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How to leverage technology to increase efficiency

Successful businesses make technology work for them, not the other way round. When used correctly, technology can make every task much easier to accomplish. So if you’re looking to increase staff efficiency, incorporate technology into your daily operations with the following methods.

Change office communication

To increase teamwork and productivity, set up instant messaging software such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. These platforms allow employees to communicate in real time instead of communicating through asynchronous methods like email. You can instantly send messages and share files in team chat rooms, saving precious time and allowing you to get more work done. This is especially useful in enabling communications when everyone is working remotely

Install video conferencing

Rather than spending hours getting to and from meetings outside your office, opt for a networked phone solution that offers video calls and conferencing. This way, you can hold a video conference to discuss business matters while in the office, at home, or abroad. You can also record the call so everyone can actively participate in the meeting and review important details for later without having to pause to take notes.

Implement ERP software

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of software that organizations use to manage various business processes like accounting, project management, and supply chain management. ERP software provides employees with up-to-date business information that they can easily access and use. It eliminates redundant data entry and reduces the number of spreadsheets that are used to record critical business data by storing information in a centralized database.

Once information is in one place, managers have complete visibility across departments, allowing them to make smarter decisions and eliminating organizational silos. For example, supply chain managers can quickly detect when store shelves need to be replenished and send purchase orders to accounting teams for approval.

Upgrade workstations

Outdated technologies and workstations limit your business’s progress, and are a hindrance to developing clued-up, efficient employees. Aging systems and slow networks can frustrate your team and hamper productivity.

That’s why it’s important to thoroughly assess your current workstations, applications, hardware, and tools. While this doesn’t mean that you have to buy a new set of workstations for your entire company, you should at least replace obsolete equipment with more modern machines In addition, make sure all software and applications are up to date to ensure maximum efficiency and employee satisfaction.

To get the maximum return on your technology investment, it’s also important to partner with a knowledgeable and reliable service provider. Get in touch with our IT experts today to find out how we can implement technology to help your employees become more efficient and productive.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

3 Questions to ask before replacing your servers

Your company’s servers will eventually need to be replaced. To conserve and maximize your resources, you need to anticipate the best time to do this, as well as consider alternatives that offer the same — if not better — outcomes for your business.

When do my servers need to be replaced?

This is a difficult question, but there are two factors you will want to consider: age and performance. The useful life of a server is around three years. While it’s not unheard of for servers to function properly beyond year three, relying on them past this point can be risky, as hardware problems may occur more often. This means you will have to deal with costly repairs and possible sudden downtime.

In terms of performance, it doesn’t make sense to keep your servers around until year three if they are slow and too costly to maintain. It’s important to compare how much money you will lose in repairs and downtime versus the cost of buying new hardware.

Do I have an alternative to buying new servers?

Believe it or not, the answer to your server problems might not necessarily be purchasing more physical servers. One solution is to embrace server virtualization. This process allows your servers to be stored and maintained off-site, with all your resources being delivered to your office via the internet.

There are two notable benefits of virtualizing your servers. First, you don’t have to spend a ton of money on new equipment. Second, virtualization is a scalable technology, meaning you only pay for the data capacity you use. For instance, you can have just two and a half servers, if that’s all your business needs. This is in contrast to having physical equipment, which would require your business to either make do with two servers or splurge and buy a third one even if you didn’t need all of that space.

Of course, there are a few things you need to consider before making the switch to server virtualization. One of the biggest issues is security. Ask yourself if you feel comfortable keeping all of your data off-site. While this isn’t a concern for some companies, others may not see this as palatable. There are several workarounds to this issue, including the hybrid option where you keep sensitive data on-site and everything else off-site.

Can I do anything to prevent a full-scale server replacement?

Yes. It’s certainly possible for you to buy some time and give your current servers additional life, but these are short-term fixes, not long-term solutions. Server upgrades are a good place to start if your servers are less than three years old but are performing poorly. Installing additional CPUs or memory may increase server performance at a fraction of the cost of buying new servers.

It’s also possible to extend the life of servers that may have four or five years of wear-and-tear on them via repurposing. Instead of swapping out all of your servers, use the old ones for non-critical processes and purchase new ones to handle critical workloads. This will help you get a better ROI on your technology while avoiding a wholesale hardware purchase, which could cripple your budget.

If you have any questions about your servers and how you can increase their performance, get in touch with us today. We can help you procure new hardware or explore other alternatives such as server virtualization.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

What are the different Microsoft 365 plans and what are their features?

Microsoft 365’s plan segmentations are complicated, so here’s a simple primer on what to expect with each suite. This article should provide you with enough information to decide which Microsoft 365 plan is ideal for your business.

Information workers or frontline workers?

Microsoft 365 is the obvious choice if you’re running cloud-based business systems, but the main question is which suite will serve your needs best. Microsoft has packaged their Microsoft 365 offerings to fall under two types of bundles: Information Worker plans and Frontline Worker plans. Both of these plans will give you access to Office 365 and file hosting service OneDrive, but there are significant differences between the two.

Under the Information Worker suite, there are two Microsoft 365 plans you can customize as per your needs: E3 and E5. You can expand said suite with specific service sets your business needs, such as a standalone Office 365 system, Enterprise Mobility + Security tools, and even sets of the Windows 10 operating system. Meanwhile, the Frontline Worker suite (F1, F3, and F5) is more compact, with Office 365 F3 being the only available add-on.

Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 plans have unlimited archive and mail storage space. They also come with advanced analytics tools such as Delve, MyAnalytics, and PowerBI, all of which are unavailable on the Frontliner plans. Information Worker plans also include access management, threat protection, endpoint management, and other advanced tools absent in the Frontline Worker suite.

In terms of SharePoint, a collaborative platform and document and storage system, Frontline Worker plans are short on enterprise search, Excel services, and Visio — a diagramming and vector graphics app — features. Frontline Worker plans also do not have unified communications.

With these points in mind, it may seem like Information Worker subscriptions are superior — and in many ways, they are — but Frontline Worker plans are more suited for smaller companies running on a tight budget. Microsoft 365 F1 and F3 cost $2.25 and $8 per user per month, respectively, while Office 365 plans E1, E3, and E5 cost $8, $20, and $35 per user per month, respectively.

As a general rule, only consider subscribing to the Information Worker plans when your employee headcount exceeds 50 people and users require more storage space solutions and advanced analytics. Otherwise, Frontline Worker plans should suffice.

E3 or E5

Once you’ve decided to go for the Microsoft 365 Information Worker plans, you need to choose which plan (E3 or E5) suits your business requirements.

E3 offers basic solutions, such as Outlook, Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel for $32 per month. It also provides access to SharePoint Team sites, video conferencing, and Yammer for social media for businesses.

E5, on the other hand, provides all E3 features together with unified communications, PowerBI, Microsoft Defender, Application Guard, and Safe Documents. It also comes with more cloud security tools, risk-based conditional access, privileged identity management, and both automatic and machine learning-based sensitivity labels. E5 costs $57 per month.

Small- and medium-sized businesses often select E3 and subscribe to third-party applications for their cloud security and VoIP needs. But for more robust data management and security requirements, the E5 plan is the way to go.

Migrating to Microsoft 365 is not an overnight task, and if you’re still undecided about which plan to opt for, contact us today. We won’t just provide Microsoft 365; we’ll also assess your business to find the best plan that fits your budget and business goals.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Why marketing automation should be a top priority for SMBs

It can be challenging for small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with limited resources to get their marketing efforts off the ground, but marketing automation can help them gain a competitive edge and achieve success easier. By automating repetitive tasks and marketing more effectively on multiple online channels, you save money and provide a better experience for your customers. Here are other benefits of marketing automation for your SMB.

Instant responses to email requests

If a customer or prospect sends your business an email via your website or a “Contact Us” form, any delay in response could ultimately cost you a client. But if you have a marketing automation plan in place, you can customize automatic email responses to respond to these leads as soon as an email is received. This either provides potential customers with the information they requested or informs them that you will be responding in greater detail soon.

Automatic follow-ups

There’s a reason most people prefer to communicate via email: keeping in touch over the phone can be tough if both parties are always busy. An automated system solves this by logging the time and date of your contact with the leads, then automatically emailing them about follow-up times. The call, email, and responses are all logged in your customer relationship management software and calendar without a single minute wasted on inputting information.

Inbound lead assignment

When you have phone calls, emails, and meetings piling up, it’s hard to keep track of who is working with a customer. With marketing automation software and tracking, customer service representatives are automatically assigned to inbound leads based on specialties and demographics so they can begin working on building profitable rapport right away.

Easier content distribution

Potential clients and leads get dozens, sometimes hundreds, of business emails every day. You need something to set your business apart from the rest. By offering valuable content such as how-to guides and total cost of ownership tools in exchange for contact information, you can provide prospects with content they actually want.

All it takes is a web form and some creative writing that will ultimately lead visitors back to your products and/or services. Your automation software delivers content to anyone who provides contact information, and it downloads metrics that can be tracked and analyzed by your solution.

Organized contact list

Networking events generate new contacts and new leads. This used to mean having to keep track of thick stacks of business cards, but cutting-edge marketing tools has made it possible to take a picture of contact information and automatically store it as part of a cloud-based database. Call-ins, scanned business cards, and received emails all get organized into a single digital Rolodex with recommendations on whom to contact and when it is best to do so — without one minute of tedious data entry.

Every business owner knows that automating mindless tasks is a worthwhile investment. But not everyone knows just what tools are available to help them cut down on wasted work. Our team specializes in using technology to add value to your business, and we believe that if you’re not utilizing any of the solutions above, that’s the best place to start. Get in touch with us today to make your marketing technology work for you.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Why dashboards are vital tools for your business

People are visual creatures, which means we interpret visual data better than written words. That’s why most businesses turn to dashboards as a business intelligence tool to present data in a way that’s easy to understand, making dashboards a critical part of the business analytics process. Here are some common uses of dashboards across various business functions.

Marketing insights

An organization’s marketing department analyzes a significant amount of data from various channels. Whether the purpose is to forecast monthly sales, predict trends, or build marketing strategies, marketing specialists use dashboards to compare, sort, and analyze raw data to churn out meaningful information presented in an easy-to-understand format. This helps key decision makers in formulating better marketing campaigns.

Tracking sales opportunities

Sales dashboards are perfect for tracking your organization’s products and services. They help you identify sales opportunities by monitoring top-selling products and comparing the growth in revenue on a regular basis. Sales dashboards sync to your raw data, so your charts are always up to date, thus eliminating the need to spend hours manually entering and preparing sales reports and charts.

Social media management

Social media management is more than just posting statuses on your business’s social media accounts. And in most cases, your social media platform’s default dashboard doesn’t give you deep insight into your social media campaigns. What’s more, managing multiple social media accounts can quickly become a cumbersome process since you have to use several login credentials. Instead, you can manage your accounts all at once through a comprehensive social media dashboard, saving you valuable time and effort.

Financial reports

Presenting financial data is a complex process that it often leads to misinterpretation and misunderstanding of critical data. Dashboards make creating financial reports much easier, and financial analysts can take advantage of dashboards to display sensitive data in a comprehensible graphical format — be it customer invoices, progress toward revenue goals, or business expenses.

Project collaboration

Businesses of all sizes require their employees to collaborate on projects, whether on-site or online. Project supervisors need to get their teams together to give them projects’ requirements, deadlines, and responsibilities, and to get progress updates. With the help of project collaboration dashboards, members will see the complete workflow of the project, allowing for a more efficient and collaborative working environment.

Dashboards eliminate the complications of presenting complex business data and make your team more efficient. If you’re looking to implement dashboards and other cutting-edge tools to make your job easier, contact our consultants today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Here’s why your business needs CRM

No business ever gets very far without a steady stream of customers. They are your primary source of revenue, so taking care of your relationships with them must be your highest priority. To effectively foster customer relationships, your business should leverage customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Imagine buying a product, and it breaks the first time you use it. You contact customer support and describe the issue, only to be told to wait for another representative to call you back. You wait for hours, and still nobody calls. After sending an email to customer support, you finally get a call from a customer service representative, but it’s from someone unfamiliar with your problem. You awkwardly explain your problem for the third or fourth time, during which you wonder if the value of your time has exceeded the value of the broken item.

We’ve all been there before, but this scenario can be avoided by having an effective CRM system. Here’s what you need to know about CRM systems and how they can mitigate frustration among customers and keep them delighted.

What is a CRM system?

CRM is a system that allows businesses to manage, record, and evaluate their customer interactions to provide better services and boost sales. You can use CRM to store customers’ contact details, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities all in one place.

What are the features of a CRM system?

  • Data management – When customer data is recorded, the CRM system centralizes the data into one file called a master file. Everyone within the company then has access to this data source, preventing confusion from inaccurate or duplicate data.
  • Collaboration – Nowadays, clients demand quick and efficient customer service, so all involved departments must work together to quickly resolve client concerns. CRM systems enable collaboration by facilitating the sharing of customer information among departments. This way, everyone is on the same page about clients’ circumstances and requirements.
  • Customer segmentation – A CRM system arranges your customers into groups based on criteria such as age, gender, location, and even their likes and dislikes. This allows you to target marketing messages to your customers more accurately, potentially increasing engagement and conversion.
  • Task tracking – CRM systems have task tracking features that help your employees stay on top of important tasks, such as contacting customers via email or phone and following up on leads. CRM systems also send reminders to employees about their assigned tasks so that nothing falls through the cracks.
  • In-depth reporting – CRM systems provide a thorough analysis of your customer base. CRM reports give details including an overview of product sales numbers, marketing strategy performance, most successful products or services to date, and even a prediction of whether your sales target will be met at the end of the month.

If you’re looking to improve customer service and increase sales conversion using a CRM system, contact us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Here are 4 ways your business can get ahead of the tech curve

The key to finding competitive advantage is by embracing innovation. So no matter how trivial or whimsical a technological development may seem, you’ll want to keep an open mind about what it can do for you. But for a small company, what does “embracing innovation” actually entail? Read on to learn more.

Be an early adopter

One of the biggest factors in determining how successful your SMB will be in leveraging a new trend is how early you get in. Be careful investing in resources with high buy-ins and/or long-term commitments. Focus instead on low-cost IT solutions that allow you to test and see how well they work for you, and also let you pull out without suffering heavy sunk costs.

Invest in the right tools

New tech can be expensive, so how can one take advantage of an emerging tech trend without spending too much? The trick is to repurpose existing tech to do the same thing as the new tech.

For example, John Deere has been selling farming equipment for over 150 years, with no signs of slowing down. When the Internet of Things (IoT) craze began, John Deere figured that IoT would change the way their vehicles serve their customers. But instead of shelling out money for new IoT devices, they simply used already-available mobile devices and GPS tech. This tactic allowed the brand to jump ahead of their competition, especially those who chose to wait out the decrease in price of new tech.

Synergize tech with your business model

With a little creative brainstorming, most business models can actually integrate new tech into their processes. For instance, at first glance, it appears that clothing retailers have no use for AI that has deep learning capabilities. But one particular AI application — chatbots — has proven to be effective in helping customers find the clothes they want. Here, deep learning directly drives sales.

Prepare for possible difficulties

New tech inherently comes with implementation and integration difficulties. But what if you can’t find a way for your products or services to directly interact with the blazing new trend? The next best thing is to provide solutions to problems presented by it. Does interacting with the popular app or activity eat up a lot of mobile device battery? Remind passersby that your outlets are available for customers, or that you sell mobile battery packs. Does it require driving all over town? Inform customers of your latest car rental promotion. Sometimes just associating yourself with the trend is enough.

Not sure how to integrate your business with the latest tech fads? Turn to us — we’re the experts on all things technology related, be it machine learning or Oculus Rift. No question is too trivial — consult with us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

4 Things to consider before selecting an MSP

Incorporating technology into business operations can be challenging given its complexity and constantly evolving nature. Many companies simply can’t keep up — this is why many of them are turning to managed IT services providers (MSPs) to handle their tech needs.

MSPs defined

MSPs are companies composed of specialists from various IT fields. They deliver various IT services (e.g., cloud computing, cybersecurity, backup and disaster recovery) and proactively manage their clients’ IT systems under a subscription model.

Selecting the best MSP

While there are many MSPs out there, not all of them are equipped to meet your company’s unique needs. You can only achieve optimum IT results by selecting the right MSP.

Keep in mind these criteria when choosing an MSP:

  • Depth of skills and experience – Any MSP should have the skills and experience that go beyond basic software installation, maintenance, and upgrades. They should also have strong expertise in advanced IT functions, such as database management, cloud technology, security, and cross-platform integration, so they can keep up with your company’s growing IT requirements.
  • Financial stability – With IT being the backbone of your business operations, you need an IT partner who will be there for the long haul. Assess their stability by looking into their annual reports and financial statements. Check how many clients they have and their customer retention numbers. Also ask the MSP to provide customer references and testimonials.
  • Competitive service level agreement (SLA) – An SLA is a contract that dictates the standards that your MSP should be able to meet. It should be able to answer these questions: Do they offer 24/7 support? Can they conduct remote and on-site support? What is their guaranteed response and resolution times? If they fail to meet their committed service levels, are there corresponding rebates or penalties.
  • Third-party vendor partnerships – Pick an MSP with an ongoing relationship with the technology vendors (e.g., Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce) whose products you already use in your IT environment. What type of partnership does the MSP have with those vendors? The higher the partnership level, the more vendor certifications the provider has, which means they can bring a lot of expertise to your business.

Choosing the right provider is a very important step that will impact on the performance and success of your business. If you want to learn how MSPs can support your business, contact us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Ways MSPs are empowering businesses amid a global crisis

To make it through the heightened economic uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are protecting their cash flows and focusing on their core competencies. Managed IT services providers (MSPs) are lending a hand, too — by empowering remote teams and helping small businesses leverage technology to keep operating despite the myriad challenges. Here’s exactly what MSPs are doing.

Providing infrastructure and service desk capabilities

In today’s digital work landscape, MSPs are keeping their noses to the grindstone to fulfill customer demands and help keep businesses running. While many small companies have taken the first step of transitioning to remote work, they still need help managing the logistics.

Right now, MSPs are providing customers with IT infrastructures and taking on a host of network tasks, including configuring hardware, establishing remote connections, and managing backup and storage options, among other activities. These all help to ensure that company networks are reliable enough to facilitate a remote workforce.

MSPs are also offering service desk capabilities, providing companies with a centralized resource for employees, customers, and business partners to answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and facilitate solutions. Appropriate and timely support is crucial, especially in times of great uncertainty.

Simplifying cloud adoption

Cloud solutions are ideal if IT environments must be quickly modified to meet changing demands or difficulties, which is why MSPs are now helping businesses leverage a variety of cloud technologies and even move their data and applications online.

And because cloud migration can get complex, many MSPs are also offering managed migration plans that help companies transition key workflows and processes to the cloud safely and efficiently.

Offering remote support where possible

The current travel restrictions and social distancing measures make work-related travel difficult and risky. And with highly distributed workforces, many companies would rather source local service technicians for break/fix assistance, cabling, and other IT solutions.

Partnering with MSPs ensures that systems and networks are protected all the time and critical support is provided within 24 hours. What’s even better is that some providers have technicians in different locations, making it easy to provide tools, resources, and support even in hard-to-reach areas.

Delivering flexible solutions

As business needs continue to shift, MSPs must move in lockstep and provide support wherever they can. Here are some other ways MSPs are helping their clients navigate these trying times:

Assisting with IT projects
Because of how broad and challenging IT projects can be, it’s not uncommon for companies to lack the right skills and resources to handle them. MSPs are helping them by providing the expertise and technologies needed to pursue these projects, allowing companies to keep moving forward.

Foregoing long-term contracts
Some companies need IT support and services but can’t afford to commit to long-term contracts. Similarly, some want to augment their IT only for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s great is many MSPs are providing flexible IT solutions, giving customers all the services and support they need, when they need them.

Offering faster response times
Especially now that downtime could likely spell the end of a business, companies seek quick turnaround times. Since MSPs typically offer 24/7 support and tout specialists with a wide range of experience and knowledge, they can proactively address issues and ensure that IT infrastructures are working as efficiently as possible.

Providing better customer service

As many businesses are still adjusting to the new normal, providing positive customer experiences will go a long way to earning trust and ensuring customer loyalty post-crisis. By being compassionate and empathetic to the situations of their customers, MSPs are showing companies that they’re navigating these trying times together.

Call our IT experts today to help configure the perfect remote work setup for your business.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Does your company have a business continuity plan (BCP)?

Do you know why some small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) succeed while others fail during the first five years of operation? Poor leadership is one reason, the lack of capital is another. Another big reason is they didn’t prepare for major disruptions, such as natural disasters and cyberattacks, that can bring their business to a grinding halt. This is why you need a BCP.

What is a BCP?

A BCP is a predefined set of protocols on how your business should respond in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. It contains contingency plans for every aspect of your organization, including human resources, assets, and business processes.

Key threats to business continuity

Various types of threats can affect SMBs such as:

Natural disasters – These are natural phenomena such as storms, earthquakes, and wildfires.
Man-made disasters – These include cyberattacks, intentional sabotage, and human negligence.
Equipment and utility failures – These include unexpected power failure, internet downtime, and disruption of communication services.

How to build an effective BCP

If your organization does not have a BCP in place, now is a good time to put one together. These steps will help you formulate an effective BCP that will ensure your company keeps running even during a major crisis.

#1 Business impact analysis (BIA)

A BIA will help you determine how a disruption can affect your company’s current functions and processes, such as personnel, equipment, technology, and physical infrastructure. This step will help you calculate the potential financial and operational loss from each function and process affected.

#2 Recovery options

This step will help you identify key resources essential to returning your business to minimum operational levels. Some recovery options you can take include letting employees work from home or operating from a secondary location.

#3 Plan development

This step involves assembling your company’s continuity team, which will be responsible for developing and implementing your BCP.

#4 Testing and training

Once your BCP is in place, your continuity team needs to perform regular tests to identify gaps and make necessary changes to ensure the plan’s effectiveness. They also need to conduct regular training for your employees so everyone knows their respective roles when a disaster strikes.

Having a foolproof BCP is a great way to ensure your business can quickly bounce back after a major disaster. If you’re thinking about creating a BCP for your company but don’t know where to start, give us a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Guide For Managed WiFi For Multi-Tenant Units

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