I have a confession to make, I am a bit of an organizer and minimalist (in part thanks to my daughter). There I said it!
I like my Tupperware stacked accordingly and if there is an off number of lids and bases, one must go. If a time came when the cabinet is being too crammed, time to clear it all out, reorganize and donate or give extras away with treats inside. Everything in my home that I keep has a purpose.
I wasn’t always this way. There are days that you may not believe this when looking at my desk with piles of paper (projects), that I am working on, but the truth is, too much clutter causes me stress.
I think the same can hold true with technology in our workplace settings.
Think of the variety of software solutions or apps you use at work to accomplish your daily tasks. Do you use:
- Salesforce or another CRM
- Quickbooks or accounting software
- VOIP phone solution
- Microsoft Office 365
- Docusign
- Google drive
- Cloud storage or Backup systems
and the list goes on, and on and on.
You may have a server sitting in a closet somewhere that houses some of these applications, but are you moving more and more to the Cloud? Are you looking at Cloud Hosted solutions like AWS or Azure? If so, what is your strategy for Cloud migration and management?
So many apps that we use daily have API integration (Application Programming Interface). This can allow for multiple platforms that we use regularly to flow from one system to the other seamlessly. For instance, our VOIP solution has an API with our Salesforce/CRM and also with our Constant Contact for newsletters. When a phone call comes in, it automatically logs that call in our customer database where we can add notes and assign tasks. We can also manage our facebook chats, our SMS from clients all under one contact center solution. In today’s world of all these cloud-based solutions, who is managing them? Where do you go to gain some consistency or security around what your employees/coworkers have access to both inside and outside work? Do you have a single sign-on for all your users? Let’s be real in discussing that many of our workers are still working remote and businesses are just now budgeting for security strategies to protect their business and client information. This month alone there have been some DDoS attacks compromising large platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Bandwidth.com with some downtime or quality issues affecting these services for business clients just like you.
Our industry is changing. We are having to adjust to make sure that what you use daily is going to integrate and work best with the solutions we are recommending for your business. One of our partners, Appsmart, is leading the way at being a one-stop-shop for all your technology needs to run your business. They have hundreds of cloud solutions in one marketplace and together we can help you navigate through it all and set up what you need to run and protect your business. At InteleCONNECT, we are fortunate to be one of their trusted advisors.
So, before you go and buy the latest kitchen gadget or gizmo, think about what purpose it will serve. Is it really necessary to optimize your culinary skills? Will it play nice in your drawer with all the other tools you have today? Then remember and think about your business needs, what tools do you have, what others are you considering, will they integrate with each other? Who can assist you in making good sound decisions? We would love to help you out with your strategy so that your business can stay organized, productive, and secure.
