One of the most important solutions for a small business to implement is a data backup and disaster recovery system. It is a crucial element of any business continuity plan, yet many organizations fail to implement one in an appropriate manner. Let’s discuss three of the best reasons you must consider data backup and disaster recovery now before it’s too late.
The traditional 40-hour workweek feels like a staple in the business world, where employees work 8 hour shifts and then head home for the day. This was not always the case, however, and there can be a case made that even the 40-hour workweek should be adjusted to at least some degree. Let’s take a look at the modern workplace, how it has changed, and how it can still be changed to better employees of all levels—including you.
Many businesses simply do not have the resources or budget to hire technicians to perform regular maintenance on their systems, let alone someone who is managing the technicians behind the scenes. The chief information officer, or CIO, is the one who would normally make these calls, but businesses that cannot hire an in-house CIO for whatever reason have the option of hiring a virtual CIO.
When it comes to your business technology, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. Unfortunately, technology is one facet of running a company where many business owners feel they have the least amount of control, perhaps due to its many moving parts and overwhelming complexity. The question becomes one of how you want to approach managing your business’ technology and finding the right skill sets to do so.
The future can be unpredictable at best, especially in today’s times. You never know when your company will suffer from circumstances beyond your control, whether it’s a disaster that uproots your office or a pandemic that forces your entire workforce to transition to remote operations. Thankfully, even in today’s trying times, technology presents opportunities to overcome these challenges.
Upgrading technology can often come with risk. While you might get some return on your investment, will you get it back fast enough to actually make that investment worth it in the end? How can your technology solve problems that your company experiences, and how do you acquire the capital necessary to make significant upgrades? If you dig too deep into the details, you might find that it is difficult to move forward with these major decisions, preventing you from leveraging these amazing benefits. Here are four signs that will give you an idea that it’s time to upgrade your technology.
Many small businesses that provide goods or services have a Point of Sale, or POS, as the primary workstation. As such, many of the business’ core processes run through it. These systems have a plethora of great features that are built right into them, and if you fail to take advantage of them, you could be wasting valuable time and resources.
When we discuss business continuity, the generalization “disaster” could mean just about anything that halts normal business operations. How does your organization respond to an actual disaster, one that can potentially destroy your business completely? Let’s take a look at some of the ways your organization can prepare for these circumstances to keep your organization from an unfortunate demise.
We don’t believe for one second that employees want to do the wrong thing; after all, they work for you for a reason, that reason being they want to do the job you hired them to do. Unfortunately, technology can often make it so that this process becomes difficult. If you don’t invest time and effort into ensuring that your team’s technology and resources are available when they need them most, you risk them choosing unproductive or even unsecured work methods.
Imagine that you are a kid again and you get low marks on a test in school. The natural response from your parents and teachers is that you need to double down on studying for that subject, as it is clear that you struggle with it. The same can be said for any professional shortcomings, such as public speaking, interpersonal communication, and other performance-based skills. But what if we flipped this concept on its head and focused not on what our deficits are, but instead where our strengths lie?
Small businesses are often in a precarious position with technology management, struggling with budgeting and acquisition of new technology as well as the difficulties that come with hiring top talent. Thankfully, they have an ace up their sleeves that allows them to stay competitive: managed IT services. With a great managed service provider helming their technology strategies, small business owners have a lot less to worry about than they might otherwise… at least in terms of their technology, anyway.
Your business is not unique in the sense that it stores and transmits data during its day-to-day routines. Whether it’s financial information for your clients or employee records, it is more than likely that your business holds some kind of critical data that your operations rely on throughout the workday. Would your operations be able to recover from a sudden loss of data?
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that remote work is something that should not be counted out as a possibility. Employers were forced to make rapid changes to their operations, but for some employees—particularly parents—the shift was both disruptive and frustrating, leading some to question whether they should change careers entirely.
You may have noticed the recent price increase for consumer and business electronics, and it’s all caused by issues related to the global shortage of computer chips. How have these supply chains, stable for so long, been dealt such a severe blow to the point where acquiring new computers and networking equipment is so challenging? Read on to find out.
For many, working from home has been an adventure. A lot of workers were moved off site during the pandemic and now, a year later, are just now settling into working from home and the new expectations that this brings. People just had no idea how their job would change over the time they are away from their office. Today, we take a look at communications fatigue and what your business can do to help your remote workers from feeling overwhelmed.
For many businesses, keeping on top of their inventory is crucial to the profitability of their operations. Inventory management thus becomes incredibly important. Today there are tools being developed that can make managing your inventory and supply chain easier and more efficient. Let’s take a look at three tools that can help you manage your inventory more effectively.
Large, medium-size, and especially small businesses are facing some difficult times at this point—and for them to make it through this and flourish in the future, some long-term changes are going to be necessary. Let’s break down a few ways that technology should play a role in these changes.
Revenue generation is the name of the game for businesses. That’s why the decisions they make with their available capital are really important. SMBs especially need to have a rapid and noticeable return on their investments if they want to keep pace. To that end, technology is one investment that can provide that kind of fast ROI. Here are three ways you can use technology to benefit your business.
The Internet was always envisioned to be a network capable of sharing information across the globe—hence, the term “world wide web.” However, many online services are currently at odds with governing bodies, many business tactics and decisions impacted or even prohibited as a result. Let’s examine some of these tactics, and how the Internet has been impacted.
If there was anything for businesses to learn in the past year, it had to be the importance of operational flexibility—after all, a raging pandemic tends to keep people out of the office. Now, with multiple vaccines in production, it seems apparent that these restrictions will soon be eased… but will any of the changes in business operations remain, even after they are necessary?
