Business owners are always on the lookout for efficiencies within their business, especially if those efficiencies are going to have a positive impact on profitability. Technology is very much now at its peak in regards to speed and technological advances, and keeping up with the changes and improvements you can make is an absolute necessity.
IT Managers have a multitude of roles to play in every business, and their responsibility comes down to creating efficiencies, and improving systems all round. Security is a continuous re-evaluation process as well as the ability to provide equipment and applications that improve the businesses performance. There isn’t a perfect model or indeed the ultimate solution for a business as the technology is constantly out performing itself on almost a weekly basis.
Another consideration for business is training. The diversity of the members within your team is relative to how comfortable they feel with the technology, and how efficient they are at using it. We have seen and experienced businesses who have taken significant jumps forward with their technology, but in the short term this has been detrimental to efficiencies with people finding it difficult to make the necessary changes to take advantage of that technology. Rolling out changes, rather than a big jump forward is positive method of encourage staff to adopt and take ownership of the technology that is available for them.
Ditching the desktops
It is very common now to see companies reverting away from desktop computers, in favour of devices or at the very least laptop computers that provide that flexibility for either hot desking, working remotely, or while on the move. Tablets are certainly gaining momentum within businesses, with all or certainly most of the business functionality needed at the end of a touch screen.
Ditching the laptop as well?
We now see businesses who are upgrading equipment edging towards tablet tech rather than the traditional laptop. With a vast array of applications available, and most of the mainstream CRM systems providing a simple to use application, the transition from desktops is now a shift in momentum away from any form of traditional computer towards tablets or touch screen technology. The big advantage of course with the laptop is the processing power. When performing memory intensive tasks, the good old laptop still wins hands down, especially as processing speeds on laptops in recent times have been one of the most significant improvements. However, we could be rewriting this statement very shortly.
It’s all about partnership
As a supplier to small, large and corporate businesses of equipment and IT services, we have found a major shift towards providing a service rather than just selling equipment. IT managers are of course very tech savvy, but now see us as a partner rather than a company they order equipment from. That partnership is purely down to the speed in how technology is evolving, and our ability to stay at the forefront of the changes in information technology. A prime example recently was a client who were looking to upgrade all of their laptop computers. They were ready to order, but we suggested to hold off for a few weeks, as a new model was about to be released, and a great deal more cost effective with its greater processing power. Missing out would have been detrimental to the client, but now they have the latest and most advanced technology for their budget – very typical of how we partner with clients.
I would imagine many of you will be considering upgrades to your equipment in the near future, but we would suggest for any business to start planning that process early rather than later, or certainly don’t be reactive with your decisions. You could miss out on technology that has a significant benefit to your business with new and better equipment being released every week. We can help you to jump in at the right time and get the best tech for your budget!
