The thing about businesses nowadays is this thing called “empowerment.” A business that doesn’t take advantage of technology and emerging trends to increase productivity is most likely a business that’s doomed to be left behind, even trampled upon by those that do. Having said all that, however, take note that technology doesn’t have to be your financial downfall. Take these three online services for example:

1. Bitrix24.com

If you’re a business owner, naturally, productivity matters to you. And this is why efficiency tools such as CRMs, intranets, time trackers, effective communication systems and the like are a life saver. But if you’re a small businessman or a bootstrapper, implementing these tools may be too costly to handle.

Bitrix24.com is a collaborative social intranet application that’s free for businesses comprised of 12 employees or less. Bitrix24.com comes with a free CRM system, free workforce management, free activity planner, free real-time viewing, free messaging system and a whole host of others, essentially combining all your disparate work tools together and putting them in one place. Plus, it’s cloud-based, therefore, no installation is necessary and can be accessed virtually anywhere through a smartphone or a web-based browser. For unlimited number of users, subscription cost is pegged at $99 monthly.

2. JetRadar.com

Air travel is still the best way to travel. And with the influx of low-cost airlines and online ticket outlets, the cost of air travel has dramatically gone down as well. But the ever-intensifying competition in the industry has forced some airline companies to close down, leaving those that are still managing to stay afloat to confine their best deals into their own websites or partner sites, instead of price-comparison websites where competitors can potentially snatch their sales away. As a consequence, the end consumer is forced to go from one site to another to find the deal that matches his needs, pretty time-consuming and a little too labor-intensive to begin with.

JetRadar.com is a search engine that systematically combs through more than 700 airline sites plus hundreds of ticketing and flight sites for the best and cheapest airfares that can only be availed if directly purchased via an airline’s corporate website, and makes the data available to the public in a single site, all in a matter of seconds. This greatly reduces the time and energy a regular consumer utilizes to find the airfare deal that best works for him, his budget and his travel agenda.

3. PickyDomains.com

When naming a website, a company or a product, relevant, unique, catchy and easy-to-remember do wonders. A differentiated brand stands out in a crowd and is likely to gain market share. If you have a knack for names, good for you because most don’t. And if you don’t, there always are branding agencies to do the work for you, that is, if you’re willing to part with a good chunk of your savings. These agencies can charge up to thousands of dollars.

PickyDomains.com is a risk-free crowdsourcing platform that aspires to help individuals and small businesses come up with relevant, catchy, unique and easy-to-remember names, domains and slogans. PickyDomains.com, a service that’s been in business since 2007, has a diverse contributor base of over 50,000 registered namers. To start receiving suggestions from the team, register as a client, make the required $50 downpayment for a domain or name, or $75 for a slogan, and specify your naming needs. If none of the suggestions tickles your fancy, you get a refund. And that’s what makes it risk-free.

What specific tools do you use for your business that empowers you? Feel free to share them with us through the comments below!