The modern work place is not the same as it was in the past. Instead of working in the same office during the same hours, workers are often not centrally located. Some employees may never even come into the office. Instead, they work remotely or from home.
How can you take advantage of this decentralized workplace, attract the best talent with the benefits it provides, and grow your business at the same time? You need to start with IT tools.
Identify the Right Hardware
How has this revolution been made possible? Instead of having all their employees located the same office, a business owner now has broader choices because of technology. Conference calls have taken the place of meeting rooms, and cell phones have taken the place of desk phones.
In order to grow your business, you need to start by identifying the right hardware. Your options are plentiful:
Laptop or Desktop Computers – These are the primary tool of your office worker. People who are going to do some light travel for extended periods might benefit from the portability of a laptop, while those who stay in the office the majority of time can do with a traditional desktop.
Tablets – Smaller, more portable and able to hold a long charge, tablets are ideal for the workforce on the go. Rugged tablets can even be used for work site or garage applications. Just remember they do not have the computing power of a traditional laptop or desktop.
Cell Phones – Mostly everyone has a cell phone or smart phone now. This means you can leverage the benefits of that technology by using VOIP that is forwarded to employee phones or provide employees with the benefit.
IT Infrastructure
Once you have the hardware worked out, you need to understand and create the infrastructure that will support it. What makes the hardware tools so powerful is the fact that employees can use them to collaborate and share over any distance.
File sharing, conferencing and collaborative workspaces are some of the keys to success. Files can be shared via email but even that has become rather cumbersome. Tools like SharePoint allow employees to create files, share them with others on the team who can edit them real time, and then forward those documents to customers.
Leveraging the cloud can be critical for the success of your business. Storage grows as you need it, and the space can be shared by everyone who needs access.
Streamline the Workflow
Once the tools are in place, it is time to use them. Start by figuring out how your workflow will benefit from them.
For example, do you have a sales team that needs to quickly communicate and share with your maintenance team? Then you should set up the tools which allow sales to get what maintenance needs in order to get the job done.
Stamford IT Strategy Experts at U.S. Computer Connection Can Help
Are you looking to leverage IT solutions to help grow your business and streamline your workflow? Then U.S. Computer Connection can help you form the Stamford IT strategy you need. Find us at uscomputer.com.