New startup and growing businesses alike have many things to contend with in order to ensure the smooth running of their organisations. From ensuring that they hire the right people to work within their business to checking that their products and services fully meet the needs of their customers, running a full-time business will certainly keep many key people involved with the firm on their toes!
Unfortunately, what many small businesses forget to do is keep on top of the requirements for having an effective and practical IT infrastructure! Here are some of the common things companies do wrong when it comes to their computing needs, according to I Hot Desk Support:
Using slow broadband
That 8MB ADSL broadband connection might have been fine when there was just two of you running the business, but when you have an office full of employees that all want to simultaneously go online to email and surf the web, that once superfast broadband connection makes even the slowest of 3G mobile broadband connections seem lightning fast!
The Internet is the backbone of virtually all businesses in the United Kingdom, so it’s worth investing in the correct broadband infrastructure to better suit the needs of your business.
Not taking advantage of the cloud
One of the best ways that employees and business owners alike can increase the productivity of the business is to take advantage of cloud-based services. In case you weren’t aware, cloud computing refers to the practice of using Internet-based services to store files and allow easy sharing and collaboration of those files.
It’s more effective than simply emailing files back and forth, which can cause delays and increases the scope for error (for example, when two people edit the wrong file).
Forgetting to set up an asset tracking system
As your firm starts to grow, so does its requirement for having desktop and laptop computers, smartphones, tablet devices and other key technology. Rather than relying on other people to let you know what they have or haven’t got, what you should be doing is setting up an asset tracking system.
Put simply, it’s a database of all equipment and stores details such as the make and model of each item, their serial numbers, when they were purchased by your business and which employees you have assigned these items to.
Not embracing video conferencing technology
Some business owners believe that video conferencing is something that only large companies make use of, but the truth is it’s something that everyone is using these days – not just businesses!
Services such as Skype make it easy and cheap to keep in regular contact with distant employees and customers, and smartphone-based apps like WhatsApp or Apple’s FaceTime provide a convenient way for employees to have video conversations with their employers and colleagues.
Video calls make it easy for people to gauge the reactions and emotions of others, which can be crucial when it comes to settling problems or clinching those all-important deals with customers, for example.
