ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

The semiannual cycle of contests for small and midsize businesses is once again in full swing and businesses with the time and wherewithal to develop a worthy entry have a legitimate shot at scoring some attractive swag from BlackBerry Curves to IT infrastructure makeovers to $100,000.

The makeover concept is a popular for businesses contests (Microsoft does one every year) and the fall season is no exception. The recently concluded CDW Project Upgrade Technology Makeover Contest -- for companies with 50 or fewer employees -- bestowed $50,000 in IT upgrades on the Spring Hill Music Group, the Little Mittens Child Care Center, and Cain Hibbard Myers & Cook.

But if you missed that entry deadline, not to fear, there's another makeover contest only a click away. HP's "Pimp My Infrastructure" contest, billed as an IT Midmarket Makeover Contest is dangling a $16,000 small business and $36,000 midsize business makeover before eager applicants. If you dream of servers with Quad-Core Opteron processors, HP Compaq Notebooks, or HP printers, get your entry in by October 20.

If you happen to be of the Canadian persuasion (specifically Ontario or Quebec) and can conjure up 250 scintillating words to describe why your business needs a makeover, you can put your name in the hat for a $33,000 business makeover from Bell Canada, featuring the BlackBerry Curve and a host of telecom services. Deadline on this one is October 14.

Now makeovers are one thing, but intellectual property is another. And at least in contest economics, worth quite a bit more. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is luring start-ups and entrepreneurs with the $100,000 grand prize in the 2008 AWS Start-Up Challenge. So-called "great" ideas or applications already built on Amazon Web services are eligible. Entries must be submitted by October 3 -- and even if you don't take the big money, if you submit a legit idea, you'll come away with a $25 AWS credit for your trouble.

And then there's the truly big game in the contest competition: Google's $10 million competition for an idea that will change the world. If you've got a concept as revolutionary as the Hippo Water Roller send it in by October 20 and take your shot.

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