Tag Archive for Business Technology

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Best video conferencing tech for your small business

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Originally written by Aaron Hurst on Small Business
Even before offices began sending employees home, digital nomads, as well as employees working remotely on occasion, have been increasingly common, using conferencing tech to communicate with colleagues. But what’s the best video conferencing software for your small business?
We look at the best video conferencing platforms  on the market currently, and the benefits they offer self-isolating employees of your small business.
>See also: Working from home – How to manage your time and increase productivity
Microsoft Teams
One of the many prominent conferencing platforms is Microsoft Teams, which offers video and audio calls, as well as chatroom capabilities between two people as well as groups.
Calls can be recorded, and documents can be shared over chat.
The platform recently announced the possibility of coexistence and interoperability with Skype for Business.

To ensure everyone can stay connected and productive, the free version of @MicrosoftTeams now supports an unlimited number of users. Find out more: https://t.co/Bt969Io7oW
— Microsoft 365 (@Microsoft365) March 18, 2020

Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing provider that also offers webinar and chat capabilities.
One benefit that Zoom offers that isn’t the case for other competitors is that calls can be entered just with a link, without needing to install the programme

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How your IT team can support small business during coronavirus lockdown

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Originally written by Nick Ismail on Small Business
During this transition from an office to a remote working environment, how can an in-house or outsourced IT team support a small business in a coronavirus-triggered lockdown?
ContactEngine‘s founder and CEO, professor Mark K. Smith, says there are five common areas where an IT team could support a small business, based on requests from his clients.
>See also: What is the best cloud storage for UK small business?
#1 – Enabling call centre colleagues to work from home
Automatically re-route customer enquiries to an agent’s mobile.
#2 – In-home appointments
When employees are making home visits for installs, deliveries or repairs, make automatic Covid-19 pre-checks with the customer to make sure it is safe for employees to visit.
#3 – Emergency communications
Escalation comms for a situation when a workforce is suddenly dispersed during an emergency.
“Here a colleague calls into an emergency number and says what the issue is … the recording is sent to various colleagues who decide to escalate and schedule a conference call to decide the next action. It feels niche but it’s been used very extensively in the last few days for Covid-19 comms,” said Smith.
>See also: 5 Google tools to help you grow your small business
#4 –

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How autonomous technology can boost business productivity

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Autonomous technology (think artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)) is transforming the way we engage with the world around us. The business world is no exception.
While there is an air of scepticism surrounding autonomous technology in the workplace, strong evidence suggests that AI and ML-powered innovations can enhance existing roles or functions within the workplace.
In fact, 83pc of business across industries state that artificial intelligence is a top strategic priority for all key areas of the organisation. Also, 31pc of top marketing, creative, and IT professionals plan to invest in autonomous technologies to help improve their performance within the next 12-month period.
At present, the technology exists to help streamline a number of business-based tasks and operational initiatives—and by embracing AI or ML-powered platforms, you stand to boost productivity in these four key business areas.
Customer experience (CX)
Experts say that customer experience (CX) is set to be the number one brand differentiator in 2020 and beyond. That said, offering an exemplary level of service across the board is essential.
But with a wealth of platforms and touchpoints to cover, how do you respond to every customer need or query in a timely fashion? Chatbots are

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How to get started with outsourcing SMB processes in 2020

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Are you currently using the power of outsourcing within your business or marketing efforts? If not, you could be missing out big time. According to a recent survey from Deloitte, 70 per cent of businesses experience a productivity lift of over 5 per cent in their in-house teams thanks to outsourcing SMB processes to “shared service centers.”

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5 Google tools to help you grow your small business

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
According to Google, more than a third of small businesses say increasing business growth is their primary goal over the next year.
Fortunately for local and independent businesses, ‘near me’ Google searches hit a record high in 2019. There was 14 times more search interest for these searches than in 2014 and 400 times more than ten years ago.
The top searches (aside from Tesco, Asda, Co-op and other chain retailers) are:

Shops near me
Chinese near me
Pubs near me
Local news
Taxi near me
Supermarket near me

Pub owners will be raising a pint as search interest for local pubs is at the highest level since 2009, tripling over the last decade. Top related searches feature ‘local pub food’, ‘local pub quiz’, ‘local pub restaurants’ and ‘dog friendly pub near me’.
Even though they’re looking locally, consumers are still doing their research online. A huge 90pc of EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) shoppers who visited a store say they searched online first. Yet 23pc of small businesses don’t publish any contact information of their stores on their website, meaning that they could be losing out to their web-savvy competitors.
Google My Business
You’ve probably seen Google My Business (GMB) before when

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8 payment systems for festivals, pop-ups and street food markets

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
You may be looking at payment systems for seasonal markets, festivals, street food stalls, pop-ups or promotional events.
As the number of non-cash payments at festivals grows, so does the number of options for alternative payment systems. An on-the-go payment solution is much more suitable than a clunky tabletop payment system.
Many of the machines below don’t have fixed monthly fees so they’re ideal if you need them for shorter periods of time. We’ve tried to get a sense of performance in terms of battery life but of course, it depends how much you use the card reader (or your smartphone) in a given day. Let’s take a look at some of the bigger names on the market.
Elavon
With Elavon’s payment processors, you can link your machine via WiFi or 4G and take card, contactless or mobile wallet payments. And for behind the scenes, you can add relevant functions including stock management and staff rotas.
The payment terminals have dynamic currency conversion (DCC) and multi-currency conversion (MCC). MCC lets customers see prices in their home currency while DCC lets customers pay in their home currency.
Security-wise, you’re covered with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) measures

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How cloud computing can help your small business thrive

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Before the cloud ever existed and smartphones became popular, we saved our data on hard drives and servers and shared it via floppy disc, USB stick and email.
In recent years, cloud computing has become increasingly important for small and medium-sized businesses. From remote working and enhanced group collaboration, to increased security and faster disaster recovery processes, the cloud provides an overall better business performance.
For many SMEs, migrating to the cloud just makes sense, and many are transitioning.
In the UK, 88pc of firms have adopted cloud computing, because of its ability to minimise IT costs while enhancing efficiency, streamlining processes and increasing security.
Of course when making the decision to move to the cloud, the security of your data will be a of key concern. You need a trusted IT support partner to make sure that your systems and business data are secure.
How cloud computing can help your business succeed
1. Flexibility
Remote working is becoming increasingly important to firms of all sizes.
It could be for checking emails on-the-go, updating shared documents remotely or participating in a video conference from home; cloud-based technology enables your team to do their job even if they are away from the

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What is the best cloud storage for UK small business?

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
What is cloud storage?
Cloud storage means storing data and applications on remote servers and accessing them via the internet, as opposed to saving or installing them on your office server.
The term cloud is used when data is stored on remote servers owned by other companies.
With cloud computing, all your data can be stored on the effectively infinite space of the internet rather than on space-limited hard drives on premises.
Cloud storage can also be accessed anywhere on your desktop, laptop, mobile phone or tablet. None of your business info is confined to single hard drive, server or location.
Even if one server goes down, you can still access your data because it would also be held in another server. This way, you avoid the disaster of data loss if your own onsite server went down.
>See also: Best UK small business accounting software 2019 – review guide
How does cloud storage work?
When you upload a file into a cloud-based service such as Google Drive or iCloud, the file gets copied over the internet into a data server. Data servers are where companies store your files on multiple hard drives. Most companies have thousands of these servers known

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4 things small business needs to think about when buying-in tech

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Originally written by Colin O’Flaherty on Small Business
Over the past 10 years alone, technology has changed the world almost beyond recognition. In a time when cloud computing, big data analytics and digital-first consumer experiences are the norm, it is hard to believe that it was only in 2009 that music streaming went mainstream and the video-on-demand market exploded.
Against this backdrop, American Express’ latest research into the business strategies of the UK’s small and medium sized enterprises found that these businesses are prioritising harnessing the latest technology to unlock growth and opportunity. In fact, almost two-thirds (65pc) of SMEs believe that digital technology will create new business opportunities, while the majority of UK SMEs rank adopting the latest tech as one of the top business challenges they’ll be working hardest to address over the next three years.
>See also: Upgrading business technology – new vs refurbished
The UK’s SMEs are also clear on the types of technologies they want and need. The top three they plan to implement in the next three years are workforce productivity tools, faster and more reliable communications systems and integrated enterprise-wide software platforms and enterprise applications. In addition to these more functional applications, SMEs also have big plans

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How can small and micro businesses achieve enterprise-grade security?

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Thinking that small and micro businesses will not become targets of cyber threats is one of the worst misconceptions in business IT. Just because a business is still struggling to scale or become profitable doesn’t mean it is safe from attacks. In fact, small businesses are the most popular targets of cybercriminals.
An Accenture study found that 43pc of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. Unfortunately, according to the same study, only 14pc of SMEs are prepared to address such attacks, which include data breaches, malware penetration, financial theft, identity theft, phishing, and denial of service. On average, these incidents cost businesses £65,000 to £115,000. This figure does not include additional damage including opportunity costs, adverse brand and reputation implications, and the negative impact on customer goodwill. What’s even more alarming is that 60pc of companies that have been attacked go out of business within six months according to a report by Inc. These realities only mean that it’s imperative to invest in competent cybersecurity defense.
Basic antivirus protection is not enough
Most businesses are not prepared for cyber threats usually because their owners or managers lack the competence to foresee and implement measures against

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