IT
In this regular column Charles Zealey, of ITSolve, covers all aspects of business and personal computing. If you have a question about IT matters, e-mail it to Charles at: itmatters@itsolve.co.uk
You can also follow him on Twitter – http://twitter.com/itsolve
I have written before in this column about the pace of change in the world of technology. In today’s competitive business environment the ability to respond to technological change is often critical to survival.
When I started ITSolve in 1997 we spent a lot of time setting customers up on email and showing them how to use the internet. It seems amazing now but in those days machines did not always have a network card and there was no broadband, so most customers connected using a modem. Equally hard to imagine, there was no such thing as Google.
How does it affect me?
If you run a business you probably have regular reviews of your progress in various areas of the business – sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, finance and so on. When was the last time you reviewed your use of technology? In particular there are possibly some recent technologies that may benefit your business – or maybe they are not relevant. Do you know?
Some ideas
We are currently working with one client to evaluate the use of video streaming to make online seminars available to a range of different participants across the world. This is ideal where there is a need to train sales or technical staff, perhaps as a part of a new product introduction.
And then there is Cloud Computing as it is known. While I am not one of those who thinks that the Cloud solves every problem known to mankind, there are certainly places where it is of use.
Do you have staff working remotely? Perhaps your sales force, or those who work from home, or in small international branch offices. If so, spending time evaluating ways of helping them communicate with their colleagues more effectively could well bring rewards – not just in direct productivity, but also in making them feel part of the team.
Think it through
Whatever the needs of your business it is almost certain that you would benefit from spending regular time in reviewing trends in technology against the needs of your business. If you need help in doing so feel free to get in touch. In any event do make sure that you spot the opportunities before your competitors do.
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