The explosion of mobile devices have been a god-send to many small businesses. Employees acn stay in touch when working off site. Telecommuting gets a boost leading to space savings for many firms. Improving efficiency serving clients can readily turn into a sale you may have missed or an upsell simply due to having more info available on the fly.
What this boom of technology lacks in wiring to workstations is often made up in strings for small business owners. Employees may use the devices in ways you did not intend. (Are they keeping connected or Angry Birds leaders?) There also can be a slew of headaches trying to find someone to manage all connectvity so these items actually interface with your current network the first time and then every time there after. Any one who's ever learned of a Windows patch or iPhone software upgrade 1/2 thru a last minute synch knows the things are constantly receiving updates. Multiply that by 2-3 devices per user (smartphone, tablet and/or laptop) and the number of users and you see the time drain.
There is some excellent advice over on PCWorld.com for mobile strategies. They cover some great policy guidelines and plain language buying guides for hardware AND apps. Check it out!
For more small business ideas and articles, visit the OED Community.
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Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
The case for mobile computing and Wi-Fi – SAVE MONEY
OED LinkedIn Group member Alan Buckwalter continues to give us some great small business tech advice. Practical, cost-effective, and FLEXIBLE! Just the way entrepreneurs like their IT!
Do you have field employees? Does your staff spend (a significant amount of) time out of the office during the day, only to rush back at the end of the day to wrap up their “normal” work, accumulating a significant expense (in overtime, and more) for your business? If you answered yes, you are not alone.
This is a very common scenario for many businesses, and while Smartphone’s and PDA’s have helped clear some of the email backlog there is often other work to be done requiring access to office systems and services and returning to the office.
By using a local and Free Wi-Fi Hot-Spot (see “Looking to be productive anywhere? Free Wi-Fi can help!”,) and one of a variety of technology solutions your staff can be productive during random moments of idle / downtime, waiting time, etc., decreasing (or eliminating those) unnecessary trips back to the office (during or at the end of the day) and SAVING YOU MONEY.
For example:
1) If you are using Cloud services for email, file sharing, or business applications, you may only need an internet connection and a web browser to be productive like your back in the office. Instead of using a desktop, the same functionality is available on a notebook, net-book, tablet / iPad or Smartphone.
2) If you have an office server with remote desktop / access capabilities, your technology may only be a VPN or Remote Desktop connection away. Again, by using a (shared) notebook, net-book, or tablet / iPad, access to key business services and technology may be an internet connection away.
Wouldn’t you like to save money? Reduce or eliminate your overtime spend? Get your employees home to their families at a normal hour? Consider the possibilities of mobile computing. You may be surprised!
For more information or help getting started, visit Jefric Consulting, or call them at 201-370-6430. Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.
Additional Small Business tech tips may be found in the OED Community. OED: Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
Article originally posted to Jefric Consulting's blog 10/2010.
Do you have field employees? Does your staff spend (a significant amount of) time out of the office during the day, only to rush back at the end of the day to wrap up their “normal” work, accumulating a significant expense (in overtime, and more) for your business? If you answered yes, you are not alone.
This is a very common scenario for many businesses, and while Smartphone’s and PDA’s have helped clear some of the email backlog there is often other work to be done requiring access to office systems and services and returning to the office.
By using a local and Free Wi-Fi Hot-Spot (see “Looking to be productive anywhere? Free Wi-Fi can help!”,) and one of a variety of technology solutions your staff can be productive during random moments of idle / downtime, waiting time, etc., decreasing (or eliminating those) unnecessary trips back to the office (during or at the end of the day) and SAVING YOU MONEY.
For example:
1) If you are using Cloud services for email, file sharing, or business applications, you may only need an internet connection and a web browser to be productive like your back in the office. Instead of using a desktop, the same functionality is available on a notebook, net-book, tablet / iPad or Smartphone.
2) If you have an office server with remote desktop / access capabilities, your technology may only be a VPN or Remote Desktop connection away. Again, by using a (shared) notebook, net-book, or tablet / iPad, access to key business services and technology may be an internet connection away.
Wouldn’t you like to save money? Reduce or eliminate your overtime spend? Get your employees home to their families at a normal hour? Consider the possibilities of mobile computing. You may be surprised!
For more information or help getting started, visit Jefric Consulting, or call them at 201-370-6430. Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.
Additional Small Business tech tips may be found in the OED Community. OED: Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
Article originally posted to Jefric Consulting's blog 10/2010.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Essential Office Technology for Pennies a Day
Alan Buckwalter, founder of Jefric Consulting and an OED LinkedIn Group member discusses how small investments can have large returns when dealing with small business tech:
Is your business email branded to your domain, “@mycompany.com” or does it end in “gmail.com”, “aol.com”, “yahoo.com” or something else? When your email is sitting in the Inbox of a client or vendor, do you want them to think of your business or the phone / cable company?
Are you able to easily share documents and collaborate with people inside and outside your organization? Is web conferencing something that can help improve productivity, save time and money across your business? Would instant messaging be valuable within your business, helping your employees communicate faster and more effectively with each other?
If you answered yes to one or all of these questions, the Microsoft Online Services may be able to help you.
Microsoft Online Services offers a solution for all four of these essential business needs, with NO onsite server required, and the ability to access your information from virtually any web enabled device. Email (Exchange), Collaboration (Sharepoint), Web Conferencing (Livemeeting) and Instant Messaging (Office Communication) are all available individually or as a suite for a low monthly subscription fee.
For more information or help getting started, visit Jefric Consulting, or call them at 201-370-6430. Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.
Additional Small Business tech tips may be found in the OED Community. OED: Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
Article originally posted on Jefric's Blog 10/2010.
Is your business email branded to your domain, “@mycompany.com” or does it end in “gmail.com”, “aol.com”, “yahoo.com” or something else? When your email is sitting in the Inbox of a client or vendor, do you want them to think of your business or the phone / cable company?
Are you able to easily share documents and collaborate with people inside and outside your organization? Is web conferencing something that can help improve productivity, save time and money across your business? Would instant messaging be valuable within your business, helping your employees communicate faster and more effectively with each other?
If you answered yes to one or all of these questions, the Microsoft Online Services may be able to help you.
Microsoft Online Services offers a solution for all four of these essential business needs, with NO onsite server required, and the ability to access your information from virtually any web enabled device. Email (Exchange), Collaboration (Sharepoint), Web Conferencing (Livemeeting) and Instant Messaging (Office Communication) are all available individually or as a suite for a low monthly subscription fee.
For more information or help getting started, visit Jefric Consulting, or call them at 201-370-6430. Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.
Additional Small Business tech tips may be found in the OED Community. OED: Entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs.
Article originally posted on Jefric's Blog 10/2010.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Malware- Can You Live With It?
Here's a great article we found via OED's LinkedIn Group, courtesy of Alan Buckwalter of Jefric Consulting.
Bob Violino for InfoWorld:"Get used to it: Malware can't be completely blocked or eliminated. But you can manage your PCs, mobile devices, and networks to function despite being infected
How can you be sure your organization doesn't have insidious viruses or other malware lurking within systems and applications, waiting to inflict damage? You can't.
Malware has grown sophisticated to the point where there's no guarantee that it's actually gone, even when you've applied the latest antivirus software. Making matters worse, IT infrastructures are becoming much more complex -- with an ever-growing population of devices that give malware even more possible entry points.
These days, you have to assume there are some infected PCs or other devices on the corporate network.
Get used to it: Malware is everywhere you go
The malware problem is getting worse. According to the Ponemon Institute's 2011 State of Endpoint Risk study, 43 percent of the 782 U.S.-based IT and IT security professionals surveyed reported a "dramatic uptick" in malware in 2010. Fully 98 percent of the organizations surveyed by Ponemon experienced a virus or malware-based network intrusion, and 35 percent said they had experienced 50 malware attempts within a span of just one month, or more than one intrusion per day.
"The current batch of malware we're seeing is very sophisticated and well written, and it hides itself well and avoids detection well," says Fred Rica, principal in the information security advisory practice at the PricewaterhouseCoopers consulting firm.
The good news is that this "living with malware" scenario doesn't have to lead to lost data, unavailable systems, or other problems. Companies can and do function despite these intrusions."
The full article with great survival strategies can be seen in InfoWorld.com's Secutiy Central section.
Bob Violino for InfoWorld:"Get used to it: Malware can't be completely blocked or eliminated. But you can manage your PCs, mobile devices, and networks to function despite being infected
How can you be sure your organization doesn't have insidious viruses or other malware lurking within systems and applications, waiting to inflict damage? You can't.
Malware has grown sophisticated to the point where there's no guarantee that it's actually gone, even when you've applied the latest antivirus software. Making matters worse, IT infrastructures are becoming much more complex -- with an ever-growing population of devices that give malware even more possible entry points.
These days, you have to assume there are some infected PCs or other devices on the corporate network.
Get used to it: Malware is everywhere you go
The malware problem is getting worse. According to the Ponemon Institute's 2011 State of Endpoint Risk study, 43 percent of the 782 U.S.-based IT and IT security professionals surveyed reported a "dramatic uptick" in malware in 2010. Fully 98 percent of the organizations surveyed by Ponemon experienced a virus or malware-based network intrusion, and 35 percent said they had experienced 50 malware attempts within a span of just one month, or more than one intrusion per day.
"The current batch of malware we're seeing is very sophisticated and well written, and it hides itself well and avoids detection well," says Fred Rica, principal in the information security advisory practice at the PricewaterhouseCoopers consulting firm.
The good news is that this "living with malware" scenario doesn't have to lead to lost data, unavailable systems, or other problems. Companies can and do function despite these intrusions."
The full article with great survival strategies can be seen in InfoWorld.com's Secutiy Central section.
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