Small businesses often have to rely on different means to achieve the same level of project management as enterprises. This is due to the demands of project management being significantly different in scope, but also the way that your company implements new technology solutions. Instead of worrying about the specifics of project management, you can outsource these responsibilities to a managed service provider.
Your business relies on its technology being maintained properly, but it’s not always as simple as updating a software application or replacing a hard drive following a catastrophic failure. You have to think about who you’re paying to maintain your technology solutions, if there’s anyone doing it at all. You need to consider what happens when you lose data or when your organization experiences downtime. How do you keep technology from becoming a hindrance for your business?
Managed IT is one of the best ways your organization can capitalize on its technology without worrying about whether or not you’re maintaining it properly. The ideal way for a small business to manage its technology is to have professionals handle it while you focus on other aspects of the management process.
In other words, let’s ask you a question; is your business running as smoothly as possible? Can you honestly say that you have time in your day to handle multiple technological troubles, as well as all of your other responsibilities? Upper-level executives like the CEO and COO have other responsibilities that are more pressing, and as such, technology maintenance is often left to your employees, who may (or, more likely, not) know what they’re doing. Technology maintenance is something that should always be done by professionals, as any mistakes could become costly mistakes that lead to downtime caused by having to do the same work twice, or even your technology failing completely.
Imagine what would happen if a hardware failure occurred and you lost the entirety of your business’ data. What would you do then?
Instead of relying on your employees, who have other jobs to do as well, managed IT can make sure that your organization’s technology is always maintained. Since a managed IT provider like Telesys Voice and Data is dedicated to maintaining your business’ technology, you won’t have to worry about other tasks getting in the way of it happening. You’ll receive customized service and solutions based on your service agreement, as well as the opportunity for more great tools such as unified communications, security solutions, data backup and disaster recovery, remote monitoring and maintenance, and so much more--all to make sure that your organization can run as optimally as possible.
To learn more about managed IT services and support, reach out to Telesys Voice and Data at (800) 588-4430.
Communication is one of the cornerstones on which your business functions, and without it, you will find that going about your daily duties is considerably more difficult. Communication is one of the many ways your organization accomplishes both major and minor tasks, so you want to pay especially close attention to how your business handles phone calls, email, and even mobile devices--both in and out of the office.
Unified communications include several solutions that your organization can use to stay connected, including a unified email solution, mobile device strategy, and a telephone solution. All of these types of solutions should be built around today’s expectations of mobility and flexibility. Here are some of the ways your business can build out a unified communications system that improves connectivity.
Email
Email has long been a staple of business, but how do your employees use it? Do they access it on multiple devices? Do they use the same email service (Hint: They should)? An employee who prefers Gmail over Microsoft Outlook might decide that they would rather use the solution they are most comfortable with. This is an issue, as it spits in the face of your attempt at unified communications.
Email is most useful when it’s kept to your preferred email solution, so you should ensure that your organization is prepared to spend time on training employees how it works. The solution you choose should be one that can be used on several different devices so as to provide your employees with maximum choice in how they use the email system. If you’re worried about hosting your email server, Telesys Voice and Data can help you out with that, too.
Mobile Device Management
Mobile devices are all over the place now, and your business could benefit from having them become a part of your infrastructure. However, they need to be managed properly, as the more apps have access to your business’s data, the more exposure it gets to potential threats. You need to make sure that you’re prepared to handle this influx of mobile devices if you’re hoping to provide a truly unified communication infrastructure for your organization.
Beyond compatibility, you want to make sure that your organization is prepared to handle lost or stolen devices, fraudulent apps, and other security risks. Telesys Voice and Data can help you whitelist and blacklist apps, as well as remotely wipe lost or stolen devices. This helps you keep your data as safe as can be.
Unified Voice over IP
Traditional telephone solutions don’t take the flexibility of the modern business in mind. Landlines tend to bundle together services with little flexibility, leading to organizations overpaying for services that they don’t need. If you’re paying for services that you don’t need, you’re wasting assets that are better spent elsewhere. Furthermore, you’re limited to taking calls on your work phone in your office, hampering your ability to be productive while out of the office or on a business trip.
A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application is one of the best solutions an organization can implement, as they often work across multiple types of devices and work from a shared database of contacts. Your workers will always have access to client information, even when they aren’t in the office. Employees have the option of using their smartphone, desktop, or traditional handset. Having VoIP makes using Unified Communications so much easier for businesses.
To learn more about unified communications solutions, reach out to Telesys Voice and Data at (800) 588-4430.
Security is an aspect of running a business that absolutely cannot be ignored, regardless of whether or not you see it as a considerable issue in the near future. The fact remains that your organization will always be at risk unless you take actions to keep it safe today. By taking advantage of some of the latest and greatest security tools on the market, you’ll be able to protect not only from the basic threats, but more advanced ones as well.
No matter how advanced technology becomes, it can fall victim to even the most basic of threats if left unchecked. Your desktop workstation is certainly not immune to threats like viruses, malware, spam, and so much more, and even the most vigilant business could expose its infrastructure to these common threats. Since consumer-grade services are likely not strong enough to protect your business’s important data, you’ll need to turn to enterprise-grade solutions that can be tricky for small businesses to afford.
One of the greatest ways you can protect your organization is by implementing a Unified Threat Management tool that fulfills the roles of various security solutions in one convenient package. For example, you could implement an enterprise-grade antivirus and firewall to keep threats out of your infrastructure and promptly eliminate those that do infiltrate your defenses. Furthermore, preventative solutions like spam protection and content filtering can limit your organization’s exposure to threats in the first place, which saves time and money in the long run.
More advanced security protections, however, are certainly important for your business as well. Some of the more powerful measures include two-factor authentication and biometric scanning. Two-factor authentication is particularly important, as it provides a secondary credential that must be used to gain access to important information and accounts. Basically, it forces hackers to do even more work to break into an account, as they would have to physically steal your smartphone or other device to which the secondary credential is being sent to, all just to access an account and maybe find something useful.
Biometrics, on the other hand, are a bit harder to fake. Using fingerprint scanners or iris scanners make it considerably more difficult to unlock devices. A hacker would basically have to have the exact same fingerprint or iris as you, so unless there is some incredibly shady business going on, they won’t be able to access your devices.
How does your business secure its sensitive information and data infrastructure? Telesys Voice and Data can help your business avoid considerable security troubles. To learn more, reach out to us at (800) 588-4430.
People spend a lot of money on the Internet. From an individual standpoint, the amount the average person spends on Internet-based services is their largest expense outside of the money they spend on their residence, and perhaps their transportation costs. In order to understand the landscape of what is effectively a battle for Internet supremacy, you first have to take a look at the battlefield itself.
As of September, of the 7.5 billion people on the planet, nearly 3.9 billion of them (51.7%) use the Internet. In North America, 88.1 percent of people (or roughly 320 million) use the Internet in some fashion. This presents opportunities for thousands of companies. Some provide Internet access to would-be consumers. Some deliver content services. Some deliver applications, computing storage, or processing. This has led to the marketing boom you see on the Internet today; and, is where you find a battle raging between the demand created by billions of consumers, and the companies that deliver the services needed to access that customer base.
A lot of questions have been asked recently about what the Internet is. Questions like:
Questions like these produce a variety of answers. With the smoldering embers of the U.S. net neutrality laws suggesting further corporate control of the Internet, we’ll look at the way the Internet is set up in 2018, the costs for businesses and individuals, and why the companies that control access to the Internet are licking their proverbial chops; and, how it challenges the core interpretation of what exactly the Internet is.
The Internet in 2018
The Internet has come a long way in a short time--so far it seems, that it’s hardly recognizable. The Internet of 2018 will continue to be the predominant marketplace in the world. It is seemingly in the process of being consolidated. In fact, 50% of Internet traffic in North America is from 35 websites. In 2007, that same amount of traffic was spread around several thousand websites.
Whether or not a handful of companies own most of it is irrelevant to a consumer, but it’s getting to the point where the product is so consolidated that prices will almost assuredly increase. It’s like Gap Inc. They own The Gap (obviously), Old Navy, Banana Republic, J Crew, H & M, and a few other companies that do largely the same thing: manufacture and sell clothes. Each of these retailers has its own branding and its own management teams, but the money goes to the same place.
The Internet, for all its vastness and entrepreneurial promise, is seemingly controlled, like many industries in the United States, by heavy hitters--companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. Without playing by their rules, many companies may as well peddle their wares from a kiosk at the local mall. 80% of referral traffic comes from Facebook and Google. This is why many retailers’ sustainability is tied to how they are able to properly advertise their product...for these two company’s search algorithms. Today, tens of thousands of marketing companies have supplied the immense demand to build constructs that meet the demands outlined by the masters of the Internet.
The Cost
The Internet is extremely important to us. Our business, and our clients’ businesses, rely on it every single day. We aren’t alone, and in many ways, the Internet is the newest (and arguably last) frontier. If something were to happen and the Internet were to go out for an extended period of time, tens-upon-tens of thousands of businesses, including ours, would likely cease to be. The truth is that we’d pay what we’d have to pay for Internet service.
For individuals who have come to depend on the Internet, they likely feel the same way. There is a story of Stamford professor, Jeff Hancock, who used to ask his students to try and stay off the Internet for 48 hours over the weekend and see how it affected their lives. In 2009, when he assigned the task, “...there was a class revolt,” Hancock said, “The students emphatically said the assignment is impossible and unfair.” They stated several reasons for their near-constant Internet use, but it was clear that the biggest reason is that every one of those students had a mobile device that had made near-ubiquitous Internet accessibility a major part of their lives. They paid for access, and didn’t think it was reasonable for their professor to run rough-shot over their lives (for 48 hours). This new world that is so dependent on computing can be seen in the numbers. In September of 2009, a quarter of the world’s population, 1.7 billion people used the Internet. That number would double by December of 2013.
This growth in demand for Internet access (affordable or otherwise), which you can now see in parts of central Asia and Africa, created markets, which in turn created more markets, and nearly overnight, the Internet went from what could be considered a novelty to a must-have utility-like entity--as necessary as food and water to some. In fact, it’s easy to relate. Think about how much you use the Internet. It’s enough to purchase it for your home AND for a mobile device. If you take your mobile data plan into account, the average U.S. and U.K. consumer pays over $100 a month (just over £73) to have near-ubiquitous Internet service.
The invention of social media has made it even more necessary to people. In the United States alone, over half of people (nearly 180 million) use social media. As a culture, we rely so heavily on it, the President uses social media nearly every day to comment on situations, and in some cases, state changes to federal policy. The combination of mobile devices and social media, e-commerce, and secure payment has created an insatiable demand for Internet access, Internet-based services, and the speed to properly broadcast all the content that people today have come to use.
In some places Internet costs more, and people pay it. In fact, people have so bought into the Internet that a whole generation of people would be completely lost without access to it. Whether that is a problem or not is a matter of opinion, but whether you pay $60 a year for Internet like the average Iranian, or $3000 per year like some do in Southeast Asia, people will compromise their own well-being for an Internet connection.
The Economy of the Internet
Projecting the economy of the Internet into the future is like projecting anything’s future state. It is largely unreliable. Today, the Internet is going through another shift. Looking past the hosted utility computing craze that we see today, you see a world that is completely connected. The Internet of Things, the title given to the act of connecting all things, is in its infancy, but some estimates have it being as big as 11 percent of the global economy by 2025. This strategy not only warrants the production of products that have the capabilities of being connected, it also makes certain that more money will be put into securing these systems.
The current state of the Internet’s economic success is a hotly debated issue by economists. On one hand, many, like Northwestern professor, Robert Gordon, suggest that as good as the Internet has been at growing economic productivity, it’s shockingly less important than the establishment of electricity-producers at the turn of the 20th century. This is largely because productivity (that is, the creation of tangible goods) has shifted from manufacturing goods to fulfilling service requests. The Internet of Things, however, alters this thought, clearly presenting ways to boost efficiency and revolutionize traditional business operations in manufacturing, transportation, communications, and retail.
The new economy of the Internet is tied up in “things,” but that’s not to say that there isn’t an immense amount of commerce taking place. Ecommerce generates over $2.3 million every minute, every day, or roughly $3.3 billion a day; almost a quarter of which changes hands over wireless mobile networks. These levels of enterprise will be growing exponentially as the IoT grows.
Net Neutrality and Its Elimination
There are currently around 2,700 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the United States. With this amount, it is really impossible to consider that there isn’t enough competition. Some critics, however, have stated that there are a handful of ISPs that control access to the Internet for most Americans. The FCC had stated many times that Net Neutrality actually hurt ISP competition. While there were some that would corroborate that claim, many smaller ISP owners considered it only a pain when they couldn’t secure capital that would allow them to deliver service that customers have come to expect. Some even considered net neutrality a good thing, since the money content providers such as Netflix would be forced to invest, would be invested in larger ISPs such as AT&T, Comcast, and Spectrum.
When the FCC decided to roll back the net neutrality laws in December of 2017, it became evident that a more laissez-faire attitude over the regulation of ISPs will have a long-term effect on consumers. Thus far there hasn’t been much of a change, but going forward it will be corporate entities regulating themselves, as the FCC gave up all regulation of Internet providers.
Expect the ISPs to consolidate further through acquisition, and to establish a pricing structure that will allow them to maximize the profitability of their service. It remains to be seen if net neutrality is finished forever, or if the repeal of the mandate will increase infrastructure spending as many of the ISP lobby have suggested.
The Internet is important for individuals and business, alike, and it’s growing larger and larger by the day. The more the third-world develops infrastructure and allows the other half of the human race access to the Internet, the more important the Internet will seemingly become. For more great information about today’s most important technology topics, sign up for our newsletter today.
Your data is one of the most important assets at your business’ disposal. It’s really indispensable. Not only are large amounts of it the result of successful operations, it also can help your organization better understand the intricacies of its own operations, and where you want it to go in the future. Does your business have a process for collecting, storing, and sorting vital data so that your organization can figure out where to go next?
At Telesys Voice and Data our technicians come to work every day to help organizations like yours make full use of your technology. Moreover, we are just starting to realize the potential of data ourselves. By having our certified technicians build a dedicated data warehouse, you are creating a construct that embraces the future of data analytics. This analysis may just be the key that allows your staff to strategically plan the next initiative that will take your business to the next level. Here are some of the types of data a comprehensive data warehouse will hold.
Client Information
Your business depends on the patronage of many clients--people who buy your product or service on a varying basis. However, all of your clients will have information that you want to keep on-hand in the event that you lose it. This includes contact information (like email addresses and mailing addresses) as well as phone numbers and otherwise. You should also include any information about services that you’ve rendered for them so that you’re not caught unaware should you lose records of what type of relationship you have.
Vendor Information
Similarly, your organization also depends on contact with vendors who provide the resources required in order for your business to succeed. This could be in the form of software solutions provided by a developer, or hardware issued by a distributor. Utilities, like your Internet, electricity, HVAC, etc. are equally as important, as they make your office an environment suited for work. In the event the information about your vendors is compromised or lost in any way, you will want to be ready to recover it so that your business relationships can continue to function properly.
Analytics
While storing data and backing up any data related to your vendors and clients can help your business recover in the event of a disaster, you also want to use this information to learn more about your consumer base and create a profitable future for your organization. Doing this is called analytics. Leveraging analytics is a great way to take seemingly arbitrary numbers and find trends that mean something for your business. There are applications that can help your organization find new markets, target the best client base, and identify inefficiencies that compromise your organization’s ability to turn a profit.
If your business truly wants to take advantage of data during the new year, now is the time to take the initiative and invest in data warehousing and corresponding analysis. To learn more about these solutions, reach out to Telesys Voice and Data at (800) 588-4430.
If we asked you how your organization backs up its data, would you be able to smile and tell us all about it in detail? While it’s important to be optimistic about the future of your organization, you should never believe that you are impervious to data loss. We’ll discuss some of the most important terminology behind data backup and recovery, as well as the best way to protect your organization from the crippling situations presented by data loss.
Recovery Point Objective
How much data can you reliably restore in the event of a data loss incident? This number can be measured by RPO, or Recovery Point Objective. Basically, the recovery point objective is determined by how much of your data can be recovered following a loss incident. Situations that could cause data loss include natural disaster like a flood or fire, or it could be at the hands of a hacking attack or user error. Either way, you lose data and it is a negative situation for any organization.
Depending on the type of data backup you have, you could go from either losing a negligible amount to up to a whole day’s worth, or more. Tape backup, which has long been a staple in the business world, is only capable of so much. Since tape backup is considerably more resource-intensive than network-attached or cloud-based backup, you can only take one large backup at the end of the day, meaning that you could lose so much more data through tape than you would through a backup and disaster recovery solution like the one we offer.
Recovery Time Objective
Once you’ve established how much data that you can recover in the event of a disaster loss scenario, it comes time to establish how long it will take for you to achieve recovery. The reason for this is that the time your organization is recovering data is time that your business isn’t functioning as intended. In other words, downtime, where you’re creating negative revenue. Therefore, the goal should be to minimize downtime and achieve a low recovery time objective whenever possible.
Tape backup offers a longer recovery time compared to a network-attached or cloud-based backup solution specifically because the backups are larger and take more time to process (not to mention that they aren’t automatic like the backup process you’ll find with the BDR). Since backups can be taken as frequently as every fifteen minutes, they can be restored more quickly as compared to the antiquated processes you’ll find by using tape backup. It’s just one of the ways that our BDR can reduce downtime and make recovering from a data loss incident more manageable.
Does your business want to guarantee that it can survive from a data loss incident? Telesys Voice and Data can equip your organization with a BDR solution that can maximize its chances of successfully restoring operations following a data loss incident. To learn more, reach out to us at (800) 588-4430.
How does your organization manage its IT? For some businesses, it’s not an easy choice or even a remotely affordable one. Some companies are forced to endure subpar services from break-fix IT providers that don’t necessarily have the tools available to prevent issues from happening. Others try to prevent issues from evolving into major concerns. These others are the organizations that have the right idea behind technology maintenance.
Yet, this preventative maintenance can seem a little intimidating to business owners on a budget. The break/fix method to IT maintenance is designed to provide organizations the service that they need when they are having trouble keeping their technology in proper working order. This could be something as simple as an email access issue, or a major problem like a hardware failure. Regardless of the issue, businesses would pay out massive amounts of funds just to purchase IT support whenever it’s required.
The problem with this approach is that it is rather passive until disaster strikes. Let’s say that your business has a major project to complete or deadline to meet, but you can’t accomplish this due to networking complications or hardware failures. You have to wait for a technician to arrive on-site to address the issue, and during this timeframe, your employees are being paid to sit around and wait for the issue to be resolved--all so they can do their jobs. This is how break-fix IT works. Your organization is basically a time-bomb when your technology isn’t maintained properly. It’s only a matter of time until you experience a crippling issue that completely derails productivity and costs your business an arm and a leg.
A better way to handle business-level IT support is by implementing what are known as managed IT solutions. By working with a managed service provider, your organization can take advantage of services previously anathema to it--namely, preventative solutions that aim to keep issues from happening in the first place. You can get all of the services that your organization has long-desired, but in a more conveniently priced way. You can achieve enterprise-level network security, back up your data with cloud-based data backup and disaster recovery solutions, and remotely apply patches and security updates so that your hardware and software are always in proper working order. All of these solutions require a dedicated IT technician who can properly manage them, and Telesys Voice and Data can provide this expert level of service.
Perhaps the best part of managed IT is that it is much more affordable than traditional break-fix IT services. Since managed IT allows for smaller and more affordable monthly payments, it’s easier to handle than the large up-front expenses accrued by sudden charges made by break-fix IT services. Furthermore, since you won’t have to pay for downtime, you’ll save a considerable amount of capital regardless of which services you implement, as they will be implemented with the intention of keeping issues to a minimum.
Does your organization need help with technology management? If so, Telesys Voice and Data can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (800) 588-4430.
The modern small business will face several challenges in 2018. The world is changing, and with it, so is business. For many small businesses, this can either be looked on as the opportunity they’ve been waiting for, or, it can be viewed as the beginning of the end. No matter what situations you are faced with this year, understanding what problems your business faces, and how to solve them is imperative to your small business’ success.
In the technology world, 2018 will be more about utilizing innovations to the technologies that are already available rather than deploying newfangled technologies, as many small businesses focus on revenue generation rather than simply cutting their technology costs. Chances are your organization already takes advantage of many of today’s most cost-prohibitive technology trends. Whether or not you are using them properly will ultimately be the difference in meeting your yearly projections. We take a look at some of the most compelling variables a small business owner needs to consider in order to take their business in the right direction.
Running a Smarter Business
While 2017 was a good year for the small business, many smaller organizations fall into the trap of not focusing on revenue generation; setting their sights on sustainability rather than success. If your business has been around the block a bit, you may be comfortable with the “business as usual” approach. You may be surprised to know that by changing the way you approach certain core strategies, you can initiate greater revenue generation and stop focusing so much of your time and effort on practices that aren’t effective and just hold your business back.
Cost cutting initiatives have been all the rage for the past several years. Many businesses utilize outsourced services such as cloud computing, print services, and staffing agencies to reduce their capital expenses. This strategy is sound--it provides an organization with more upfront capital--allowing for more a targeted approach at projects that can spur on revenue generation. The issue is that by not making ANY true capital investments, you are likely paying more.
One way to improve your business’ position is to consider the value you get from recurring services. A service like the one Telesys Voice and Data provides, where you can see an immediate return on your recurring investment, is valuable, and rare. There are some services, however, that don’t provide a rapid or sustainable return, and by paying more up front, you could actually mitigate cost that adds up over time. Paying for software you barely use per month may seem affordable if you look at the operational cost, but in true capital, renewing a yearly license for a single copy of the software may actually save you money.
As far as the revenue generation problem goes, there are two solutions that are available to every business that, once implemented, are likely to provide a solid ROI. The first is analysis. Your company generates a lot of data, and much of that data is relevant in the context of making better business decisions. Business intelligence, that is the structured analysis of warehoused data, can provide some very useful answers. Consider that your operational data, data about staff effectiveness, data about your marketing and advertising initiatives all hold in them a small piece of truth about the way your business operates. By gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how your business functions, you can make better strategic and operational decisions.
At Telesys Voice and Data, we are just starting to understand how to help our clients run smarter businesses. Since profit margins and returns on many goods have shrunk significantly over the years, businesses have looked to services to fill in the gaps when they don’t have the capital to undertake major investments for staff, technology, or otherwise. Today we can set up a data warehouse to store all the relevant data so that you can use automated analytic software to crawl the data to get the truth about how your business functions, and what to do to boost revenue generation.
The second is sometimes looked on as an antiquated strategy; but, in the information age it remains as true today as ever. Invest in your people. It’s simple, the better your people enjoy working for you--the more they see your sacrifice and hard work--the more they have reason to be proud to have their job with your organization--the better your company will function. While we push automation every day to help you get more out of your company, you won’t get anything out of it if you view your employees as a hindrance. Think about it this way, your people are your biggest expense, and as a result, should be your biggest priority.
With the technology that is coming, this tried-and-true method of running a smarter business is going to be tested. Many larger enterprises have begun utilizing automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in an effort to provide higher returns for their investors. It’s only a matter of time before small businesses around the world will be using the same technologies to try to turn a penny into a nickel. While there are some jobs that can be eliminated with these technologies, there will be different jobs created through the use of them. With automation beginning to redefine the job market, independent workers will be in demand to fill in the gaps. So, while these jobs have less definition, the need for hungry, happy workers will be there for as long as goods and services are produced.
To get your staff working the way you need them to work, you have to invest in them. Here are three ways you can run a smarter business by getting more from your staff:
Getting smarter about the way you do business doesn’t start with technology, and doesn’t start with capital, it starts with a dedication to do the right thing for your clients, for your staff, and for the myriad of other people that depend on your business. If you handle your staff in the right way, it will provide you with the largest ROI of any investment you can make this year, and any year.
Learn Where You Can Compete and Where You Can’t
Many of today’s small business owners look at their more-successful competition and try to emulate the practices that have made them a success. The fundamental problem with this strategy would be that you are in competition with these companies for revenue, and by doing things the same way as they do it doesn’t set your business apart from them. That being said, there is are reasons that the company you are setting out to emulate is having success. By copying your competitors’ best features, you could create some space in even the most saturated market. Whether they boast superior brand recognition, have superior customer service, are superior at fulfillment, etc. you have to know your place in your market. In fact, many experts consider the act of finding your niche inside of your target market to be one of the largest differentiators to achieving success for a small business.
Consider your smartphone for a minute. You decide to start a company to make smartphones. Chances are you aren’t going to compete with the Apples, Nokias, and Samsungs of the world. So, while it stands to reason that you may want to abandon your plan altogether, you start looking at the data and there are no phones made specifically for doctors. If you deliver on your promises and create a device that works for the needs of doctors, there is a chance that you can compete within that niche market, while not really competing at all in the larger market at all.
Anything you can do to deliver your goods and services to the most people should be the aim, but be cognizant that by setting your sights too high, you may just be putting your company in a perilous predicament. You need top tier customer service, a trustworthy product that you stand behind, and a plan on how to get your product to your consumers if you are going to compete in any market. Find your differentiator and exploit it.
2018 is another year where technology will be in the mind’s eye of every business owner, but to find success by using technology, you have to apply it in the right way. For more information about business technology, how to stretch your IT budget properly, or any other technology related subject, call the IT professionals at Telesys Voice and Data today at (800) 588-4430.
All businesses require at least some type of software in order to perform as expected. It’s how organizations acquire this software that has a considerable impact on cost. For some, software can be a budget-breaking nightmare, but others have found a much more convenient way of acquiring this software: as a service.
Software as a Service is a method of software distribution designed to help your business acquire the applications it needs without suffering from the large upfront costs that software acquisition typically carries with it. Do you remember purchasing software licenses for each and every user on your network? This can get somewhat challenging to maintain, as these licenses need to be renewed frequently, and if they are not, your organization could be put at substantial risk.
Businesses can instead use software as a service offerings to purchase access to cloud-based applications and storage. Basically, you pay for access to the software and reap all of the benefits of actually owning it--plus some additional ones--by leveraging cloud computing.
More Cost-Effective
Think about how much it costs to purchase software for your organization. The same services that are necessary for operations, could be a major detriment to turning a profit. With the use of an application hosted in the cloud, you can cut the cost of ownership and transfer the once recurring capital expense into a manageable operating expense.
Up-to-Date Editions
When you purchase software as a service applications, you always access the most recent version of it through an online interface. This means that you’ll never have to worry about updating the apps with patches or security updates, as they will be taken care of by the service provider.
More Flexibility
Purchasing new software licenses can be troublesome, especially when you’re a small business that’s experiencing growing pains. You can add new users easily enough just by creating accounts for them--no additional purchases necessary. Changes in your service plan are generally added on your next billing cycle. This provides the scalability every growing business needs.
Does your business want to use software as a service? Telesys Voice and Data can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (800) 588-4430.
IT maintenance is something of a sensitive topic for some organizations. While most understand that it needs to be done, they often don’t have the resources to make it happen, either due to a limited budget or timeframe. How does your business handle IT maintenance? If your organization is having troubles managing its annual technology budget, or if you are consistently experiencing profit-sapping downtime, consider managed IT services the answer to your problems.
Simply put, the traditional method of technology maintenance doesn’t work well anymore. The break-fix method to technology management is generally how small businesses have run their organizations for quite some time. Break-fix relies on your business reaching out to a maintenance provider only when your systems are malfunctioning, causing downtime and inefficiency that is sure to show up on your organization’s bottom line.
Without a reliable way to guarantee that the downtime-causing issue won’t happen again, the break-fix method is like slapping a Band-Aid on a wound and hoping that it won’t reopen. Managed IT, on the other hand, is designed to address problems before they happen by taking preventative measures.
Managed IT accomplishes this goal by providing you with comprehensive access to technicians who you can proactively monitor and fix any technology problem you may have with your network or infrastructure. For businesses that lack an internal IT department, managed IT can fill the void you have in technology administration quite nicely. Furthermore, managed IT can provide value even for organizations that have dedicated internal IT staff.
More often than not, a small business will have, at most, an internal team consisting of only a handful of technicians who, more than likely, have a lot on their plate. By supplementing their skills with a managed IT service provider, you’re giving them more time to focus on the quality of their work, as well as assisting your in-house team with any technology problems they might have. It also allows your organization to add profitable IT projects to its roadmap, which provides for higher degrees of productivity and a rapid ROI.
Basically, managed IT does whatever needs to be done for your business’ technology, be it acting as a supplementary force to support your current technicians, or taking on the full responsibility of managing and maintaining your organization's current IT infrastructure.
One of the most important factors of managed IT services is how much more affordable it is. This is explained primarily by how you prevent issues from happening in the first place. Plus, by keeping issues from evolving into bigger problems, you can spend less on your technology support.
Could your business use help with your IT solutions? Reach out to Telesys Voice and Data at (800) 588-4430.
In terms of identity theft, data loss and good ol’ fashioned pickpocketing, the holiday season is one of the riskiest times to travel. When it comes to protecting your personal information, thieves and cybercriminals are counting on you to be distracted and make careless mistakes. In 2016, the number of fraud attempts went up by 31% during the holiday season. In addition, credit cards, mobile devices, and open Wi-Fi are common targets throughout the holidays.
Here are a few tips that can help keep you and your family safe from hackers and thieves.
Approximately 100 million Americans are going to be traveling this holiday season - meaning that there is no shortage of potential victims. By following these tips, you are taking a proactive approach to keeping your identity and finances safe.
Digital payment options have become commonplace in today’s society. In fact, ever since people could purchase goods and services off of the Internet, some of the world’s most successful companies are a result of digital payment. It was a natural progression then, as the mobile device boom came, that mobile payment would take the place of cash and/or cards and bring these digital payment options beyond the Internet, and into our retail stores. This simply hasn’t happened and here are four reasons why.
The Tried and True Payment Still Works
The first reason is simple. Retailers still accept cash and credit cards. Why would anyone who has been using these tried and true methods of payment for 20-plus years change things up? According to First Annapolis Consulting’s “Study of Mobile Banking & Payments”, while 64 percent of all smartphone users have used some form of mobile payment platform, only five percent consider themselves frequent payment users. The fact is that it’s not as attractive as you may think, and is further relegated to the background because...
There is a Lack of Incentive
What added value does a mobile payment service actually offer? Sure, in some states that have gone to a digital ID system, this would seemingly allow consumers to forgo the wallet completely. That’s it. Most mobile payment interfaces make it difficult for users to redeem loyalty points or take advantage of special offers at mobile point of sale machines.
There are companies, such as Starbucks, that have made a point to integrate their loyalty points system into their mobile payment platform. Their mobile app combines the loyalty point program with mobile payment options, which is great for consumers. But like the consumers themselves, if a company doesn’t see an immediate (or even long-term) demand, they will avoid laying out the capital until that demand is present.
In order for mobile users to take full advantage of the mobile payment platforms, you will need to give them some form of incentive to use it. This is mainly since...
Mobile Payment Actually Takes More Effort
One of the claims that mobile payment providers make is that it is much easier to use than any other type of payment. Just tap and go. While this seems reasonable on the surface, the reality of it is that it takes just as long or longer to access your mobile payment platform through your smartphone as it does to take cash or a card out of a wallet. Consider for a minute the steps you have to take in order to make mobile payment work: You have to take your phone out, unlock it, access the mobile wallet app, select which card you want to use, and then hold your phone to the terminal. After this they still need to either sign the screen/paper or provide a pin. Why take so much effort to make purchases when it takes less time to buy goods in a traditional way; and, still have to deal with…
Mobile Payment Security Concerns
To be fair, mobile payments may be as secure as any other form of digital payment, but there is an inherent fear in many consumers’ minds that because there is an all-digital transmission of financial information that it is somehow less secure than traditional digital payment options. This fear isn’t unfounded, as each day people can read about data breaches at banks, stores, and major online retailers, that only work to fuel the anxiety surrounding mobile payments.
Many cyber security experts have cautiously endorsed the use of secure payment apps, while others point to studies like the 2015 Mobile Payment Security Study that overwhelmingly urges a wait-and-see approach, but does admit that the industry is making headway in the security of mobile financial transactions with the inclusion of account tokenization, device-specific cryptograms, and multi-factor authentication.
In the future, mobile devices will become the only computer we’ll need, but will they become the only wallet we’ll need? Only time will tell.
If you’ve ever managed a major IT project, you’re probably well acquainted with Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every project is going to have some rough patches. The key to overcoming these challenges lays not with the execution of the plan, but with the preparation. Here are four things to consider when you’re planning your next long-term IT project.
“The good old days” usually refer to times long past, where things were more simple. Businesses a few decades ago didn’t have much complex technology in their office, but nowadays organizations have multiple server units and plenty of workstations--all of which need more maintenance than ever before. What’s the best way for your organization to approach IT maintenance?
We’ve all seen and heard about companies and government departments that have experienced major security and data loss events. Once the event is made public, there is a media frenzy of coverage disclosing answers to questions like: Were your records compromised? How can you protect nonpublic information in the future? What should you do if you are a victim? However, as the media focus moves to another topic, the breach becomes yesterday’s news - and there is very little coverage of what repercussions and penalties those entities that were breached faced - if any.
Technology maintenance and management is one of the major pain points of all businesses, but it comes more easily to large organizations that have large budgets. Unfortunately, small organizations are often left out, placing such an important aspect of managing their business on the back burner. How, then, can you take advantage of proactive IT maintenance without breaking your budget?
SMBs often have a lot of work on their plates due to having smaller workforces. Thus, something as important as IT gets put on hold in favor of the day to day responsibilities. The problem with that is if IT is not managed properly, it will result in downtime. One would think that adding a few heads to focus on technology management would be a solution, but adding salaries to your budget can be an expensive endeavor. Ultimately, there’s a better way.
Before you consider hiring technical staff, let’s have a conversation about managing your technology so you don’t need to put your focus on it. If you’ve been burned in the past by your regular computer repair person, we get it, which is why do things differently. Ordinarily, a business seeking computer support would suffer from what’s known as break-fix IT. This is a type of maintenance that your business seeks out when it’s suffering from broken technology.
When your technology doesn’t work properly, you will seek out assistance. The break-fix IT provider will then dispatch someone to resolve your problem. They will finish their work and you’ll pay any support fees that you’ve accrued (sometimes this includes travel time, an hourly budget, parts, service fees, etc.). This type of IT maintenance is more reactive than proactive, as it responds only when you are currently experiencing problems rather than preventing them in the first place.
At Telesys Voice and Data, we pride ourselves on proactive IT maintenance. This type of managed service can remotely monitor and resolve most issues that your organization encounters before they evolve into bigger, more expensive problems. An example of this is actively monitoring your network for signs of hardware failure, then proceeding to assist you with replacing the problematic hardware before you deal with downtime. It’s just one way that your business benefits from proactive IT maintenance.
Thus, as long as it’s covered in your service level agreement, managed IT expenses will continue to be much easier to budget than the costs associated with break-fix technology maintenance. Outsourced IT services from Telesys Voice and Data can be your first step toward optimizing your business’ operations and taking the strain of IT management off of your capital budget. To learn more, reach out to us at (800) 588-4430.
Consultation is one of those words that you take for granted because you see it everywhere. Think about it, most businesses that provide a professional service offers some semblance of consultation. For the small business owner, can you really afford to pay premium prices to “experts” for them to give you their so-called professional opinion? Besides, what do service providers mean when they use the term “consultation”?
In the traditional sense, a consultation is a meeting to discuss a contracted issue. To that end the consultation provides the opportunity for a party that is dealing with problems to get a professional opinion about how to resolve that problem. This works wonders when you have a rash and go to the doctor, or if you have a wicked toothache and go see a dentist. These consultations typically result in near instantaneous relief of a problem, but for business owners that are suffering from inefficiencies, cost overruns, and other major operational problems, there is a good chance that there is a way to leverage technology and automation to eliminate any problems your organization could have.
At Telesys Voice and Data, our consultants have a strong grasp on the technology the modern business uses to mitigate their inefficiencies. To that end, our consultants will perform a full network and infrastructure assessment that will give us a better idea of what kind of changes need to be made to your process, to your technology, or to your workflow.
Since you want your business to grow, we don’t just look at how you can fix the problems you have, we make a comprehensive plan on how you can leverage technology to sustain the growth you want to see and eliminate downtime and other profit-sapping inefficiencies over time. This IT roadmap can include hardware refreshes, software deployment, additions to network and physical security, and much, much more.
Our technicians understand how today’s most dynamic IT systems can work to build efficiency. We also understand that there are plenty of products on the market to help you. That’s why we put you beside some of the industry’s best vendors to get you using reliable and powerful technology to benefit your business. Best yet, the problems you have day-in and day-out with your aimless approach to technology will quickly be replaced with a strategic technology plan that works for your business. Aside from our value-based consultation service, some of the technology solutions we can provide your organization include:
If you think you can get more out of your business, you are probably right! Call Telesys Voice and Data at (800) 588-4430 today to make an appointment to meet with one of our knowledgeable representatives and get consulted on how to best move your business forward.
Every business is searching for ways to improve productivity. There are now quite a few methods being used to boost the amount that each employee can accomplish, many of which revolve around technology. Admittedly, some of these methods may not be attainable for the average SMB… yet. However, as technology advances you may find yourself able to leverage some of these productivity-enhancing tools to improve the look of your bottom line.
Someday, You Could Have Smart Desks
For instance, smart desks. By connecting to the company’s local-area network, these Internet-of-Things workstations can track the behaviors of your employees to help improve their health. We’ve all heard that it is better for the human body to stand up than sit at their desks, but how many people actually do? A smart desk helps to solve this problem by alerting its occupant when to stand. Furthermore, smart desks can serve as a health monitor for an employee, allowing health issues to be caught preventatively, potentially reducing time out of the office and the amount of missed productivity.
On the topic of furniture, offering employees adjustable office furniture to use will reduce the amount of discomfort employees will experience as they attend to their responsibilities.
Yes, Television Can Be More Than a Distraction
If handled correctly, keeping a few televisions in the office can be a benefit to your employee’s productivity. After all, they don't necessarily have to be playing an afternoon soap opera or reality show. Use a television to display important company matters, like upcoming meetings, deadlines, KPIs, sales wins, and other business subjects to keep goals and deadline top-of-mind for employees. In fact, these displays can even help to inspire a little friendly competition in the office, as different departments see each other being more productive and feel the need to measure up.
There’s also a lot to be said about the value of video conferencing. If an employee needs to be two places at once--like in a critical meeting while also across the country attending an important conference--a video conferencing program can allow them to do both.
Work Smarter to Work Harder
Of course, there are plenty of other tools available to make being productive a simpler prospect for your employees. Automation can eliminate manual tasks to free up resources. After all, the more time an employee has to spend initiating a data backup or some other day-to-day. critical, but time-consuming task, the less time they can spend producing some benefit for the company.
It is also crucial that your employees are working with the solutions that will benefit their productivity the most. This means that they aren’t dealing with outdated hardware and software that experiences issues and hang-ups, and are equipped with the means to achieve optimal output. Ensuring that your technology is up-to-date and well-maintained can have a big impact to how well they work, and as a result, how well your workforce can do their jobs.
For help with creating a plan that ensures maximum productivity for your entire office, reach out to Telesys Voice and Data. We can help you implement the necessary components to ensure your office remains productive. Give us a call today at (800) 588-4430.
Some organizations want to better understand the process that they use to take backups of their data and restore them in the event of an emergency. This is great, because the value of being able to do so cannot (and should not) be understated. A proper data backup and disaster recovery system could be all that stands between prosperity and failure.
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