Picture this: you’re an average Joe who occasionally goes for runs at lunch time (but only to keep up your trim figure), and suddenly you’ve decided to run a marathon for the fun of it. The first few miles come easy, and you fall into a rhythm. But after three miles the runners who were cruising behind start to pass you. And then more, and more. Your breathing becomes heavier and your muscles start to burn. You’re falling behind and wondering why you can’t maintain that earlier rhythm anymore. Eventually you are forced to give up the race because you are too unfit. You didn’t put the training and effort in, and as a result you lost the race before you even started it.
This little story is an analogy for what could happen to your small business if you’re blasé about keeping up with the latest technological developments. If you want to keep up with the Joneses in your business market, then you must stay abreast of what’s current and what’s up-and-coming.
It’s important to not only keep your business competitive, but also to push it ahead of the competition. You and your business cannot afford to lie content with what you have, simply because it’s working now. You can always do better!
There will be improvements you can make that are specific to your field (we won’t go into that), but since technology is what Result IT does best, here are five tech-areas which you can upgrade, that you’ve probably never thought about:
1. Use multiple monitors
I covered this in a previous blog post, and it still rings true: multiple monitors are great for boosting productivity. The multi-monitor configuration leads to greater employee satisfaction, because navigation and organisation of different sets of data is simplified. This leads to less frustration and time-wasting, which increases efficiency, and subsequently morale. And everyone knows a happy worker is a hard worker. Smaller laptop monitors also lead to eye-strain, but larger screens allow information to be spread out and presented in a bigger format, which makes it visually easier to cope with. Few people like to be hunched over a small monitor when they can sit back and still experience the same quality on a larger screen. It seems that more screens do equal more happiness!
2. Upgrade RAM
RAM is a sanity-saver; the more you have, the better. RAM is what allows your computer to open large files quickly, as well as running several programmes at the same time with no loss of performance. Office work often requires multiple pages and applications to be open and operating at the same time. When you have a lot of them running, and are constantly switching between them, your computer can get slow and doddery. This isn’t the old girl’s fault; it’s because you are placing too much pressure on the amount of RAM in the system. By upgrading the memory, you will speed up your computer’s processes, and soothe your frustrations. With more RAM at its fingertips, your computer will be able access information more quickly, leading to faster performance.
3. Utilise Cloud storage
The Cloud is a marvellous creation that you will have encountered at some point, if you’re reading this. For those of you not in the know, the Cloud is a virtual server on the internet where you can store all your data, and retrieve it from anywhere using an internet connection. Basically, it’s a portable office. If you want to nip out for a coffee, but have a pressing business document that needs reading, uploading it to the Cloud means you can sip your flat white while accessing it online through your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Productivity has never been so delicious. Not only can you take your office with you to more amiable locations (beach, anyone?), you can keep up-to-date with your business 24/7, if you are so inclined.
4. Ramp up your WiFi
The internet is one of the most precious resources for your business, so you need it to be top-notch. Consider the wireless network you have running in the office. Does it take ages for information to load? Can you only have a certain number of people online before speeds plummet? Switching to 802.11n or greater will help speed things up. 802.11n and above provide greater throughput and faster internet speeds through your wireless network. Slow internet is not only a drag on your systems but a drag on the time you could be doing business. Get your internet connection sorted!
5. Consider Gigabit networking for wired networks
If a ten-fold increase in throughput sounds like your cup of tea, Gigabit networking is your friend. Not only will it minimise the time it takes files to transfer, Gigabit networking will also greatly enhance the ability to stream high-bandwidth files to connected devices without interference. Faster speeds means greater performance, and in business terms that means profit.
Many of the latest technology developments are technical in nature, and it can be quite confusing to understand how they could benefit your business. That’s where Result IT steps in. If there’s something you’d like to know more about to see whether it’s worth investing in, or just purely out of interest, sling us an email or give us a call!
