5 Hot New SMB Products To Check Out

SMB Tech Boom

CES, the annual Las Vegas tech mega-show, has officially shed its reputation as a consumer-only show. New tech product launches for businesses were among the innovation highlights of CES 2019 -- and within that, technology for small and medium-sized businesses was a special focus. Top products for SMBs that we saw at CES last week included new offerings in networking, storage and document scanning, from vendors including Netgear, Synology and Epson.

What follows are five hot new products for SMBs that were showcased at CES 2019.

EnGenius Neutron Series AX Indoor Access Points

Targeted at what EnGenius is calling the "enterprise-minded SMB," the Neutron Series AX Indoor Access Points use the high-performance WiFi 6 standard (aka 802.11ax) to offer improved wireless for small and medium-sized businesses. Using WiFi 6 enables higher user capacity thanks in part to more efficiently using channels, while offering other advantages such as reduced latency and improved signal/reception reliability (through uplink and downlink of MU-MIMO). The two new Neutron ceiling mount access points are the EWS377AP (with up to 2,400 Mbps on 5 GHz) and EWS357AP (with up to 1,200 Mbps on 5 GHz).

Netgear Orbi Pro Ceiling Satellite

Netgear Business used CES 2019 to showcase its Orbi Pro Mesh Wi-Fi Ceiling Satellite, aimed at providing improved wireless coverage for SMBs. The ceiling-mounted satellite--which connects to the Orbi Pro Router or another Orbi Pro satellite using Netgear's FastLane3 technology—accommodates environments where wiring is a challenge with options for dedicated wireless backhaul or Power over Ethernet (PoE). Features of the Orbi Pro Mesh Wi-Fi Ceiling Satellite include automatic management between satellites of power and channels, enabling strong performance even across spacious areas, according to Netgear.

Synology DiskStation DS1019+

Powered by the Intel Celeron J3455 processor, Synology's DiskStation DS1019+ is a highly scalable NAS option aimed at small businesses. The five-bay DS1019+ features 4 GB of DDR3L memory (expandable up to 8 GB) and two built-in M.2 NVMe SSD slots, along with dual-gigabit LAN ports that support failover and link aggregation. The DS1019+ is scalable up to 10 drives with one expansion unit DX517, according to Synology, and includes support for dual-channel 4K video transcoding in real time.

Epson WorkForce ES-65WR

Epson used CES to show off the Accounting Edition for its new wireless portable document scanner, the WorkForce ES-65WR. The compact scanner can scan documents up to 8.5 inches by 72 inches in size, and can scan wirelessly to Windows, Mac, iOS or Android devices. As part of the Accounting Edition release, the WorkForce ES-65WR can automatically extract data from scanned receipts and invoices, and export the data into applications including QuickBooks Online or Excel.

Da Vinci Color Mini 3-D Printer

XYZ Printing showed off its new full-color 3-D printer at CES 2019, the Da Vinci Color Mini, which aims to print high-quality color objects for prototype makers. The Da Vinci Color Mini combines newly developed 2-D inkjet color printing technology with 3-D printing technology, applying CMY ink to a color-absorbing PLA filament as a way to offer "millions of color combinations," XYZ printing said. The 3-D printer offers layer resolution of 100 to 400 microns and a maximum build area of 5.1 x 5.1 x 5.1 inches, and weighs 52.9 pounds for easier portability. XYZ Printing is pitching the Da Vinci Color Mini as a solution for small businesses that up until now haven't had access to high-quality 3-D printing technology.