How Your Small Business Can Reduce IT Costs

Small businesses often have tight budgets. Carefully planning your costs to make choices that will offer the highest returns means you get more for what you invest. Making the right investment regarding information technology is critical in this digital age where the right technology can revolutionize your business. However, technology upgrades and support can be expensive, and the services that a small business needs may exceed their budget. Here we look at how small businesses can reduce their IT costs while still getting outstanding services, technology and results.

Increase Your Technology

Better technology helps you stay on top of your business operations while reducing the time burden on staff. As they say, time is money, so the less time you spend on processes that can be automated, the more you save. Technology can also help you to reduce the need to hire more people to fill the roles that technology and automation can accomplish. Talking with an IT consultant about improving and optimizing your technology approach can help to streamline your operations and save your business money.

Reduce Payroll Burden

Reducing your payroll burden is a significant way to minimize business costs. Many small businesses don’t need a dedicated IT professional full time, or even part time, so having an IT professional on your payroll could be costing your business. Reducing your costs in this case can mean working with a consultant when you need to address IT issues, rather than keeping an employee on payroll.

Outsource Services

Outsourcing IT services offers a way to get the focused assistance you need without high ongoing costs. Outsourcing to an IT professional means you get targeted help for your unique issues from an IT professional who spends every day helping businesses solve their technology issues. IT professionals provide fast solutions to your IT problems when you need them. Because you only pay for what you need, outsourcing IT services means you can reduce ongoing costs.

Look At Open Source Software

One way to cut back on IT costs is to re-evaluate your need for business software, and opt for open source choices where possible. Some software requires ongoing costs to maintain, and if you are not really using it, you may not be getting your money’s worth. An IT consultant can audit your processes and software to look at what you really need, and find cheaper alternatives if possible.

Stay Up To Date

Falling behind on updates and the latest innovations in technology can really cost your business. Out of date software can contain bugs and cause your systems to run slower than they should. Even worse, out of date digital security software might not keep you safe against cyber attacks, making your business liable for any leaks of personal information. Working with a professional IT consultant for small businesses can help you find the right approach and level of security for your needs, to ensure you and your customer’s information is never at risk.

 

While juggling all the important aspects of a small business can be difficult, effectively managing your small business IT needs doesn’t have to be. Talk to a specialized small business IT consultant for up-to-date and innovative solutions to help your business save on IT costs.

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5 Ways Managed Services Can Transform Your Business

Most small to medium sized businesses don’t have the capacity or budget for a dedicated IT department. But that doesn’t mean that local businesses need to miss out on state of the art IT infrastructure and services. Managed services are the ideal answer for businesses that need high performance IT solutions without the overheads and ongoing cost. There are many ways managed services can not only support, but transform and better your business.

Completely Control Your IT Costs

Outsourcing your IT requirements to a managed services provider means you can better control your IT costs and budget more effectively. Rather than paying to hire and train staff with ongoing costs, or hiring temporary employees who may not live up to expectations, an outsourced managed services provider offers expert services on demand. That means you only pay for the IT services you need, when you need them.

Better Infrastructure When You Need It

Because IT consultants are working on improving business IT approaches every minute of every day, they come prepared to make your business IT approach bigger and better. With advanced infrastructure at their fingertips, working with an IT consultant means you don’t have to build your infrastructure from the ground up. Working with higher quality and more experienced IT professionals from a managed services provider means leveling the playing field and accessing similar technology as the ‘big’ companies.

Boosting Productivity, Focus And Efficiency Of Your Core Business

Trying to stretch your efforts between running your usual business operations as well as your IT department can mean your business services and products suffer. Every business (as well as their owners and managers) has only limited time and resources, and it’s important to focus these only on what you do best. Outsourcing to an IT professional boosts your performance and functionality. At the same time, you stay focused on your core business without being distracted or inhibited by IT issues.

Experience Means Expertise

Even a dedicated company IT employee is disadvantaged by working for just one company. Because IT consultants have vast experience with a range of different companies and issues, they are more likely to have the best answer for your specific problem. A greater volume and scope of experience means that a managed services provider can bring more to the table when working with your business, helping you become more productive, efficient and effective.

Stay Compliant and Safe

With online sales and ecommerce becoming an increasingly important component of business for many companies, there also comes the responsibility to handle confidential information like names, contact information and credit card numbers securely. Companies must observe due diligence to their customers to keep their information safe, but if your security standards are not up to date, you and your clients could be at risk. A dedicated managed services provider is committed to keeping your company’s digital information secure at all times, and is always up to date with the PCI Compliance Standards. This helps your company to flourish and remain free from security threats or legal issues.

With a dedicated IT professional on call for the high-quality work you need, when you need it, managed services allow your business to reduce costs while becoming more efficient, productive and successful.

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What is The Number One Technology Issue Facing Small Businesses?

Small businesses are the heart and soul of American industry. The clear majority of businesses in the U.S. (89.6%) are in fact small businesses with 20 employees or less[1]. However, small businesses face significant and unique challenges when compared to larger businesses.

Small Business’s Technology Problem

One significant problem is the relative lack of resources, manpower and skill pool that small businesses have, through the mere fact that they are smaller, and have fewer employees. When it comes to information technology and infrastructure, small businesses don’t have an entire division devoted to managing the digital and technological side of the business. Small businesses are focused mainly on prioritizing their unique product or service, what truly defines them as a business.

In today’s increasingly digital and online world, no business can afford to be left behind. But small businesses may not have the capital, expertise or experience they need to stay up to date with the latest technology to help their operations. Small business owners are often so busy and stretched thin, they don’t have the time to step back and look at how they could run their business more effectively. The opportunity to take a thorough look at the business and see how technology could benefit and streamline operations is often beyond the reach of the average small business owner.

Not only is technology underused in small business settings, when it is taken up, small businesses may not have the resources to keep it running smoothly. Issues do occur, and without a dedicated IT department, these minor technical issues can turn into major losses for the business. While we depend on technology, all too often it can let us down.

Overall small businesses are under-resourced when it comes to technology and this can mean loss of opportunity, productivity and potential.

What’s the Solution?

Finding the right technology solution for each small business is no easy task. Having a dedicated IT professional as part of the team can be highly beneficial in ensuring a targeted approach with continuity.

If employing a dedicated IT professional to be on staff is out of your reach, a local computer consultant is the ideal connection to have. Outsourcing your IT innovations and technology maintenance to an external professional allows you to both work closely to achieve your goals, while allowing you the time to focus on your business. Hiring an external consultant gives you an objective perspective on your business operations, while reducing costs compared to hiring a full-time employee.

Either an external IT consultant or a full-time IT professional can work with specific focus on your unique issues and challenges. This allows you to keep your team focused on what your business does best, while reducing IT costs and improving your technology and performance.

Technology under-resourcing and failure are major challenges faced by small businesses across the country. However, hiring a dedicated IT professional or enlisting the assistance of an IT consultant allows small businesses to achieve the productivity and performance of major businesses with the quality and precision of the small business focus.

[1] http://sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/

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Setting Policies for Employee Home Offices

One of the best parts of modern digital communication? The rise of the home office and the ability for thousands of employees to hold their vacation days and get work done even when they don’t or can’t make it into the office. But, a properly developed and supported home office is more than a couch and a laptop, and if you want to get the most out of your employees when they’re working remotely you’ll want to set a few basic home office policies and also contribute some IT support to help promote proper productivity.

Company Tech vs. Personal Tech

The first policy you need to deal with involves the technology your employees will be using. There are a few options to decide between. Firstly, you can opt to provide computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, etc. from the company. This way your IT department can set each machine up correctly and you guarantee compatibility.

Or, if you prefer, you can grant each employee an allowance with the freedom for them to specify the technology they prefer. This way each employee can use a system they are familiar with, which fits their style, mobility, and processing power needs, and which they will feel responsible for. Be sure to specify minimum system requirements and have your IT team install the required applications on each device.

Dual Monitors, Recommended or Required

Dual monitors are shown to vastly improve productivity, and their mandated presence in a home office can translate into better performance. However, employees may object to the extra space consumption in their personal residences.

Connectivity and Video

Outside of hardware, software and its use will necessitate certain policy decisions. Will your employees be required to be available on email during work hours? Should each employee be available for webcam conferences? What about an IM program? These policies, though they may be difficult to enforce, help promote instant communication across your company in the absence of face-to-face contact.

Software

Similar to hardware decisions, software is something that your company will mostly likely need to provide to specific team members and maintain over time with license renewals, IT support, and security updates.

Security Software

Data security has to be a priority, and that means that all staff computers, whether they are used at home or in the office, should be supported with up-to-date security software. Require employees to maintain these programs and make security updates mandatory and automatic.

Internet Access

A good home office cannot function without reliable and reasonably fast home internet. Your company will need to decide between allowing employees to use their standard internet packages as is, or providing a stipend to cover part of the cost of home internet.

Get Home Offices Right with Grundig

Home offices are a great solution for many employees who can’t be in the office each workday but who still want to contribute. If you want proper IT support for your business, including remote access applications, cloud software, and hardware support, call us today at 925-528-9081.

 

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The Virtual Office Vs. The Traditional Office

Experts have been debating the benefits of virtual office setups compared to traditional offices for some time, and while conclusions are still far off there have been some interesting case studies and more than a few impressions made. So let’s take a quick look at the main differences between the virtual office and the traditional office setup.

1. Physical Space vs. Flexible Space

The first and seemingly greatest difference between these two office approaches is physical space. A traditional office is, after all, an office—a real place with walls, floors, desks, meeting spaces, a reception area, etc. Virtual offices, on the other hand, treat physical spaces as secondary. Employees disperse, either working from couches or coffee shops or else taking up space in a co-working building or at a workspace made available on a short-term basis by a virtual office provider.

The virtual office rents a mailbox from a physical building, sets up phone and email service, and uses many of the same always-on applications any other company might use.

2. Communication

In traditional offices communication is, in theory, very simple. You are in the same space as your co-workers and can simply ask them a question or take them to the meeting room. Virtual offices, due to their flexible and dispersed nature, work somewhat differently. Communication is primarily mediated through technology, including IMs, texting, phone calls, webcam calls, project management software, emails, and more depending on the specific location. Instant connectivity is still prized, and all company recommended communications programs should be properly installed and maintained to keep everyone in the loop.

3. Overhead

Virtual offices are cheaper, but not all the costs go away. Some space is usually still leased to serve as a base camp or meeting area for staff, customers, or clients when necessary. IT costs including hardware, software, security, and setup are still in effect. The same goes for marketing, HR, and other expenses. However, eliminating commercial rents, parking space costs, and utilities can go a long way towards maximizing a small company’s profit margin.

4. Management

Management can be a challenge in traditional offices and virtual offices alike. In a traditional office managers can simply look and see an employee working, and often evaluate how hard they are working based on how long they spend at their desks in a given week. Coming in early and leaving late counts for a lot.

In a virtual office, however, staff are more spread out and direct, over-the-shoulder management is impossible—and this has actually turned to be a mixed blessing for many companies. Some have noted, quite accurately, that hourly productivity can fall when employees work from home.  Others report tremendous success upon switching a project management system that recognizes individual employee’s daily contributions towards predetermined goals. Team members receive their goals, both short and long term, and are responsible for meeting those goals week-by-week while collaborating electronically from wherever they happen to be working. This takes the pressure off the 9-5 grind and rewards productivity and efficiency, while giving employees the freedom they need to handle a sick child, take a long afternoon nap, or go get desert with their spouse all without losing face.

How Grundig IT Can Help

If you’re considering transitioning to a virtual office, give us a call. Grundig IT provides high quality IT hardware and software support for small to medium sized companies and office arrangements. We can help you set up your employee’s computers, arrange your software, get you started with cloud applications, and keep your servers and data monitored 24/7. Give us a call to day to see how we help you become more profitable and reliable with more modern technologies 925-528-9081.

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BYOD Advantages and Disadvantages

Bring your own device (BYOD) offices are growing increasingly common, and even offices with no formal “Bring Your Own Device” policy, or policies specifically AGAINST using personal devices for work often find employees spreading out data to their personal cell phones, laptops, and home computers. So, what are the most notable advantages for BYOD companies and what are the most important disadvantages to watch out for?

Advantage: Employee Satisfaction

Use of a device of personal choice often results in greater employee satisfaction, and it’s easy to see why. Employees can easily wind up using their laptop, tablet, or cell phone for 6-10 hours a day five days a week for years at a time. With so much time spent interacting with one piece of equipment, forming an emotional bond and choosing a device that they admire and value can have a huge impact on long term productivity and job satisfaction. In fact, according to A Cisco report, allowing BYOD across Cisco IT resulted in an increase in employee satisfaction of 33%!

Advantage: Cost Savings

Evidence suggests that BYOD policies are either cost-neutral or cost-effective regardless of the level of support the company provides employees for their personal devices. The same Cisco report estimates that the average cost per user decreased by 29% as a result of BYOD. This may be because employees value their equipment and feel ownership over it, better maintaining it over time. It also indicates cost savings as employees provide their own devices for mobility use (particularly smartphones) instead of requisitioning them.

Advantage: Employee Hiring

BYOD policies or policies that provide technology stipends to employees can be a surprisingly potent tool when it comes to recruitment. Highly qualified prospective employees will appreciate the ability to choose their own equipment or bring the devices they already know and use into their new role.

Disadvantage: Security

BYOD provides unparalleled ease of access, particularly when it comes to smartphones and tablets. Email stays logged in, applications are open, and device-level security measures are easy to bypass if they are enabled at all. This ease of access is also what makes these devices so vulnerable, however, and significant damage could be done if an employee’s device (with access to company servers, email, and saved passwords) were to be breached.

What can be done?

BYOD is here to stay. Employees have become incredibly attached to their devices and the expectation to choose what equipment they use and where they use it will only continue to grow. For this reason, companies need to invest in smart IT policies in order to manage this diversity of equipment, ensuring that each device is able to properly access the system and promoting proper security (while protecting employee privacy) across all devices.

Important security features to consider include:

• Firewalls and anti-virus
• Password protected applications (cloud data / company email)
• Software to remotely wipe a stolen / lost device

If you would like to investigate a formal BYOD program with proper security and application support, give us a call. Grundig IT provides high quality IT hardware and software support for companies of all sizes and industries. We can help you set up your employee’s computers, arrange your software and remote applications, and keep your servers and data safe.  Give us a call today at 925-528-9081.

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Safely Disposing Of Old Computers

Even the best technology on the shelf today has an expiration date. Sooner or later, those once great PCs your company invested in end up outmoded, broken down, and in need of replacement. But getting rid of technology carries its own risks, so make sure that you protect your data (and the environment!) by following these steps:

1. Understand the Risks

Your computer holds more of your personal or corporate information than you may think. This information may be in the form of easily accessible tax returns, medical information, addresses, phone numbers, or password documents, or it may be far less visible in the form of license keys, registration numbers, or backup files from websites or your operating system. Even if you delete these files or reformat your hard drive, wiping all information, that data can still be harvested by determined individuals. The only way to be safe is to completely root out that information, or to physically destroy the drive.

2. The Hard Drive

Virtually all of the danger to your data comes from your computer’s hard drive, the long-term memory your computer uses to store information from day-to-day and year-to-year. Therefore, the hard drive is the sticking point when it comes to device disposal. There are several effective options for dealing with the hard drive once you have safely removed and backed up any data you need to save.

a. Remove the hard drives and store them in a safe location such as a company archive.

b. Use a robust utility program to destroy the data bit by bit beyond recovery.

c. Physically destroy the drive (safely!). This can be accomplished by disassembling the device and using sandpaper on the disks, putting several nails through the drive with a nail gun, or by having the device sent to a special data elimination service.

3. The Rest of the Computer

If you’ve followed step two, your data is secure and you’re ready to get rid of the rest of the computer. Just remember that most computer equipment contains hazardous materials that don’t belong in a landfill, and therefore don’t belong in your trash. Fortunately there are a number of other great options for getting rid of old work computers.

a. Resell It – If you’re a large enough company you may want to consider having an option to sell off old computer equipment to your employees, or have a raffle or giveaway. EBay and certain internet vendors are a great place to try to capitalize on old technology as well. Just be sure to let them know whether or not the equipment will include a hard drive and operating system.

b. Recycle It – Recycling is a great option that keeps heavy metals out of landfills. Most computer manufacturers have mail-in recycling programs for old technology, and some big box stores and local governments host drop off programs.

3. Donate it – A great option for tax deductions, computer donations can provide computers to organizations which repair and refurbish the technology for use in schools, nonprofit programs, or as a fundraising option for the same.

For more information on computer hardware and IT management in and around Walnut Creek, CA contact today at 925-528-9081.

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