Technically Easy

Category: Technology

  • IT Pitfalls to Avoid When Your Business is Growing

    IT Pitfalls to Avoid When Your Business is Growing

    As your business grows, it can be tempting to concentrate on building new leads, increasing your sales, and pushing your brand. After all, if you want your new venture to flourish, expansion is key to seeing your dreams become a realization. There is, however, one area of business that often gets neglected as we strive to put our business on the map, and that area is IT.

    When a business consists of two or three employees, IT issues are often treated as a minor nuisance.But as your company grows, ignoring your business’s IT infrastructure can lead to a lot of trouble.

    Here are a few basic best practices that will help you make sure IT isn’t another wrench in your wheels.

    Use cloud-based software distribution

    Picture this scenario. You are two years into your business, which has expanded from just one employee working in a spare room, to a bustling office of 20 full-time workers. Everyone is busy, sales are high (hopefully), and your dream is starting to materialize.

    One day, an employee from sales introduces you to a whole new CRM platform that you absolutely love.So you decide to buy it. The problem is, this software has to be manually installed on each employee’s computer. Calculate how much downtime that is for both your IT guy and your employees who have to stare at the ceiling while they’re getting their computer hooked up into the new software.

    When you find yourself in this sort of situation, or preferably before you do, it is wise use cloud-based software distribution.

    In layman’s terms, distributing your software through a cloud-based application helps you connect to your entire IT infrastructure to administer, update, and even patch your software without the need for individual employees to do it themselves. This means your IT administrator doesn’t need to gain physical access to the computers either, but rather gain access from the cloud.

    Now instead of “earning” many hours of downtime by installing software manually in your business’s devices, you can get it done in a click of a button at OOO hours like three in the morning, to not let your employees time go to waste.

    Connect your business software to one cohesive platform

    On the subject of software, another area that occasionally gets neglected when a burgeoning business starts to really bloom is that of ‘software cohesion’.

    If you have ever been asked to provide a spreadsheet for a meeting which resulted in a thirty-minute search through emails, Skype conversations, and the company NAT servers, then you probably need to streamline the use of your software.Luckily, these days you have so many options available, that cutting the use of some software out completely or moving to a more fully functional application is pretty easy.

    If you find your internal communications are spread across multiple platforms, companies such as Slack may have all the functionality that you need, allowing you to consolidate the number of options you need to scour through when trying to find a document or conversation thread. Need to find a file? Search in Slack. Need to find a conversation thread? Enter a keyword and search in Slack. Need to make a VOIP call to another team member? You’ve guessed it, you can do that from within Slack.

    If Slack doesn’t suit you, then perhaps Flock or Microsoft Teams would suit your needs better. Whatever your particular needs, you are more than likely to find a collaboration tool that will simplify your work life, consolidate your data in one place, and give management a much better overview of how the cogs are turning each day.

    When the time comes, upgrade to enterprise-level solutions

    Lastly, one final aspect of our IT strategies that often gets forgotten about, is when to embrace enterprise level tech, as opposed to the consumer grade versions.If your workforce has expanded to more than just a handful of employees, you will eventually have to move your business onto an enterprise level tech solution that works for you.

    Business-grade products are specifically designed to eliminate problems that can exist when using consumer-grade versions, and allow you to scale easily, and securely. While it may look like a cheaper option to continue running the free versions of various software programs that are being used in your office, there will come a time when you hit a wall. When this happens, your workflow will slow down until it is dealt with.

    Luckily, there are many enterprise-level solutions that now run remotely in the cloud, that upgrading is not the headache it used to be. Where you might have hired an IT expert to install a NAS server in your basement a decade ago, cloud-based storage has now taken over physical storage my a huge magnitude, and VOIP-based telephony is now treading the same path. If you feel that your business is starting to outgrow the tech that you originally implemented when starting your business, get the issue sorted quickly. You will thank yourself later.

    In conclusion

    Keeping on top of your IT needs shouldn’t be put on the backburner. The sooner you get your IT plan aligned with your business strategy, the quicker you can go back to doing what you do best, running the company.

  • Find Out Who’s Calling You and Why

    Find Out Who’s Calling You and Why

    Once you give out your phone number to any business, you are likely to begin receiving unknown phone calls. Many places sell contact information to telemarketers. You may also receive phone calls or texts from politicians during election time.

    Your first response may be to ignore these calls. Over time, however, they may become numerous and disruptive. Take the time to search the phone numbers to find out who is calling you and why they are so determined.

    Reverse Phone Lookup

    The first place to start is with a reverse phone lookup. This allows you to find out the name of the individual or company that owns the phone number. If the number is well-hidden, you may only get a general description of its origin.

    This may tell you, however, if it is a telemarketer or a bill collector. The caller may also be described as an individual or business. This can give you a better idea of how to proceed. A telemarketer call can be blocked to keep your phone from ringing nonstop.

    If the call turns out to be someone you know or an important business communication, you can then safely return the call.

    People Search

    The next step to finding out about mystery callers is a people search. You can enter the name of the person that is calling you and get more information. This can include an address, family members, and public records.

    You can choose how much information you want to receive by deciding what you would like to purchase. Basic information is often free of charge, making this a great first step to ending unnecessary phone calls. It can also make you feel safer when you know who has your information.

    Handling the Calls

    Many people are hesitant to answer an unknown phone call. There are many dishonest people that may be trying to find out about your identity. It is best to let the phone go to voicemail if you are not sure about the origin of the call. Legitimate callers usually leave a voicemail.

    Telemarketers usually go on to the next call without leaving their name or a request for a call back. As soon as you receive an unknown call, begin the search to find out more. This way you can immediately connect with the caller if it is important or block the call if the caller is undesirable. This also helps you to keep from being interrupted by anonymous calls throughout your busy day.

    You may need to check phone numbers daily until you can get things under control. Once your phone number has been handed out to telemarketers, it can take a while to get all the numbers recognized and blocked. Sometimes, callers may even call from a different number after you block the first phone number.

    Find out as much information as you can about the caller by continuing to a people search, if necessary. It is important for your safety to find out who is calling you and to stop strangers from abusing your phone number.

  • The Growing Trend of Flexible Working and How to Support It

    The Growing Trend of Flexible Working and How to Support It

    The office space landscape is such that free-thinking entrepreneurs can find themselves benefiting from a serviced office and workspace industry that offer shoe-string budgets a great alternative to a conventional office.

    Gone are the days when professionals and businesses fork over thousands of dollars in Melbourne, Sydney, and other major cities for office space. In fact, many of today’s workspace solutions have eliminated large initial start-up costs to fund comfortable office space, in some cases office space sitting in the country’s premier business districts.

    In fact, businesses, large and small, are discarding traditional office space for cheaper, more convenient formats. Serviced offices all over the country are finding it more cost-effective to provide businesses flexibility to work anywhere – hot desk, dedicated desk and offices available in most parts of the country, especially in the urban landscape. While this trend of providing flexible office space to business has been a revolution in the making for years, today’s businesses are finding newer contemporary workspace plans are not only budget-friendly but allow for more flexibility than in past times.

    Continue reading to learn more about how flexible working is being supported in today’s office space landscape.

    The multitude of options

    Within the serviced office industry itself, businesses have had the long-standing executive suite that provides businesses with fully-furnished and staffed supported office space without the ridiculous price tag.

    However, the co-working space and virtual office are some of the newer workspace styles that not only have drastically reduced the cost of overhead for many businesses, but they have also provided businesses versatility in being able to use space for different functions and the flexibility of not tying businesses to protracted contracts.

    At the end of the day, this trend in flexible working options has given businesses a number of options that do not commit them to unrealistic contracts or protracted agreements.

    The flexibility and support of the virtual office

    The virtual office, for example, provides smaller outfits with the change to lease space on an as-needed basis by providing them with a quality internet connection and some of the basic necessities that are required of the standard office.

    In this increasingly paperless office, businesses are simply cutting costs because the opportunity to set up an online infrastructure for remote-working platforms reduces the reliance on printers and ink cartridges. Businesses operating through a virtual office get the benefit of support that allows professionals to work from any place in the world without being away from their office.

    The flexibility and support of the co-working space

    The co-working space, of the many options, has provided businesses with a platform for not only getting the work of business done but also for providing businesses with the chance to connect with other professionals.

    However, the coworking phenomenon has also become a monster in the office space landscape in recent years because accelerator and incubator programs have been a great part of shaping and supporting the business landscape.

    Conglomerates have found that much of the activity-based work that is so central to the co-working space can be adapted for the corporate model. Whether it is the community that provides the backbone of support for professionals or just being able to work an environment filled with resources, co-working has definitely left an indelible mark on the business community.

    Flexible Support In An Ever-changing Landscape

    Of course, technology has been at the core of shaping and supporting industry, and in office space, this is no different. However, technology has created platforms that have closed the gap for both domestic and international business.

    Through convenient, accessible resources, many businesses are finding that starting a venture can be done very inexpensively and that the new office space platform provides them with a versatility unseen or heard of before.

  • Why Outsourcing Is Changing So Rapidly

    Why Outsourcing Is Changing So Rapidly

    A large percentage of the workforce is getting younger every week, every month, and every year. They are increasingly disgruntled with the typical 9-5 setup that is required of most positions that offer little growth, skill development, or flexibility in terms of change.

    Many are opting to take on the challenge of being a digital nomad, or at least a member of the workforce with a few days a week of remote work. This added flexibility gives them the chance to work the way they want to or take advantage of longer than usual weekends and holidays. A happier workforce is usually a more efficient workforce. For this reason, the outsourcing industry is being flooded with both agencies and would be employees that are looking to make the most out of this transition.

    The difference lies in how they approach it. Outsourcing agencies, like Trust Sourcing company, are not the same as hosted sites such as Upwork, they have greater attention to testing and developing their freelancers/remote workers.

    Sites like Upwork are filled to the brim with scammers on both sides, which damages many employers and employees idea of what can be done with outsourcing. Nothing is worse than getting stiffed for work that was done. At the same time, there is nothing worse than paying a large amount for quality only to be disappointed by subpar work.

    What kind of jobs are being done?

    There are a wide variety of jobs that are being outsourced. Whilst most who think outsourcing picture the rhetoric of American factory jobs being moved overseas to lessen costs, the reality is quite different.

    Digital outsourcing is often project based in the initial stages. It can range from website to software builds to lead generation to outsourcing customer service for product launches. In fact, lead generation outsourcing to the Philippines have contributed a notable increase in the growth of customer base of many businesses. Pay and budget can vary just as widely, from abysmal to fantastic. In literal terms, from $50 per project to $1,000,000+ depending on what’s required and its importance.

    Due diligence becomes a matter of focus for both sides of the outsourcing industry. Some outsourcing agencies spend a large chunk of time recruiting only the best and then heavily vet them to ensure there are minimal problems.

    Where does it go from here?

    With firms such as Toptal that focus only on the best of the best, every outsourcing agency will invariably have to specialize.

    Specialization helps segment the market to make it as easy as possible for both employers and freelancers to know exactly what they are getting into. It saves time and money. Specialists will join particular agencies where work will be perfectly suited to their skill sets and projects will be frequent.

    The normal lapse in either high-quality freelancers or consistent work for them will be practically eliminated. As more countries join in, pricing will vary until there is a standard set for most projects that assure only quality freelancers will participate.

    Regardless of what happens, the market will continue to shift as the freelancer pool becomes wider.

  • Reasons to Move Your Business to the Cloud

    Reasons to Move Your Business to the Cloud

    Companies invest a lot of money in the software they use for their business. Cloud computing enables your business to access software from anywhere, so long as you have an active internet connection. It is also a safe way of storing and accessing your company’s data.

    For those who are not familiar, cloud computing refers to the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. This means that files can be accessed from virtually anywhere with an active internet connection.

    If your business has not migrated to the cloud, it’s time to start making the migration, for many reasons.

    Moving to the cloud can benefit your business – here’s how

    Cloud storage is the way of the future. In this digital world, no one wants to rely on paper files or the risk of hard drive failure. Now thanks to cloud storage, businesses don’t have to. Cloud storage allows for the storage of more files using less space, without the need for bulky servers. This reduces the need to have a dedicated IT staff on site to maintain servers.

    Cloud storage may seem scary, but it brings many benefits, such as:

    • Reduced costs
    • Flexibility
    • Scalability
    • Data security
    • Automatic backup
    • Improved collaboration
    • Employees can work remotely

    In addition, companies also enjoy energy savings, disaster recovery, better business focus and staff resource allocation. There are no files to store and no bulky servers to house. By migrating to cloud storage, companies can focus more on their business and spend less time worrying about data issues. Cloud storage saves money, which accommodates future growth. Your staff can be best used elsewhere, not waiting for a hardware or software issue to happen.

    Because data can be accessed from anywhere, you can adjust schedules and tailor work to fit your business needs. This is particularly helpful if your business is open nights, weekends or holidays, when in-house staff would otherwise not be available.

    If you’re an organization that writes grants, a cloud-based grants management system can help meet goals, allowing access from anywhere at any time. Next-generation grants management software plays an integral role in organizations meeting their needs.

    Moving to the cloud is easier than ever

    Moving your data to the cloud is easier than you might realize. If your business is considering this big move, it’s important to do your research. Start by using a trusted vendor to ensure your transition is done properly, and well. You’ll want to hire a company with experienced developers who can determine which things are necessary to move over, and which ones are not worth bothering with.

    A good vendor will walk you through the entire migration process, giving you a clear picture of how your data will be secured. At the end of the migration, your vendor should do a test run to ensure all data was transferred over.. They’ll also conduct a dummy traffic test to ensure your site can accommodate the increase in traffic. This step will also help to identify points of weakness that need to be corrected before completion.

    Moving to the cloud might be the best decision your business makes in 2019. Start the process and streamline your business data storage process.

  • Beyond the Hype: What are Advanced Analytics?

    Beyond the Hype: What are Advanced Analytics?

    All analytics is advanced, right? Not necessarily. Analytics is actually a catchall term that describes a number of different disciplines organized in hierarchical order. Here’s how it looks in ascending order:

    1. Descriptive Analytics – Understanding what happened.
    2. Diagnostic Analytics – Understanding why it happened.
    3. Predictive Analytics – Imagining what could happen.
    4. Prescriptive Analytics – Imagining what should happen.
    5. Cognitive Analytics – Causing something to happen.

    The term “analytics” typically refers to the first two categories. This technology relies on basic formulas to offer a backward-looking evaluation of data. It saves a lot of time and labor, but the insights are rather shallow.

    The term “advanced analytics” refers to the final three. These types of analysis are forward-looking. And, until relatively recently, they were largely theoretical. Developers could predict the potential of analyzing data in-depth on a large scale, yet they lacked the technology to make it practical. Now that technology exists, and advanced analytics is a reality.

    A recent survey from NewVantage Partners polled executives on how their companies use data and want to use it. The number one goal for these executives was using advanced analytics to improve decision making. Impressively, 69 percent of those respondents had already achieved success towards that goal. That is exciting news when you consider what advanced analytics actually has to offer.

    Getting More from Your Most Valuable Asset

    It’s been true for a long time that data is the single most-valuable asset companies own. It has immense strategic potential, and it’s largely proprietary. This data, more than anything else, is what gives a company a competitive advantage. Advanced analytics lets you get more from the data you already have. You can turn existing information into a clear and accurate forecast for the future. That way, every decision you make is informed and confident. Advanced analytics almost makes it possible to collect and leverage new types of data, further refining your foresight.

    Supercharging Your Business Strategy

    Managing a business is largely about overcoming unknowns. Companies expend massive resources trying to guess what will happen, plan in advance, and overcome their missteps. Advanced analytics offers relief from this stumbling cycle because it provides clarity about the future.

    Predictive and prescriptive analytics allow companies to avoid obstacles early and seize on opportunities sooner. And with cognitive analytics, companies can actually control their own fate. These are the kinds of capabilities that every business in history has wished for. Advanced analytics makes them possible.

    Extending Insights to All

    The term “advanced analytics” obscures one of its most impressive features – It’s actually easier too. Advanced analytics is designed to be more powerful and prognosticating than what came before.

    But it’s also designed to be more intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly. Getting insights is as easy as entering a question into a search bar. Some solutions even let you use voice commands.

    Then, when the insights are delivered, they are formatted into advanced visualizations that bring the takeaways to life. These tools are easy enough for anyone to use regardless of their technical training. And since they can be embedded into just about everything, analytics can enhance any workflow. It may sound counter-intuitive, but choosing advanced analytics actually makes the implementation and onboarding process simpler.

    The word “advanced” gets thrown around a lot, so how do you know if a solution truly offers “advanced analytics?” Start by looking for some of the features mentioned above like voice recognition.

    Then look at how the system incorporates artificial intelligence, which is required for complex, large-scale analysis. Finally, test out how user-friendly it is. If it seems like a tool that could give you clarity and certainty, it probably deserves to be called advanced. Don’t wait too long to make your company advanced as well.

  • Gain the Edge with ICP Agile Certified Coach Training

    Gain the Edge with ICP Agile Certified Coach Training

    The ICP Agile Certified Coach course or ICP-ACC training is one out of two Continuous Learning Certifications (CLCs) provided by the Agile Coaching and Facilitation Track. This training lets participants grow into the position of an Agile coach. Using this form of Agile management training, you may not only facilitate but mentor highly skilled agile teams.

    You are taught to focus on creating achievable goals for your team through improved team practices. Professionals are given the tools and in-depth knowledge of problem-solving, guidance techniques and effective team building to gain improved team performance.

    Studies prove that of having an Agile coach increases their efficiency by 300%. Comparatively, studies also indicate that a lack of an Agile coach only upgrades the efficiency by a mere 35%. This is assuming the Scrum team has capable project managers and certified Scrum technicians capable of managing the Agile framework.

    What the course is about

    This course is aimed at building the mindset and skills of a professional Agile coach. This includes all responsibilities of the coach that is necessary and helps build valuable tools to manage various scenarios effectively. The course covers numerous aspects needed in becoming a highly successful Agile coach. This encompasses numerous skills that the coach must possess so they may be able to navigate through a robust start-up agenda.

    This ICP-ACC course offered by KnowledgeHut is covered over 21 hours via an online training medium that emphasises the importance of a coach setting boundaries and clarifies the difference between being a mentor and coaching a team. Learning the basics of agile is crucial when being a coach as is the mindset shift required to suit the position this will ensure your team is on a high-performance track.

    This course also highlights key philosophies of being a coach like the importance of creating the correct team environment and the importance of team development focused on optimised performance. Resolving conflicts using tools provided by Agile to clear impediments of any nature is key. While organizational impediments are part of any team, conflict resolution by knowing how to manage them is an essential skill this course offers.

    Key takeaways

    Upon the completion of the 21-hour training course, you earn the ICP-ACC certification or the ICP Agile Certified Professional – Agile Certified Coach certification. This enables you to be in the most favourable position when it comes to understanding the responsibilities of a Scrum expert and the mindset of an Agile coach. Using these tools, you can lead and mentor a highly effective and efficient team that produces at the highest levels. You are also awarded 24 PDUs and SEUs during the course.

    Having prior experience with Agile and Scrum can be beneficial for this course but is not a requirement for enrollment.

    Why KnowledgeHut

    KnowledgeHut unites some of the most talented professionals to impart their knowledge and skill during this course. You are given the opportunity to learn from and meet the best of the best across industries while being allowed to pick their brains on scenarios and challenges you may struggle within Scrum management. Add to that, the fact that KnowledgeHut is a registered education provider or REP of the Scrum Alliance and your employability increases as do your chances of advancement at a rapid pace.

  • My First Payment Gateway: 3 Important Fees to Consider

    My First Payment Gateway: 3 Important Fees to Consider

    Integrated payment technology uses APIs in order to connect to gateways. Through using API integration, the payment gateway provider can manage the tasks that are necessary to complete a transaction.

    Also, they give you, the platform owner, complete control over how the checkout page will appear and look. And it allows you to obtain a range of payment types, including debit and credit cards.

    This gives you to accept a wide range of payment types, including debit cards, ACH and eWallets. This means that you’ll be able to keep your customers embedded in your brand while also serving a high quality check out experience.

    And in this guide, we can help you understand the payment gateway integration costs. This will help you create a budget and drive your IT team to make the payment gateway app successfully. So keep reading to learn more!

    1. Incidental fees

    There are a few incidental fees you have to consider when calculating your payment gateway integration cost. A chargeback occurs when a client contacts a bank to complain about an unauthorized problem or charge with the service provider and requests for a refund.

    The client’s bank will then ask for money back to your bank, and this might require some paperwork, you might get a chargeback fee.

    2. High rate from certain cards

    Often there will be one price, but this might not be possible in every scenario. For instance, there are some credit cards that can be charged more than others. A credit card that offers certain privileges tends to cost higher.

    Additionally, business cards can cost more to process fully. You might have to pay for a large commission rate if your customer wants to pay with a foreign card or another currency. So you’ll want to know more about different pricing options.

    3. Plugin price

    There are some payment gateways that come with pre-built extensions that you can use in your online store but can charge you for this. For example, some of the plugins on PrestaShop might cost you around 100s of euros.

    Conclusion

    You should take some time to research when choosing the right payment gateway. There is a huge variation in pricing, and this can make a difference to your bottom line. PayPal, for instance, is a well-known platform and might be tempting to use, but with the higher commission rates means that you’re just paying for the name.

    And it requires your customers to be redirected to the website and log onto your account, which can disrupt your process. We suggest that you understand the entire pricing strategy, so you don’t experience any surprises and don’t want to pay more than necessary, while still obtaining the benefits from a secure and safe option.

    Do you have any questions about utilizing your payment gateways?

    Share in the comments below.