Five reasons you need IT support for your business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |IT Support|Five reasons you need IT support for your businessNo matter the size of your business, you should consider having some form of IT support for your brand. Why is that, though? If it’s just you or you have only a small team, you might be thinking there are very few benefits for this – you could think you can do this yourself.

However, you should not underestimate the advantages of having an expert in this area on hand to help you with any problems. Whether your problems are show-stopping issues or minor hassles, having someone who can resolve them quickly, efficiently and in the best way possible can be a great asset. Here are some reasons why you should have IT support.

Information management

Having proper management of all your digital information is vital if your business is to succeed. You will need to have a proper IT support system to ensure that, if you want to log in or look at sales and orders, you should be able to do this with little fuss. You’ll want to avoid large issues like viruses that lose your files or infect your whole system.

Virus protection

The number of viruses and Trojans, as well as other damaging data, has grown in recent years. Every day, there are attempts by hackers trying to get access to an organization’s IT system to plant ransomware.

If these hackers are successful, then you will have to pay a large sum of money to retrieve your business records. By having the required antivirus programs installed to avoid these types of attacks, then you can ensure that your system won’t be affected.

Security

There will be many details you don’t want hackers to have access to, such as customer addresses, personal details, or even payment information. So, for your online business, these all need to be protected – and your IT support can be useful here.

Using the services of a proactive technical support team and using certified professionals means your IT infrastructure can be monitored around the clock. Issues can be dealt with before they become a problem, so you can eliminate complaints and increase productivity.

Maximize productivity

Small businesses depend on staff to be efficient, so downtime because of technical problems can cause significant productivity losses. Items such as computers, networks, smartphones and other technology will fail – and IT departments can perform these crucial tasks for maintenance and repair, so you can have your employees working again. Your staff will then have the support they need to perform as efficiently as possible.

Integration of technology and updates

New upgrades can be time-consuming and confusing – and IT professionals will help integrate those old and new systems. Without them, then your brand might end up being behind on adopting this new technology.

They will also help to troubleshoot the use of new systems and monitor them to ensure that they’re running well. You can also receive recommendations on what new services you could also use, based on your company’s specific needs.

Get More Efficient In Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Efficient business|Get More Efficient In Your BusinessAn efficient business is always going to be more profitable, and you must be looking at taking steps to improve your company’s efficiency so you can really make a big difference. When you look at your business no matter what it is, you need to ensure that you’re improving its performance. From managing financial shares to Best dividend stocks asx, you need to keep your business in great working order.

1. Stop the distractions as much as humanly possible

Even though it may be impossible to eliminate all distractions there must be some methods that you implement in order to keep staff and the entire team on target. Scheduling meetings and other important business functions can be good and also giving your staff targets and access to scheduling tools so they can prioritise can also greatly help. You need to think of the best ideas to keep them from straying during the working day such as checking personal emails or going on their phones. It can be difficult but after all you’re paying them for their time.

2. Implement different solutions for maximum impact

Computers, desks, chairs and equipment that isn’t up to good standard can hinder productivity. Staff may complain, have health troubles or generally not feel that they are working in a great environment and this is bad. You must ensure that you are getting the best things in place for your staff so that they feel at ease and this will lead to better productivity throughout the months.

3. Update your technology

Having efficient and up-to-date technology will help everyone and it will be vital to the production of the company. Improving IT systems and phone systemes will be one of the best ways and a great technological upgrade to perform. Advanced management software can help everyone stay better organised and to also be sure that they can access files quickly without having to wait for things to load. It’s important that they can get on with things quickly.

4. Get the best customer experiences in place and keep them engaged!

By improving the experience for each customer, you will not have the complaints you may have had previously and you will keep them more interested in what you’re doing and want to keep more up to date with you. Your staff will be more focused on other important business matters and this way you can be more efficient and solve problems much quicker than usual. Every staff member should be trained and know how to treat each customer in a kind and polite manner. Efficient assistance to resolve any problems is key to keep your customers happy as afterall, they will always come first. Get your website up to scratch and allow them to have a good user experience online also and give good clear contact information in case of any issues they may have. There are many advantages that come along with improving business efficiency and it starts with you. Today. Get working on an even better business for 2020.

Ways To make Your Business More Efficient

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A business needs to work and keep working for both the owners and the consumers. Inefficiency can be a real problem for businesses, which can end up costing your business a lot of revenue. There are some tricks you can use to make your business more efficient and improve your earning power and productivity.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Ways To make Your Business More Efficient | Entrepreneurship | Business Efficiency

What Isn’t Working?

Before you make any changes, you need to identify the areas of your process that are currently inefficient. When you know where the problem areas are, you can start working out what is causing it. From here, you can create a solution. For example, if your IT team is overworked and stressed, you’ll get more IT downtime, slowing down work. You can fix this by using IT services to tackle business inefficiency caused by technology. Inefficiency can occur in lots of different places. It might be redundant processes, important information that is hard to find and procedures that have been allowed to get out of date. Overcomplicated procedures are also a common problem.

Democratize The Market

Find a way to make the market you work in more democratic, which makes processes faster for staff and consumers, and frees up your team to deal with other parts of their job. Making the process of working with you much smoother and simpler, you can serve more customers and retain them afterward. The easier it is for customers and staff to access technology and information, the smoother and faster your business can operate.

Explore Digital Integration

Digital integration that is inefficient can be a big problem, causing you to be less competitive in your industry. Instead, use digital integration that can streamline your work, cutting down on the time that is wasted. Digital solutions that are properly integrated can improve efficiency in lots of ways. Technology can be used to automate tasks that are time-consuming, which then allows your employees to focus on tasks that need attention from a human being. Communication is made faster and easier. Reports can be generated and shared with key stakeholders much more quickly. Problems can be found and handled sooner, and employees can communicate with each other much more easily. Proper, thorough digital integration is a must-do solution to inefficiency in a business.

Build An End-To-End Solution

You need to think about the entire system, and consider how your business and product fits into the larger picture. Full integration can help you find more ways to improve your efficiency. If all the parts of your machine work together, things will operate in a more efficient way, allowing you to work on the things that matter.

Build Communities And Resources

A great way to be more efficient in your business is to create communities. The people you meet will help you to open up more opportunities in a natural way. Foster community development with tings like public forums for discussion, networking options and sharing resources. This can generate new ideas, invaluable feedback, and new concepts for you and the other businesses involved.

The Top Pros and Cons of Purchasing Business Insurance

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Insurance|The Top Pros and Cons of Purchasing Business InsuranceWhether you have a startup or a long-established business, you’ll want to protect it. There are so many risks associated with running a business and you want to know that it’s safeguarded in case of a lawsuit, a settlement or any other damage that it faces. And this is where business insurance comes in.

But although business insurance undeniably has its benefits, there are a few things to consider about it before taking the leap and investing in the cover. If you currently don’t have business insurance and are wondering whether it’s the right move for you, here are the top pros and cons associated with it:

Let’s start with the pros:

1.There is Variety of Types To Choose From

One plus point of business insurance is that there is a variety of different types to choose from. From management liability insurance cover to property liability cover, workers compensation, business interruption insurance, etc.

This gives you the flexibility to choose the cover that suits you. Often, businesses will opt for several different types of insurance or a package which offers them three or four types in one.

2. It Will Help You To Save Money

A huge benefit that comes with investing in business insurance is the fact that it can save you money in the long term. Protecting you from a range of unforeseen circumstances, you can have peace of mind.

Whether it’s covering the cost of a claim made by an employee, the cost of any property damage, or another issue, you won’t have to foot an expensive bill at the end of the process (unlike if you didn’t opt for the insurance).

Offering you an efficient and quick solution, you won’t have to worry about the financial implications of downtime. Many businesses around the world recognize this benefit and how much they will be able to save from it.

3. It’s More Appealing to Investors

When you have business insurance, your business looks a lot more appealing to potential lenders and investors – a benefit that startups will love. Providing a certain financial guarantee, investors will know that the business assets are protected in case of an incident. They will, therefore, be more likely to do business with you.

Now, onto the cons:

1. It Can Be Expensive

One downside to business insurance is that it can be expensive. As a business owner, you’re continuously looking for ways to budget out your costs every month – and the costs associated with business insurance might be too much for a smaller business.

Of course, there are ways that you can bring this price down; you could either focus on particular parts of your business that need protecting, review and change your policies ever so often, etc. However, you’ll want to make sure that the key parts of your business are covered – otherwise, the overall expenses will increase.

2. The Pay-out Can Be Slow or Non-Existent

With business insurance, at times, certain claims won’t be covered under your policy. If this occurs, then you’ll not be able to reap the benefits that you expected. When the claim is particularly complex, however, the provider might agree to pay-out to you, but it will take a while to process.

This is because the company needs to fully assess the claim and determine the exact cover they will provide you. In this time your business could suffer huge financial loss and other implications.

Seven steps for a carbon neutral coworking space

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Carbon Neutral|Seven steps for a carbon neutral coworking spaceIt is the case that many individuals want to do more to ensure that their workplace is as green as possible. After all, we all recycle and make changes to our homes in response to climate change and the desire to live in a more sustainable way – so it is only natural that we would want to do the same thing at work.

In a company workplace, this can be easy – ideas can be taken to managers and schemes can be easily implemented. But what happens if your working day takes place in a coworking space. Coworking has become a very popular way to enjoy the advantages of an office environment for those people who work remotely or freelance. But trying to introduce green schemes in such as an environment is not always easy.

But it is important to remember it is achievable – huge Australian coworking space provider The Commons, which has over 11,000m2 of space, went entirely carbon neutral in 2019. Here we take a look at seven steps you can take towards a carbon neutral coworking space.

1. Go paperless

One of the most important steps in going carbon neutral is in moving to a paperless office. This can be done far more easily than you might imagine. The first step is to get rid of printers, and instead to encourage everyone in the coworking space to avoiding printing out documents needlessly – it is estimated that 20% of pages printed are never retrieved from the printer.

Additionally, you should look into ways to ensure that you never need to use paper. Many businesses are happy to send over documents in a purely digital form, so there is generally no need to have them in paper too.

2. Switch off computers not in use

There is a major problem in coworking spaces looking to achieve carbon neutrality – people leaving their computers on. Many people in a coworking space will get into the habit of logging out from a machine but won’t shut it down. This can mean it can go draining energy for many hours unnecessarily.

Make sure that people get into the habit of fully shutting down their machine.

3. Don’t charge your phone all day

Another problem comes in the common sight of phones being charged all day. Staff might get into the coworking space in the morning, see that their phone needs charging, plug it in, and then leave it there all day without thinking about it. Not only is this bad for your phone, it also is an unnecessary drain on electrical power.

4. Promote renewal energy

There are many ways that a coworking space can utilise renewable energy. If you can look into having solar panels installed on the roof of the space, this can be extremely effective. According to Geo Green Power, specialists in renewable technologies “There are significant benefits to be had from investing in solar energy, for businesses both large and small. With rising energy costs, putting your roof space to good use can be a sensible decision.

Many commercial organisations have already realised the huge potential income stream available from solar energy.”

However, many don’t realise that there are many different forms of renewable energy that a building can invest in. This ranges from solar heating to green source heat pumps.

5. Put a recycling scheme in place

Many individuals who wouldn’t dream of doing so at home, will simply throw their rubbish away when at work – regardless whether any of it could potentially be recycled. This can be out of frustration that there is no proper recycling scheme in place at the coworking space.

This can be easily set up. All you need is a recycling bin – get in contact with your local council if you don’t have access to one.

6. Switch to energy efficient lightbulbs

It is the same changes that can add up to a big difference. Ensure that every time a lightbulb goes, it gets replaced with an energy efficient one. There is double the good news here, as energy efficient lightbulbs tend to last longer than traditional bulbs.

7. Be smart with heating and cooling

Sometimes it is important to be mindful of your own actions. If you get cold in your coworking space, don’t immediately go and demand that the heating is turned up. Instead, consider putting on another layer in order to warm up – and vice versa if you need to cool down. Once again, this is a small issue that makes a huge difference throughout the course of the year.