Just about everyone has a smartphone these days, but it takes a little know-how and self-awareness to use it in a productive way. Instead of your smartphone turning into a time-wasting device, you can use it to get more work done and reduce your stress levels in the workplace. Here are three helpful tips you can implement to use your smartphone in a better, more productive way.
With so many workers taking up the mantle of remote work, it’s no surprise that businesses are looking for ways to accommodate these “new” working arrangements. Here are just a few ways that businesses of all types—small businesses included—can work toward making their operations even more flexible and mobile than before.
The smartphone market is one of the oddest ecosystems in the world today. Divided between east and west, many of the largest manufacturers in the eastern hemisphere are relatively unknown to western consumers. The market slump that the smartphone industry is currently experiencing only makes it more important to closely examine the features and other improvements that these devices offer. Below, we examine five of the best options for a user’s consideration.
Running a business isn’t getting any cheaper--in fact, it’s only getting more expensive. This drives businesses to save as much as possible on operations and business-critical applications. One of the best ways to cut out unnecessary costs is to implement software solutions that spread-out costs over a span of time. You too can take advantage of the cloud to gain access to critical communication solutions.
With technology being so important for modern business, these organizations have to be cognizant of industry and technology trends that could be used to improve their company’s productivity. How do the newest business technology trends affect your organization's ability to sustain or build revenue streams?
Here are three extremely important business technology trends that are being talked about constantly, and for good reason: they produce or lead to substantial ROI.
Uptick in Mobility
This trend has been building for years, but for small businesses that may not have the resources of larger outfits, enhancing your mobility is an absolute must. Today, when speaking of technological mobility, many people assume that the use of smartphones as a workstation is what is being bantered around. But a whole mobility strategy just boils down to creating a plan to manage the systems and data flow of using this enhanced mobility.
Businesses that once only managed their internal network now have to find ways to properly leverage mobile device management software to ensure that they keep their data protected, no matter who needs access to it. Moreover, companies are beginning to put together comprehensive Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies to help them keep potentially harmful malware off of their network. Mobile device management allows for whitelisting apps that are useful and blacklisting apps that aren’t. The idea is to educate your employees on proper security practices, and reinforcing these practices with technology solutions to shore up any notable weaknesses.
Emphasis on Security
To say that security hasn’t been a major consideration for businesses in the past, would be largely presumptuous. The more that organizations depend on technology, however, has altered the threat landscape precipitously. Only a few years ago viruses and malware that slowed a system down or tracked certain information were annoying, but not completely devastating to a business’ efficiency. Today, however, the scene has changed.
Nowadays, there is the constant threat of high-level malware such as ransomware that can present major headaches for any company. These threats move fast and adapt even faster, creating new strains of malware that even commercial-grade antivirus programs can’t stop. Add to that the constant threat of hacking, social engineering, and constant phishing attack have made any businesses that leverages technology have to focus on the security solutions they outfit their network with.
A More Proactive Strategy
There was a time, not that long ago, that when a piece of technology failed, a business would just have it repaired or replace it, dealing with the downtime the problem created, as if there were not another way. The managed IT services way is to constantly monitor, manage, and maintain, and log all parts of your technology to ensure that uptime is optimized. By fixing issues before they become problems, an MSP can help the modern business greatly reduce downtime and technology troubles.
Technology is going to break, but if you can tell when, or what the chances are of something breaking, you can make a better effort to keep it from negatively affecting your business. This is one of the many benefits of outsourcing your company's IT to a managed services provider like PCSOFT. We also manage your software licenses so that you don’t run into problems down the line. Staying proactive can keep your business agile and ready for anything that is sent its way.
We specialize in solutions designed to keep your organization running properly. For more information about IT trends for business or how industry best practices can really set your company up for success, call the IT professionals at PCSOFT today at 02 98730080.
You might be surprised to learn how much the cloud can change the way you do business. What follows are some of the most valuable ways your business can leverage the cloud.
Boosted Mobility
How many times has your company been limited by its lack of mobility? Employees working off-site may not be able to access critical files. Furthermore, keeping multiple copies of your files stored all over the place without having a unified location is just begging for a data leak or data loss disaster.
The cloud is a great solution to these problems and can provide you with a central hub to store your data. You can then access your data from anywhere with an Internet connection, allowing for much more flexibility. Your employees can access documents and other information that they need to do their jobs, all without the unnecessary risk of losing data or misplacing files.
Data Backup and Business Continuity
What if your business experienced a catastrophic situation where the majority of your data was lost or stolen? Floods, power surges, fires, earthquakes, and so much more all have the potential to knock your organization off its feet. If this data is stored both on-site and off-site, you’ll have a much greater chance of recovering from a disaster. Cloud-based data backup is a great way to take advantage of off-site backup.
By backing up to the cloud, you can rapidly recover your data to a viable device at a moment’s notice following a disaster. A quality Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) device is the ideal tool for business continuity, as it can take multiple backups a day (as often as every 15 minutes) and send them to the cloud. A BDR solution also has the ability to quickly restore your data for when you need it most.
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration done prior to the cloud often involved printing out multiple copies of documents and passing them out to members of the project management team. Then, you would scribble all over the copies and hand them back to the owner with your feedback. The problem with this process is that it’s relatively unorganized and has lots of room for error.
The cloud fixes these problems considerably. Instead of running the risk of losing paperwork, digital documents are stored online so they can be accessed by any team member with an Internet connection. Furthermore, collaboration is made easier by providing document editing and access in real time.
Scalability
What kind of physical storage are you using? Storing many files of different formats and sizes can take its toll on your network. Instead, it’s better to use a flexible solution in order to access and store all of your data. The flexibility you need can be found in the cloud. Your cloud provider can scale the amount of storage you need for your digital assets, which is one less thing for you to worry about. Plus, the costs of data storage will only increase incrementally as you require more space, but you’ll only pay for what you use (all while taking the burden off your in-house IT infrastructure).
If you want to implement a quality cloud solution, look no further than PCSOFT. To learn more, reach out to us at 02 98730080.