by Felicien | Feb 8, 2018 | Education
Where you work is no longer defined by four walls and a door – not even by cubicle walls. Gone are the days where productivity requires a set geographical location, at least for some roles, anyway.
Recent years have seen the rise of the remote workforce that can effectively collaborate on projects from across the globe. Organizations can cut costs and increase productivity using various platforms that facilitate communication and collaboration, and it’s only becoming more popular.
Revolution or Evolution?
Major metropolitan cities from New York to Los Angeles are filled with your classic skyscrapers, and every town and suburb in between is dotted with professional office parks. However, are these buildings, once filled to the brim with bustling businesses, still relevant?
They’re no longer the norm – but why? Even with the periodic recession, the overall post-WWII American economy didn’t just emerge with success – it exploded! The “four walls and a door” was waiting for every entry-level candidate until the late 1980’s when the cubicle first gained popularity.
Fast-forward to today, and the latest concept to revolutionize the workforce isn’t revolutionary at all. Telecommuters now represent a significant portion of the global workforce, and do so quite ably. To say the idea of the office has evolved is quite the understatement: now, an office can be anywhere. From your desk at home to your local coffee shop, from the waiting room at your car dealership to Row 6 Seat B on your flight, telecommuting facilitates progress so long as you can access your files, email, and anything else you need to get the job done.
Did you know that telecommuting has increased by more than 300% in the past 20 years? Technology has made telecommuting easier and more effective and has helped organizations retain quality staff longer.
No longer is the stereotypical full-time staffer a given when organizations look to fill a role, either. People are now demanding flexibility in a job description, and what was once a 9-to-5 position is becoming obsolete. For more than a decade, flexibility has evolved into an expectation over a fringe benefit, and with good reason. A global remote workforce offers business without boundaries and productivity that never stops.
A Collaborative Culture
The evolving business culture demands evolving means by which to collaborate and connect. Digital platforms are plentiful, with features that cater to your business’ specific needs. Platforms like Basecamp and Trello are beloved by project managers, Salesforce.com and Microsoft Sharepoint offer great sales team support, and technology teams rely on tools like Microsoft Team Foundation Server – often shortened to TFS. Organization is critical to any company, especially when teams are separated by time zones.
Where would we be today without Microsoft? Microsoft and Windows have remained the primary professional computing mainstays for about 30 years. Microsoft Office remains the fundamental application suite on which companies rely for day-to-day operations, even when office space is nonexistent. The irony of the name is not lost on us, either!
Microsoft recognized an opportunity in the permanence of telecommuting. Never one to shy away from innovation, Microsoft launched a suite of applications catering to the “digital” crowd in 2011, under its Office 365 brand. If Microsoft Office is a basic tool for the 9-to-5 professional, the subscription-based Office 365 is a fundamental lifeline of the telecommuter. Office 365 allows the use of applications across a multitude of devices, as well as file hosting, email, and a range of other networking tools designed to feed our daily addiction to all things Microsoft.
Rumors began swirling in 2016 of a Microsoft acquisition bid for the cloud-based Slack collaboration tool, a darling of the technology industry – but why buy when you can create and customize? Microsoft’s Skype for Business product offered similar basic functionalities and was already installed on the digital desktops of millions of professional customers. In early 2017, Microsoft released what it believed to be the next-level professional platform: Microsoft Teams.
Slack offers itself as a “freemium” product, a marketing and pricing strategy where the base model of a product or service is widely available free of charge, but premium features are available for those willing to pay the added cost.
Making the Most of Your Microsoft
Microsoft didn’t face a great hurdle in convincing customers to “buy in” to Microsoft Teams, given its position as a new-and-improved version of anything currently on the market. If Microsoft Office was the predecessor to Office 365 and Skype for Business, Teams is the logical next generation.
Why is the next generation so important? Microsoft realizes that the workplace is evolving and that more businesses are hiring independent contractors, freelancers, consultants, and other external resources to support permanent staff – all of which work together toward one common goal. Microsoft Teams refers to these external resources as “Guests.” If collaboration is the cornerstone of professional success, then communication is the foundation upon which that stone is laid, and Guests don’t need to be granted full access to proprietary information.
The solution is Guest Access, and it’s a new feature in Teams, which customers have been requesting for some time. Aside from the previously mentioned independent contractors, etc., Guests may also include vendors, suppliers, or even interns. Guest Access is available to users who have an email address that corresponds to an Azure Active Directory or Office 365 work or school account.
Organizations can provide external access to their teams for applications to partners, resources, chat communication, and documents in channels while maintaining control and protection.
In Microsoft Teams, Guest Access is a tenant-level setting that’s turned off by default. Do you need help turning on this new feature? Follow these steps:
The global admin needs to login to the dashboard: https://portal.office.com/adminportal/home
In the left navigation menu, expand Settings and select “Service and Admin.”
Scroll and select Office 365 Group settings.
In the menu that opens, toggle the bottom option to “On,” giving Group Owners the ability to add Guests from outside the organization, and click “Save.”
This setting needs to be enabled because Team permissions are based on Groups.
Next, scroll through the list to select Microsoft Teams
In the left navigation menu, find the “Settings by user/license type” and select “Guest” in the drop-down menu and toggle setting to “On.”
Click “Save.”
After changing these settings, Team Owners can add and manage Guest Access within their Team.
Whether you include mostly in-house staff, a team of telecommuters, or a range of every type of resource at your organization, we can help you make 2018 the best year yet – as a team!
by Felicien | Feb 8, 2018 | Education
Microsoft has dominated the business world for a long time. It is on every computer, in every office, no matter if that is a library or a Fortune 500 company. We use Microsoft Word to create the newsletters for our businesses and collate our data with Microsoft Excel. As familiar as we are with these programs, you should know that they’re always being improved in order to help us do more. The latest features for Microsoft Office 365 not only maintain the comfortable framework that we are used to, but they also bring with them incredible new features that we never knew we needed. These ten new features of Microsoft Office will raise your productivity, creativity, and efficiency in the workplace and at home.
Simultaneous Collaboration
This feature allows you to collaborate in real time with your colleagues and staff and is available through Microsoft Word and PowerPoint Presentations. Simultaneous Collaboration seamlessly shows what each team member is doing on the document. It is important to note that while PowerPoint is compatible with Simultaneous Collaboration, real-time typing is not yet available in PowerPoint presentations.
Simple Sharing
Sharing documents should be easy. Microsoft Office new feature offers straightforward document sharing with a simple share button. This button is in the ribbon in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Now your team members can not only quickly share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations but it also allows you to access and change permissions. It is essential to note that co-authored files must be shared through SharePoint or OneDrive.
Share Large Files As A URL
Large files are no longer a stalling point for businesses. Now if you need to share a large file you can quickly do so with OneDrive, by sending it as a private URL. This saves you a significant amount of time, as you no longer have to wait for the file to upload. Additionally, the recipient no longer has to wait for the file to download. Any large files that are attached to an email will automatically convert to a link that the recipient can then open or download.
Helpful Versioning
No one is perfect. Sometimes you delete a section of a document, or accidentally change the formatting, which is where versioning comes into play. You can hastily revert the document to a previous version by clicking on File > History to view and select from a list of all prior versions. Additionally, it is beneficial to view various versions when you are tracking changes in drafts. While this isn’t a new feature, it is newly improved. Microsoft knows how important this feature is, so they have worked to ensure that this feature functions more efficiently each time.
Smart Lookup
The Smart Lookup feature provides you the ability to look up a word right from inside your Microsoft word document, saving you the time of opening up a web page or a dictionary. In the time that it would take to open a webpage, you would already be back to your writing. To use this feature, you only need to highlight the word, right-click, and select “Smart Lookup.”
Outlook Groups
Outlook has a new feature called Groups, which offers users a quick and efficient way to work as a team without pre-created distribution lists. You can now create a group of your colleagues or friends, giving this new group its own shared inbox, calendar, file repository, and OneNote notes. This feature is incredibly beneficial for task management and file sharing when working in teams.
New Charts In Microsoft
How many meetings have you sat through while staring at the same bar graphs, with the same dull colors? Microsoft now offers six new chart types: Treemap, Waterfall, Pareto, Histogram, Box and Whisker, and Sunburst. Each new chart comes with a new layout and new possibilities. For example, Treemap provides a hierarchical view of data, while Waterfall gives you a running total of items as they are added and subtracted. Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all compatible with these new charts.
One-Click Forecasting
Data is only important if it is used. One-click Forecasting, a new feature for Excel, helps ensure that you use all the data that you are already collecting. This feature allows users to view quick predictions based on selected portions of the Excel Spreadsheet, which are made possible through Microsoft’s Exponential Smoothing algorithm. This algorithm provides explicit short-term forecasts based on the collective data within the spreadsheet.
Skype Integration
Skype is now integrated into Word and Excel, which means that while team members are working on a shared document, they have all of Skype’s capabilities at their fingertips. Now you can call, text, or screen share, right from either the Word Document or the Excel Spreadsheet. This capability provides team members the ability to effectively communicate, without having to leave their work, which saves you crucial time. Every time you have to stop working to save the spreadsheet, share the document, and plan a meeting, you are losing valuable time, and putting a dent in your workflow. Skype integration allows you to continue working without interruption.
Cross-Device Compatibility
When collaborating, it’s essential that you have strong cross-device support. Microsoft has worked hard to ensure a smooth transition cross platforms and apps by integrating them evenly with one another. This means that no matter which platform and app you are using, you can be sure they are all on the same page.
by Felicien | Feb 8, 2018 | Education
With the growing threat of viruses, worms, scams and phishing schemes, it seems impossible for computer users to avoid a cyber breach these days. In spite of a massive focus on preventing cybersecurity breaches, it’s still possible to wake up one morning to news of a multi-million-dollar breach at Equifax. This nationwide credit reporting agency was thought to be as secure as Fort Knox and yet, just last year, Equifax announced that it had suffered a data breach that exposed the financial records of 143 million users.
Protecting Personal Data from Intruders
Consumers may worry that if organizations like Equifax are not immune from these dangers, then no one is. The public must assume that credit reporting agencies, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions have the highest level of protection from data breaches. If that’s true, then how do these massive breaches keep happening?
Richard F. Smith, Equifax Chairman and CEO commented on the breach: “This is clearly a disappointing event for our company and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do”. What he did not say was that this type of data breach erodes public trust. How can our biggest and best-protected organizations continue to be infiltrated by hackers? What can the ordinary citizen do to protect their financial, personal and health information?
How can users feel safe?
Most people sleep better knowing there’s a sophisticated alarm system in their home to protect them from intruders, but what about online safety? There are growing concerns that perhaps no one actually has that magic key to safety we’re all searching for. No one wants to be a victim and yet a new study from Bankrate reports that 41 million Americans have had their identity stolen.
In spite of our shattered dreams of online security, experts tell us that the more proactive we are, the better. All those little things we do — such as changing passwords regularly — really do make a difference.
In keeping with this movement to make the Internet safer for everyone, big companies like Microsoft and Google are getting involved. Microsoft’s Windows Defender is an antivirus tool that delivers real-time protection against spyware, malware, viruses, and others. It is now built into Windows 10 at no additional charge. It is important, however, to keep it updated to the latest version.
Facts about Chrome Cleanup tools
Along those same lines, Google has recently updated its Chrome Web Browser with new security tools that inform users know of potential threats. This newest product is called Chrome Cleanup and it’s a Chrome Extension that constantly checks for malicious software and automatically removes any threats for you. Powered by ESET, this technology was built to detect even the most subtle threats and remove them before they can harm your computer.
Chrome Cleanup also scans and removes any software that could cause a conflict or crash on your computer. It removes irritating ads that are hard to get rid of and notifies you if a site is trying to infiltrate or change your browsing history. essentially, Chrome Cleanup protects your computer against any nasty software that might be trying to damage your computer or steal information. This is a simple, easy and inexpensive way to protect one computer at home or dozens in an office environment.
However, Google developers do expect hackers to eventually find ways to bypass the safeguards in the Chrome Cleanups app. That’s why they are continuously updating all Google tools to ensure that users have the best protection available.
Google leading the charge against hackers
Though this is a whole new product for Google, it’s not the first in their arsenal to protect its users from hackers. Google claims to be the safest web browser available on the market today. As one of the most popular web browsers on the market, it is estimated that 400 million users worldwide regularly use Chrome as their default browser. Google has taken its role in internet security seriously by continuously experimenting with new products that protect users. Below are a few other Chrome extensions that can keep your business safe from a security breach:
SiteAdvisor – This extension is very familiar to most Chrome users and is powered by McAfee. It warns you if you’re about to follow a suspicious link. Though you can go ahead and follow the link to the page, it’s best not to do so.
Web of Trust (WOT) – This extension uses familiar traffic signal warnings for web pages. Green represents a safe page, yellow is for suspicious pages and red means STOP!
Secbrowsing – This extension makes sure that your plug-ins are up to date. Keeping your software programs up to date is one of the first precautions recommended by security professionals. Secbrowsing lets you know when a browser plug-in needs updating.
LastPass – This is a popular password management tool that allows users to manage all their separate passwords through access with one single master password. It can also auto-fill forms online. LastPass is locally encrypted so that even if your computer is hacked, your passwords remain safely locked away.
View Thru – This extension makes it possible for users to view the destination URL of any shortened link, such as TinyURL and bit.ly links. Without this extension, users must click blindly on links without knowing where the link leads.
Click & Clean – This is a one-step browser cleaning solution that erases browser history. It deletes temporary files, cookies, and all URL’s from your browser log.
PasswordFail – This extension warns users if any of their passwords are being passed around online as clear text, a clear sign that hackers have broken in and stolen your password. This extension also identifies websites that do not use encryption when storing passwords.
Winning the war on hackers
There are many other Chrome extensions that can help users to safely browse and shop online. The sheer number and complexity of these apps prove that Google is taking the war on hackers seriously. Each day, hackers work to find new ways to infect computers with adware, ransomware, and malware. The volume of these dangerous programs is staggering, not to mention the complexity of the programs. New and even more clever tricks are employed to try and get users to download infected code.
In addition to stealing passwords and personal information, these nefarious programs can cause your computer to slow way down or stop performing correctly. It can be expensive and stressful to deal with these hard-to-remove programs.
The Chrome Cleanup Tool can help! Plus, it’s free and highly effective. It is well worth installing whether you have one or dozens of computers to safeguard from hackers.
by Felicien | Feb 7, 2018 | Education
CEOs are some of the busiest people we’ve ever met, and we’ve met a lot of people.
What do CEOs do? The answer to this question is as unique as the company a given CEO is busy running. If we polled every CEO we know and asked what their primary goal is, we’d likely only get a handful of overlapping answers – but we’re betting they’ll all share a common theme: managing people and money.
Today it doesn’t matter if the CEO founded the company or rose through the ranks and was ultimately promoted to the position. The modern CEO is expected to have mastered certain skills:
Human Resources: Quite literally, CEOs are responsible for hiring the “human resources” needed to operate effectively, thus overseeing key senior management roles within a company.
Basic Accounting: At some point in their career, a likely CEO fulfilled the duty of managing a departmental budget and was tasked with cost-cutting where appropriate, without compromising quality or productivity.
Staff Management: Considering oneself a “people person” doesn’t cut it — the day-to-day operations and management of a team involve constant juggling of communication, compromise, and collaboration.
Has the principal function of a modern CEO evolved to focus on managing people? Making sure the right people are in the right positions, is critical. As stated above, being a “people person” isn’t enough – superior communication is a fundamental requirement of a member of senior management. A CEO must understand the needs of his or her staff and the needs of the company – and find a way to compromise for the best results. Successfully marrying these two independent sets of needs can understandably pose a major challenge.
Use Two-Way Radios
Every organization is unique, but one thing is shared: people. People are the cogs that make a company function like a well-oiled machine. From interns and administrative assistants to specialists and management, each position must be filled with qualified people – this is the backbone of any successful business.
This all sounds like a chaotic organizational chart, but it underscores the importance of the corporate hierarchy and the flow of communication. What isn’t happening in so many organizations is the focus on the two-way flow of communication.
Where might a flaw in communication flow be most obvious? Just ask the CEO – in some cases the former CEO – at any of the companies that recently made the news for experiencing massive data breaches, such as:
Target, 2013
Sony Pictures, 2014
Home Depot, 2014
Anthem, 2015
Ashley Madison, 2015
Equifax, 2017
It seems pointless to ask the CEO of Target or Equifax what they would have done differently if they knew then what they know now, but this may be the most valuable advice available. For example, for which department might they have considered budgeting more money? In the months leading up to each instance, it’s unlikely there was an immediate need to beef up cybersecurity.
Is Your Data Defense Lacking?
The general public may never know the true extent of these now-infamous data breaches, and just how hackers were able to access their sensitive and secure data. One thing is obvious: there was a clear break in the communication chain between senior management and the IT staff tasked with safeguarding these assets.
Data protection is big business, and the failure to keep data secure can effectively cripple your bottom line. The hidden cost of a data breach is immense:
The common response to a data breach is to offer one year of identity theft protection to all consumers affected, at a cost of millions of dollars.
The financial loss to credit organizations for purchases made using stolen identities.
The negative impact on a company’s public image, and the resulting loss of confidence, and subsequently, profit.
The affected organization is in reactive mode for months following a data breach.
Did you know the average cost to a company with a security breach is over $5 million? By comparison, Target’s breach cost an estimated $1 billion.
It’s a safe assumption that the CEO of each company in the list above was out of touch when it came to cybersecurity. We ask a few questions to determine the root problem:
Do executives fail to appreciate the true value of cybersecurity in general?
Do CEOs fail to relate data insecurity with financial loss?
Is data security seen as more of a luxury than a necessity?
We don’t think any of these are independently the issue; it’s more likely that the CEO thinks everything necessary is already being done. Again, this shows a major lapse in communication.
Does Today’s CEO Need To Be Fully Versed In Data Security?
The answer? Don’t expect the CEO to be a security expert, but rather, find the best human resources possible to oversee data security, and then encourage open dialogue and a two-way flow of communication to ensure adequate protection.
Ask yourself how your communication flow is structured:
Who is tasked with overseeing cybersecurity measures at your company?
Who is responsible for ensuring the latest improvements are considered?
What methods are in place that are just “sufficient”?
When was the most recent full review of your cybersecurity strategy?
By initiating communication and proactivity, you eliminate barriers to address true needs and minimize risk to your company – and your profitability. This leads to a lower overall cost impact in the long run, which equates to a common-sense approach for a CEO.
Tech Task Force
Working together, a CEO and senior-level executives can communicate openly with IT staff to discuss the needs of the company and assess the cost/savings benefits of cybersecurity to establish a comprehensive security strategy and safeguard data.
Long-term success in business relies on compromise, collaboration, and communication – at all levels of an organization.
by Felicien | Feb 7, 2018 | Education
Wi-Fi isn’t just for your computer anymore. These days Wi-Fi is changing the way we make calls from our cellular phones, and this way of calling has a lot to offer. Instead of using the minutes from your cellular plan, you can make a call by connecting to a Wi-Fi signal. Depending on your plan, you can end up saving a lot of money each month by using Wi-Fi instead of plan minutes.
How Does Wi-Fi Calling Work?
It works like this. Wi-Fi calling hinges on a technology called SIP/IMS (IP Multimedia Subset), a technology that lets your phone make and receive phone calls using a regular Wi-Fi network. IMS was originally created for mobile applications, primarily allowing the convergence of data, speech, and mobile network technology over IP-based infrastructure. IMS can be examined with its layered construction, which includes many layers with different functionalities. SIP is a session control protocol which exists in the application layer and can complete multimedia session establishment and modification. Normally, SIP devices communicate with each other using SIP servers which provide an infrastructure for routing and authentication services.
Depending on where you live, you may not have great cellular coverage – sometimes even more populated areas can have signal issues, and rural areas may always have a hard time receiving a signal. This is one of can be especially the key reasons as to why Wi-Fi calling is becoming more popular. T-Mobile is the biggest supporter of Wi-Fi calling to date, and yet many people still don’t know that it exists, because some carriers are slow to accept the process. With carriers who do support this service, it allows for clearer, better calls. Whereas not all phones support Wi-Fi calling, with each new generation of the device released, more are coming on board.
The Cost of Wi-Fi Calling
If you’re calling throughout the United States, there’s good news – everything is free. However, internationally, the price of a call will vary. All major networks allow for international calling, but they don’t all charge the same. Whereas T-Mobile lets you make and receive Wi-Fi calls for free from more than 140 countries, Sprint customers can call from over 200 countries, with a few exceptions to country and phone. However, four of its Android phones don’t support international Wi-Fi calling at all. Unless you have an iPhone running iOS 9.3, both AT&T and Verizon charge for international Wi-Fi calls, whether you buy an international plan or pay per use. It’s also worth noting that most carriers allow you to make free calls back to the U.S. if you’re traveling out of the country.
The Specifics
So, if you’re ready to take a step into the future, here are detailed instructions, provided by Marc Mintz of Mintzit.com, on how to set-up your Wi-Fi calling:
Be in range of a Wi-Fi network for which you have the password.
On your iOS phone, open Settings > Wi-Fi. It should show that you are connected to the Wi-Fi network. If not, tap Wi-Fi, in the Wi-Fi screen, enable Wi-Fi, select the target Wi-Fi network, and then enter the network password.
At the top left corner of the screen, tap Settings to return to the Settings screen.
In the Settings screen, scroll down and then tap on
In the Phone screen, enable Wi-Fi Calling.
In the Wi-Fi Calling screen, enable Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone.
An alert will appear “Enable Wi-Fi Calling?” Tap
Enable Prefer Wi-Fi While Roaming.
When on the Wi-Fi network, 911 operators can’t determine your location as quickly as they can when on the cellular network. If you will be using Wi-Fi calling primarily at home, tap Update Emergency Address, and then enter that address.
When done, scroll down to Terms & Conditions, tap the “By using this service…“, and then tap
The Future Is Bright
Wi-Fi calling may be nothing new, but it is making more headlines lately. Apps like Skype have been around for a while, but a new trend in phone buying sees people opting for a Wi-Fi cell phone instead (also called a cellular-Internet phone or cell-Internet phone). These phones can automatically switch between regular cellular and Wi-Fi VoIP modes, even in the middle of a conversation.
HELP! My Carrier Doesn’t Support Wi-Fi Calling
If your phone carrier doesn’t technically support Wi-Fi Calling, don’t worry. There are a lot of apps out there to choose from that will let you make calls over Wi-Fi (note – not all apps are free):
Facebook Messenger
Skype
Google Hangouts (you’ll need the Hangouts Dialer app as well)
Google Voice
Google Duo
Wi-Fi Calling Unlimited Free
Talkatone
You like it. You want it. You just have to have it. What are you waiting for? Grab your phone and give it a try. Happy dialing.
by Felicien | Feb 7, 2018 | Education
Businesses store data like we store clothes. How many times do we step into our closets and wonder “When was the last time I wore this”?
This is similar to what we, as business owners, should be asking ourselves. “When was the last time I used this data?” We collect and store data on a constant basis, but if we aren’t using it, then it’s only taking up space and costing us money. It’s a common misconception that big data analyst programs or business intelligence are solely for large businesses. We should be using these tools and taking advantage of them every chance we get.
Most small businesses assume that they cannot afford business intelligence tools. While this may have once been true, it’s just not the case anymore. Before now, business intelligence tools came with a hefty price tag and needed highly trained and educated staff to run them. However, with today’s advances in technology, there’s been a considerable improvement in affordability of these tools. There is no longer the need for entire teams of analysts and scientists to explain the data in layman’s terms. Now, programs and tools such as these work as a middleman, giving even the most inexperienced employee access to compelling, game-changing data. Now, that data that sat unused can now have huge impacts on your small business’ profits, efficiency, and security.
There are few main ways that business intelligence tools can aid your small business:
Increased Profits
One of the most critical aspects of a business is profit – without it, everything stops. Business Intelligence Tools aid your business’s profit by providing valuable insight into your activity and your customers’ behavior. Business Intelligence Tools can increase your business’s profit, both current and future through the use of analytics and science-based predictors.
Efficiency
Efficiency is a vital cornerstone of any business. You can build the effectiveness of your small business operations in a few ways. The easiest way is by using a Business Intelligence Tool like Business Activity Monitoring. Business Activity Monitors analyze data that comes from inside your organization as well as outside, such as those involving your customers and partners. This analysis offers you an opportunity to see where gaps exist and where they don’t. It also looks for patterns of efficiency within your business by showing which departments are running efficiently, and which aren’t. These tools ensure that you and your staff are making efficient use of all your resources, no matter how large or small.
Market Reach
The 2017 SMB Routes to Market Study found that small businesses reported that “getting better insights out of the data they already have is their top technology challenge”. How much data does your small business have that isn’t being used to its full potential? This unused data might make a huge difference in your business marketing. Business Intelligence Tools help your small business by further developing and strengthening your market reach. This makes use of the data that you’ve already collected and helps you detect patterns. These patterns can reveal both customer and employee trends. Tools such as these fill that void by giving employees the opportunity to be more productive and efficient in working towards the greater good for the business.
Common Goals
Another essential tool is the digital dashboard, which gives you a dashboard view of numerous sources of data all at once, in an easy-to-understand and organized way. A recent study showed that only 40% of the workforce knew about their company’s goals, strategies, and tactics. Improving the efficiency of your business means getting all your employees working towards the same goal. Digital dashboards provide an explicit representation of the data findings of your business, to anyone from the CEO to the temp receptionist, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same data-driven goals.
Security
Maintaining secure and stable storage of essential data helps you provide professional and trustworthy service. Business Intelligence Tools provide security by protecting the data it holds. For example, a Business Intelligence Tool for data cleansing can monitor your data to detect any corrupt files. Once it finds a corrupt or incorrect file, it safely confines and deletes it. This tool not only protects your clients’ data but safeguards your company from possibly making decisions based off of faulty data as well.
Business Intelligence Tools are no longer out of reach for small businesses. They can help your business reach its full potential, help you increase profits, improve efficiency, expand your market reach, unite your staff’s efforts and improve data security. As a small business, you now have these resources at your disposal. Don’t let that data continue to sit unused. It could have a big impact on your small business.
