Skip to main content

Stars of the show: Cloud and VOIP

Stars of the show: Cloud and VOIP

Despite annoying challenges presented by the abrupt shift to the WFH model thanks to the pandemic, there were some tech heroes that saved the day. These two made WFH possible.

    The cloud
    The cloud is that platform whereby you outsource your data storage as well as many of your applications. With the cloud, your data and software applications are no longer physically located in a specific geographic location. Therefore, access is no longer tethered to a user's physical location. The cloud was the biggest game changer during the pandemic because it allowed businesses to get anytime, anywhere access to their data as well as critical applications. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that if it weren’t for the cloud, a lot of businesses wouldn’t have been able to survive the pandemic at all.

    VoIP
    Along with the cloud, VOIP proved to be one of the most critical elements when it came to business continuity during this pandemic. It revolutionized business communications. An acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP is a technology that allows you to communicate by sending voice as data packets using the internet. VoIP replaced the old PBX (the phone system which physically tied you to the office if you needed telephony services.) Because VoIP is internet based, it's functions are accessible from anywhere. It also offers a wider range of services. Going beyond being just a telephone or voice system, VoIP offered organizations a single, unified communication solution that fulfilled all their business communication requirements such as voice calling, video and audio conferencing, and other collaboration requirements--a lifesaver for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Because these two stars are so important to successful WFH, and because they can be difficult to manage with a small IT staff, using an MSP to manage these tools can be an excellent way to support an organization that relies even partly on remote work.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leveraging your business data to drive better business outcomes

Leveraging your business data to drive better business outcomes Smaller firms may hear about AI and how data is driving the big corporations of the world, but they often don’t realize that they can do the same. The size and age of your business doesn’t have to be a limiting factor in whether you use data. Today’s blog is a quick look at data management for the small firm. The first lesson is: don’t take your data for granted. The basic business model for some large IT companies is monetizing the data that they collect. While this may not be your goal, you probably collect a great deal of data about your customers, prospects, and operations. An MSP can help you make better use of that data. Here are just three examples: Marketing Data tells you who is interested, when they're interested, and in what they are interested. Data can tell you where each individual prospect sits in the sales funnel, so your marketing messages reach them exactly where they are. It can also track the...

Roadmaps for Data Security and for Strategic Planning

Roadmaps for Data Security and for Strategic Planning It is time you were encouraged to stop looking at the technology you use to run your business as just some reliable piece of invisible infrastructure that hums along in the background. Instead, business owners should look at technology from a strategic perspective. What can technology do to support business in the future? How can new technology help your present business evolve and adapt to new market demands and customer expectations? For instance, AI is a new technology that may create serious disruption in many industries. Failure to think into the future could put a business at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, most small businesses face two challenges that make it difficult to incorporate new technology into their strategic plans. In-house staff focus more on maintaining existing technology - For many SMBs, in-house IT staff resources are limited. As a result, much of their time and attention must be focused on putting out fi...

An MSP can help you prepare your business for tomorrow’s market

An MSP can help you prepare your business for tomorrow’s market Many small businesses tend to view an MSP as the local fire truck. Available when an emergency happens, they rush in, put out whatever tech fires broke out, and then leave. This is also known as the "break-fix” approach to technical support. However, an MSP can bring many types of value to a small business. In particular, an MSP can function as a strategic partner for a small business. Technology needs to be part of your long-term strategic planning. MSPs have the ability to devote energy to understanding emerging trends that can help your organization develop a “technology roadmap.” This is a long-term strategy document that outlines how and what technology should be used going forward. The roadmap takes a proactive view of technology as a strategic tool for the long-term growth of the business. Individual parts of a technology road map will address specific aspects of the company’s “technology” such as software de...