Small businesses can use technology in many ways to help further the success of their business. However, a small business owner hardly has the time to research and implement technologies so it hardly gets done and is often times pushed aside. So you’re probably wondering, how do we know small businesses so well? As an IT company in Austin, TX, we help our clients whom many are small businesses with everything related to the technology of their business.To find out if managed IT services can help you, checkout our post Are Managed IT Services Right for My Business? Plus, we’re a small business too and can align our interests with theirs. We’ve assisted small businesses with everything from managing their IT, to implementing cloud services to improve on cost, process, and efficiency.
Here’s 5 awesome tips to help your small business now:
Tip 1: Buy new or certified refurbished – With computers you buy for your business, it makes more sense to buy new or certified refurbished so you can get your return on your investment over the years. A new computer should get you 4 – 6 years of use and certified refurbished 2 – 4 years. Some of the computer brands that last better than others are Lenovo “Thinkpad” and higher-end Dell computers. Buying cheap is never a good idea especially being that it will end up costing you more in repairs and downtime.
Tip 2: Invest in your IT infrastructure – Every business nowadays relies on their IT infrastructure to operate. Be sure to invest in good networking equipment and in your internet speeds. A managed IT services company should be a big help here. Know that when you invest in this area, you’re really buying convenience, up time, and reliability. This easily can translate to a more profitable business and easily justifies itself. Depending on the size of your business, good internet speeds to start out at are at least 20/down and 5/up.
Tip 3: Have good security and backup – These are the two most important things every small business should consider early on. Good security will help protect your business from breaches and unwanted intrusions. Also, be sure to have both hardware and software security that strengthen your business. A good backup plan that implements both local and cloud backup can provide peace-of-mind that your important business data is kept safely and securely backed up. In the event of any serious crash or potential loss, you’ll be able to restore your data from either of your backup sources.
Tip 4: Focus on your business, not your technology – Every small business owner knows of the stress and enormous efforts that go into owning and operating a business. Why overwhelm yourself with having to do everything? The best advice I can offer is have good vendors and partners. For instance, an IT partner can manage the day-to-day IT requirements so you can focus on your business. Your IT partner will free up your time of dealing with unnecessary downtime and the loss associated with it. Another good example is to have a good web designer to assist with managing your website and keeping your social presence updated.
Tip 5: Work faster and smarter with cloud services – Taking your business into the cloud can be a huge leap for some. However, when considering cloud services know that your improvements will certainly pay off. Cloud services like SharePoint keep your data centrally located and accessible to your team. Other cloud services like VoIP phone systems allow you to easily manage your users and communication. Lastly, Office 365 take your important business applications and move them into the cloud. Overall, implementing a cloud service solution can drastically improve on process, security, reliability, maintenance cost, and efficiency.
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