Technology is a tricky thing. In certain cases, it can improve workplace efficiency and a company’s bottom line. In other cases, it can cause more problems than it’s worth. To help your business successfully implement technology, below are six stress free tech solutions for business owners.
1. Cloud Computing
Cloud hosting can provide many solutions for businesses with little effort compared to alternatives. For example, in the past, businesses had to store all their data on their own servers. If these servers crashed, the data was often lost. However, this same information can now be stored in “the cloud” with little chance of it ever being lost. As the power of cloud computing increases, and the competition increases in this field, the cost of backing up servers to the cloud, or simply running them there will continue to fall. This is another important tool that will enable real time global collaboration on projects.
2. Internet Teleconferencing
In the past, holding a meeting with people in different places required extremely expensive teleconferencing equipment. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Due to the advent of the internet, all you need is a few cheap web cams to facilitate a teleconferenced meeting with your staff. Documents, pictures, graphics and slides can all be shared within many free digital conferencing software platforms, making meetings seamless and productive.
3. Business Analytics Software
Business analytics software is one choice that can certainly pay off for a company. Such software can let you examine all the data produced from past sales and performance. This can then be used to help chart your company’s course for the future. Using key indicators and ratios for your industry, these high power. data-crunching programs can help you predict product demand, and allow business owners to run leaner, more efficient operations.
4. Mobile Apps
The thing that really makes smart phones and other mobile devices amazing is all the apps you can download for them. Many of these apps can be implemented into different businesses tasks and processes. Certain apps, for example, are excellent for taking notes. Others can even be used to make credit card transactions. Many businesses choose to have customized apps built for their core operations to simplify the process and reduce human error. A trucking company, for example, might have a mobile app that allows drivers to be dispatched using in-device GPS and enable customer signatures for verification.
5. Paperless Fax
Today, there are a number of new fax machine designs that do not implement paper at all. Faxes are received as digital files that can be directly transferred to your network’s computers. This will save a lot of paper and the time that was wasted filing those documents. Scanning and sending paperless faxes will also enable companies to reduce one redundant step in the process of storing data and documents.
6. Managed IT
One thing you don’t want is your regular staff being forced to constantly troubleshoot problems with your computers and other pieces of information technology you employ. Instead, you should outsource your IT needs to a firm that specializes in managing information technology. Just search the net for options. There are plenty of managed IT services in New Jersey, New York, Florida and most other states.
Today, technology is a must have for successfully running a business. Thankfully, there are ways to employ technology that will allow you to reap the benefits of more efficient business processes without going over budget.
