While Microsoft (MSFT) is struggling to compete against companies like Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL), the fact remains that the company still knows how to sell business software. In fact, one of its fast-growing products is SharePoint, which allows for collaboration.

But yes, even this franchise is feeling some heat. That is, one of its rivals, Box.net, has raised $15 million in a Series C round. The investors include Scale Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and U.S Venture Partners. In all, Box.net has raised $29.5 million.

Since hitting the market in 2007, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone has seen incredible growth. The design is sleek and the experience is user-friendly. Besides, there are more than 140,000 applications to download.

Interestingly enough, more and more entrepreneurs are using the iPhone to help run their businesses.

As a small company, you probably have employees in remote locations. No doubt, there are many management and communications issues. Yes, it's often the case that things slow down -- or even fights break out.

While e-mail is helpful, it is usually not enough. Rather, it's worth looking at online collaboration tools.

First of all, these tools are usually affordable, with fees based on the number of users or the amount of storage used. Although, some providers may provide a free service.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have been working on online storage services for what seems like forever. Microsoft's Live SkyDrive is still in beta (pre-release) but is functional. But there are quite a few gyrations just to log in to the service and access it (like many Microsoft services). Google's famed vaporware "GDrive" product has not made it to the public yet, leading many to believe if a product even exists.

Google's Gmail and Picasa products provide a good amount of storage, but the primary function of both services is not standalone online storage. Box.net, a small startup that is dedicated to online storage (and lots of it) is set to outpace innovation by these much larger rivals.

Additionally, it has some killer features, such as OpenBox Services -- this allows online applications to be accessible anywhere a web browser exists, much like Google Docs & Spreadsheets. However, there are applications from many vendors available, not just simplified online tools like Google currently provides.