MSPNetworks Blog

How much does your business rely on technology to keep your organization running forward? As business technology becomes more complex, it’s becoming increasingly popular for organizations to have their own internal IT departments to manage and maintain it. Yet, small businesses don’t often have the necessary funds for such a feat. How can your company afford quality IT service? You can start by pursuing managed IT solutions from a managed service provider.

Smartphones and tablets have opened up a world of opportunities for small business owners, allowing them to streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and boost productivity. Today, we\'ll explore how mobile devices are a great tool for small businesses and the myriad ways they contribute to success.

Accessibility and Flexibility

One of the most significant advantages of mobile devices for small businesses is accessibility. With a smartphone or tablet, business owners and employees can access essential data, applications, and resources from virtually anywhere at any time. This flexibility is invaluable, especially for small businesses that may not have the resources to maintain a physical office 24/7. Whether you\'re on the go, working from home, or meeting with clients, your business is always at your fingertips.

Communication and Collaboration

Effective communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of a successful business. Mobile devices make it easier than ever for small businesses to stay connected. Email, messaging apps, and video conferencing tools allow for real-time communication with employees, clients, and suppliers, no matter where they are located. Collaboration apps enable teams to work together seamlessly on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, building a more productive team.

Marketing and Social Media Management

Mobile devices are a vital tool for digital marketing and social media management. Small businesses can create and execute marketing campaigns, monitor social media engagement, and even schedule posts from their smartphones or tablets. Apps can simplify social media management, while email marketing platforms provide mobile-friendly options for reaching customers on the go.

Data Analysis and Reporting

Access to data is crucial for making informed business decisions. Mobile devices enable small business owners to track key performance metrics and access analytics tools on the fly. Whether it\'s monitoring website traffic, sales trends, or customer behavior, mobile apps can allow for real-time data analysis and reporting.

Task Management and Organization

Mobile devices can serve as personal assistants for small business owners. Task management apps help entrepreneurs stay organized and prioritize tasks. Calendar apps keep track of appointments and deadlines, sending reminders to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. These tools help small businesses operate efficiently and meet their goals.

Customer Engagement and Support

Providing excellent customer service is vital for small businesses to thrive. Mobile devices facilitate customer engagement through various channels, including social media, email, and live chat. Small business owners can respond to customer inquiries promptly, address concerns, and build lasting relationships. Customer relationship management (CRM) apps also offer mobile versions for on-the-go management of customer data.

If you\'re a small business owner, don\'t underestimate the potential of your smartphone or tablet—it might just be the unsung hero of your success story. To learn more about how we can help your organization leverage mobile technology, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.

How much does your business rely on technology to keep your organization running forward? As business technology becomes more complex, it’s becoming increasingly popular for organizations to have their own internal IT departments to manage and maintain it. Yet, small businesses don’t often have the necessary funds for such a feat. How can your company afford quality IT service? You can start by pursuing managed IT solutions from a managed service provider.

Unlike break-fix IT solutions, which depend on your technology breaking down, managed IT solutions aim to keep your technology in proper working order, as well as take action to proactively treat issues before they become long-term problems. Here are some of the best ways that managed IT can help your organization take better advantage of its technology.

Guaranteeing Flexibility

Let’s say that you choose to hire more employees for a specific department of your business. This means that you have more users, which can lead to more software licenses needed, more email accounts to archive, more endpoints to secure, and much more. Basically, as your workforce needs change, so too must your managed IT service agreement. MSPNetworks offers scalable solutions that can be customized to fit the needs of your business.

Supplementing In-House Maintenance

Let’s say that you do have an in-house technician or a small group of workers dedicated to IT maintenance. They might be able to get most of their work done, but generally speaking, your in-house technicians probably have their hands full. They might have their hands full with acting as help desk support, or they might be too busy maintaining the status quo to help the everyday worker with their technology. A managed IT provider helps to augment and work beside your in-house team to create greater success for your organization as a whole.

Working with Your Vendors

You work with a lot of vendors to give your company the access to the products your organization needs to be successful. This includes hardware vendors for your workstations and server units, software developers for all of your productivity suite needs, and any other service providers that you have. Reaching out to all of these can be time-consuming, which is why managed service providers like MSPNetworks offer vendor management services to create a single point of contact to keep your attention on your business and not your vendors.

Improving Operational Efficiency

Your business will generally function better by working with a managed service provider. The reason for this is simple: hands-off IT maintenance that takes up little, if any, of your time. MSPNetworks can remotely monitor and maintain your business’ technology infrastructure to provide as much of a hands-off approach to IT maintenance as you can get. To learn more about what MSPNetworks can do for your business, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Productivity is a concept that has long been viewed as the gold standard in businesses. However, with so many businesses currently transferring to remote operations in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, it can be challenging for all involved to work as productively as they would while in the office. On the other side of the coin, the right behaviors can make it quite effective. 

Let’s review a few suggestions that can help you ensure that your workforce is ready to work remotely. 

Communication is Even More Important

Unless your employees are completely self-sufficient in their responsibilities (which is incredibly unlikely), they are going to need to interact with their co-workers, as well as numerous contacts outside of the organization. This need doesn’t just go away once they happen to be working from home, either.

As a result, it is crucial that there are open lines of communication between and amongst your team members, and that they are used extensively--almost excessively.

Why is that? Simply put, to make up for the vast amount of in-person communication that you lose during this period. With your team surrounding you, it is much easier to share ideas and collaborate. When working remotely, it isn’t so convenient to do so, passing up great opportunities.

Therefore, it is only more important that you reinforce good communication habits, to the point that they become an integral part of the daily workflow. Make sure your team knows what options are available to them, in terms of communication, and that they are using them as often as needed.

Flexibility is a Benefit

Of course, not every employee works the same way. Some may find that different schedules are more effective than others, something that the office environment may not always allow. When your team is working from home, however, they can enjoy a greater opportunity to shift their schedule to meet their own productivity patterns. As long as the job gets done, right?

This can even assist employees when they have other obligations to fulfill. If someone in your office has a dentist appointment, instead of taking time off and ultimately costing the both of you (them in missed wages, and you in productivity), this employee could instead work from home before and after their appointment to make up the time that would otherwise be missed. Everybody wins!

Make sure that your team is aware of more than just the potential to sit in their pajamas all day, that remote working can be used to improve their work/life balance and allow them to prevent any consequences derived from missing time in the office.

Boundaries Matter

One of the biggest hurdles many organizations have had to overcome if they are serious about implementing remote work is the idea that it is too easy for an employee to become distracted when they aren’t in the office. Make sure that your employees remember how anything can seem preferable to the task they want to do--including household chores--but also that this phenomenon can just as easily happen in the office. The presence of family members can also contribute to some pretty significant distractions (most everyone has seen the BCC interview with Professor Robert Kelly where his young children barged in and stole the show), but also has the potential to help keep you accountable (“Shouldn’t you be working?”). Encourage your employees to recruit their family members to do the latter.

Productivity is possible from anywhere, as long as you have the tools and strategies in place to enable it. Even with the coronavirus already active, MSPNetworks can help you put these resources into action for your company. To learn more, reach out to our team by calling (516) 403-9001.

Wireless Internet access for a user’s devices isn’t just a luxury these days--it’s expected. If the Wi-Fi drops out for any reason at all, chaos strikes, rendering any ability to stream content or access the Internet a moot point. This is particularly the case for businesses that have technology solutions reliant on wireless access. How can you make sure your wireless network is as strong and reliable as possible?

A More Flexible Workplace
Take a moment to reflect on the devices used by your business. If it’s like more modern offices, you have employees using mobile devices or laptops more often than you see them using their desktop workstations. Employees simply like to have their options open in the office, and a strong wireless connection helps to make this possible. If you give your organization’s employees the ability to get work done on their own terms, you can empower them to be more productive with their time in the workplace.

Uptime is Maximized
Losing an Internet signal isn’t just annoying--it can be a major detriment to your organization’s success. Any situation when your business isn’t functioning as it’s supposed to be can be considered downtime, and it can be a major setback for any organization hoping to improve their bottom line. Think about it this way: if your business’ employees can’t work because the Internet is down, and they are still in the office waiting for it to return, then you’re paying them to do nothing--not exactly the most effective use of your operational funds. Ensuring a strong connection can reduce this risk considerably.

Distance from the Router Won’t Matter (As Much)
Sometimes an office is so big that it needs multiple wireless routers to ensure all employees have access to the network. Therefore, a solid connection can go a long way toward minimizing the influence that your office’s setup has on your employees’ Internet connection. There are issues that can get in the way and cause interference, but if your connection is strong thanks to a solid wireless router, you won’t have to worry as much about it.

To find out how MSPNetworks can help your business maintain a steady wireless connection, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.