even the most advanced netbook will not meet your needs if it is used in a business set-up for which it was simply not designed. Though the most recent models appear capable enough to meet your business needs, you cannot make the decision based on just one or two features.

Deploy a few netbooks in your business environment and use them to run the applications that you will need on a daily basis. Identify where the netbooks perform without any problems and where they run into trouble. Test various applications in different areas so that you can understand which netbook will serve you the best and how it should be deployed.