Examining this report, Salesforce included businesses ranging from two employees to two hundred from a variety of industries, in a variety of countries. Crucially, these businesses were differentiated based on whether they had experienced an increase in revenue over one percent (signifying growth) or of less than one percent/a decline in revenue (signifying stagnation or decline). Let?s take a close look at some of the conclusions that Salesforce came to based on their data collection and aggregation. Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Can Grow by Making Operations More Flexible The more flexible a business is in how it can serve its customers, the more they are able to accomplish?despite the limitations that they face today. Therefore, it makes sense to pay attention to how well a business can adapt to the requirements and restrictions that COVID-19 has imparted. Based on the data Salesforce has collected, many businesses have shown themselves to be quite flexible in their operations. For instance, an average 64 percent of surveyed businesses (61 percent small, 69 percent medium) were focused on implementing the proper safety and sanitation policies, while 59 percent of each had focused on compliance to their area?s masking requirements. Others have implemented contactless services and otherwise promoted social distancing by rearranging workplaces. Naturally, the medium-sized businesses have been in a better position to make these changes, but small businesses haven?t been far behind. Successful Businesses are the Ones Shifting Their Safety and Interactions Based on its research, Salesforce has also shown that the businesses most likely to embrace the changes necessary to keep their customers safe are the businesses who are growing?although the other businesses aren?t all that far behind. Communications have become more transparent and accessible through more avenues, like social media, at an increasing rate. Identifying the Right Technology Isn?t Always the Issue In fact, it isn?t even in the top three reasons that businesses are finding their operations constrained. To be fair, it is number four, but more prevalent are business concerns over their access to capital, their ability to meet their clients? expectations, and how to hire the right talent. It also doesn?t help that revenue and demand has all reduced in the face of the pandemic. Far more businesses also identify the limitations placed in the interest of the public health and compliance to public health as detrimental to their businesses. In Fact, Technology Helps Businesses Succeed The report also provides various examples of how technology has benefited operations for SMBs during this time?particularly the ?S? part. Taking the average: 51 percent claimed that technology drove their customer interactions 46 percent credited it with enabling their business to remain open 42 percent said that technology helped generate the growth of their customer base 40 percent saw improved productivity 32 percent saw it benefitting collaboration So, while the coronavirus pandemic certainly hasn?t done any favors for businesses, it has at least provided some evidence that businesses can benefit from implementing IT solutions. To find out more about how your business could directly benefit from these kinds of solutions, reach out to our team! We can help you evaluate your current IT implementation and suggest improvements to improve your operations. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
The Internet as a Self-Serve Education Resource While small business owners undoubtedly have some business acumen, there?s a good chance that their IT skills aren?t quite at the same level. Software is a common business tool in 2020, so many entrepreneurs have embraced the opportunity to remedy that disparity. Many have learned more about how to properly use their software?s features to better manage their businesses, and how they can teach these skills to their team when business resumes. YouTube is a popular resource for many as they improve a litany of skills. From cooking, mechanics, business tips and other tricks, video has long been shown to be a great learning tool. In an online study that examined autodidactism (a fancy word for self-teaching, and what you?re doing by reading this blog), it was shown that nearly 60 percent of people preferred YouTube, but resources also included free as well as paid online courses, blogs and other online articles, and podcasts in their list of preferred educational online tools. How Improving IT Skills is a Business Win Think about it: with improved technical skills and a better understanding of the technology, entrepreneurs are in a better place to come up with methodologies that can make them more organized, save money, improve productivity, and otherwise make their business more efficient. Considering that there?s currently a pandemic interfering with business operations for many, efficiency is a highly desirable quality right now. An employee that takes advantage of this time to improve their skills for the company also stands to benefit. Such employees are often promoted more quickly, are paid better, and rise to become team leaders. These are the people you want working for you when productivity is more crucial than ever. Software Mastery is a Desirable Skill Software is generally useful. However, once someone gets to be familiar with all a software title?s capabilities, this usefulness is thrown into overdrive. Most employees never quite reach this level. They tend to peak about where they understand how to best do the job they most use the software for. However, some employees are now going beyond that to learn what their tools can do, learning more about the management software and operational applications their company uses and raising the bar in management?s eyes. This opens the opportunity for the whole team to generate more revenue or reduce greater costs with the features of their line of business software, and therefore, benefit the entire organization. In the business world, the old saying ?knowledge is power? certainly holds water. Take advantage of our knowledge by returning to our blog for more information about the IT your business relies upon, or by calling White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800 for assistance.
What?s the Point of an IT Strategy? The purpose of putting together an IT investment strategy is to straighten out what technology you would like to see, to choose the specific solution, and to work the changes into your business? current operational strategy. As cool as technology can be, some of it prices itself out of your business? capabilities, some of it is unnecessary for where your business is at, and some could really wreak havoc on your business? ability to produce/deliver and support your current product/service. Most strategic IT implementations happen over 12-to-36 months and begin with a perceived problem. Do you want to increase production? Efficiency? Collaborative capabilities? Whatever the problem you are trying to address, you need to realize that by implementing more cutting-edge technology, you are likely automating some?and in some cases, large parts?of your business. The point is that you need to iron out the details and expectations before you even address the deployment of the technology. Let?s Build an IT Roadmap Once the assessments are done, you need to build a plan. Many IT projects are addressed in stages. Since many of your IT systems will be reliant on the functionality of other IT systems, you need to ensure that the solutions you choose work with the ones that you already have in place. Also, you can properly plan out what you want the whole system to look like, and how you want it to function. Working with expert IT consultants can help you prioritize which solutions need to be implemented in order. This will not only give you the best chance of deploying your IT investments strategically, it will also go a long way toward helping you build a foundation in which to consistently stay on top of your business? IT, as technology innovates rapidly. We Are the Experts The consultants and technicians at White Mountain IT Services are great at helping businesses like yours assess their current situation, identify what solutions are a good fit, and work to strategically implement solutions without harming the effectiveness that has already been established. If you would like to talk to one of our consultants, give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today.
Defining Normal The COVID-19 pandemic has been both a nightmare and a learning experience for many of us. If your business has been negatively affected by the pandemic, or if you are operating with a remote work staff, you would love to go back to normal. Unfortunately, you may find that what we have is the new normal and that the office will never look the same way again. Things could be worse. Even as the situation still evolves, hundreds of thousands of businesses have closed and millions and millions of people are out of work, seven months into the pandemic. This has made it impossible to actually get a feel for what normal will look like after this whole thing is over. There have been some studies, but the only prevailing sentiment is that people are stressed out and tired and need to move off of the idea that the world is going to be just like it was in September of 2019 when no one had heard of COVID-19. Improved Productivity So where do we go from here? For the business owner it has to be about getting back to sustained productivity. For many businesses that are still plugging away, it?s as if their business has been hit by a tornado and they are figuring out how to move past that disaster. For many of these businesses, technology has become the answer. Not only have a lot of businesses worked quickly to implement remote work contingencies, they also have become more cognizant of what IT means to their business. While most business owners know that they have to prioritize data security and invest in collaboration tools, they now understand that there has been an uptick in innovation due to the pandemic that is pushing advanced IT solutions onto the mid-market and small business market. Technologies fueled by AI and other machine learning algorithms are now commonplace because the time is now for businesses to do more with less. The world?s economic strength isn?t going to get much better overnight, so smart businesses will use smart tools to get what needs to get done, done. What?s more, the mobility that was growing pretty rapidly, is now ready to be a staple of business. Solutions that can be used from anywhere on multiple devices was once, not too long ago, looked on as a campy feature. Now businesses are forced into accepting mobility as normal, because of public health and because it has been proven that productivity can be maintained?and often improved?through the use of the remote workforce. Seamless Collaboration Things have been trending this way for around a decade, but with so many people working from home, cloud-based collaboration tools are now becoming more and more important to the productivity of businesses. The SaaS application is the new open office, with millions of people taking advantage of the growing capabilities of these platforms. Another thing you are seeing is, as businesses realize they can save half of their monthly telephone costs by switching to VoIP, more and more companies leaving their traditional telephone company for hosted VoIP providers. Not only can VoIP serve the needs of the traditional office, it can come in extraordinarily handy when a business? workforce is scattered. VoIP platforms also provide the ability for an […]
So, What is this VoIP? Despite sounding like a word used in a 1960s Batman TV show when the Caped Crusader and Robin were taking down Egghead or the Joker, 2020s VoIP just takes down the large communications costs that businesses have. VoIP is simply a telecommunications platform that uses your company?s existing broadband Internet connection to send and receive calls, texts, video and more. Popular applications such as Skype and Facetime are considered a VoIP connection. For a business that has to deal with larger than normal call volumes, mobility, and all the other things about doing business in the information age, consumer-grade solutions probably won?t do the trick. For this reason, companies have developed enterprise-level VoIP platforms with all the bells and whistles a business operating in 2020 needs. What Makes Hosted VoIP Different? You may think that telephone systems are all the same. They are going to cost your business an arm and a leg and will cause you to make some pretty tough decisions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are three features that make VoIP a better option for the growing business. Overall Cost Dollar for dollar, VoIP systems are simply less expensive. Not only will you be using infrastructure you already have in place to fuel your phone system, you immediately reduce your recurring expenses. Apart from the platform set up and the purchase of some Internet-capable telephones, your upfront costs are minimal. What?s even more valuable is the softphone option that allows any smartphone to potentially be used as a business phone, all but eliminating the costs that your business would be looking at on the mobile side of things. In many ways, a VoIP platform pays for itself. Simplicity The simplicity of adding and removing lines from your VoIP plan makes managing a VoIP plan for several users easier. No cables, no office renovations just to get people phone lines. Simply plug your VoIP-enabled phone into a workstation and it is ready to configure (which also takes just minutes). As mentioned earlier, the softphone option makes mobile calling much simpler and takes very little time to set up. Functionality VoIP stands out in so many ways that you never really hear about the superior functionality made possible by using an Internet-based phone. Not only are your calls clear and crisp, with VoIP your business can add from a whole list of features that include: Audio and video conferencing Call forwarding Personalized extensions Call routing Call recording Automated receptionist Call queues Instant messaging Text messaging Integrated voicemail …and much more. If you are looking to cut your monthly communications costs and get a valuable tool for your business that works both in and out of the workplace, call the IT professionals today to talk about our VoIP platform at (603) 889-0800.
