IT budgets are flat. Salaries, too. And fewer people are doing more of the work. So, what to do?

On the following pages, you'll find potential solutions--inexpensive products that let you, and the employees you manage or support, do more, or better, or both. While many technology products and services aimed at business users cost thousands of dollars (if not tens or hundreds of thousands), InformationWeek's editors decided to assess those based on a different metric: the possibility some readers might have to dip into their own wallets to get them.

On the pages that follow, you'll find 10 products and services that can be had for less than $500--in total. In the screening process, we insisted that prices be low, which explains the absence of many eye-catching gadgets and power-packed software. But we kept our expectations high and looked for tools that address some of the most pressing issues facing business and technology professionals: the need for fast, easy, and secure communications; new ways of collaborating; and mobility. What's more, we aimed for things that could be implemented by individual users on home or work PCs but that also could be supported by IT departments where that's required or desired.

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