Small business technology crunched -

get the insight on 5 major advances not to miss

What this guide will tell you?

The background to recent office technology advances available to

small businesses

What advances are small businesses achieving adopting new technologies

Which are the 5 key technologies that enable small business to grow ahead of

the competition

What is the best way to adopt technology change to reap the benefits

4 things to do today to prepare your business to accelerate

Technology is becoming a key enabler of small business growth

“smarter work practices are

playing an important role in

business growth right now,

much of which is being

facilitated by technology, but

this isn't always immediately

apparent.”

Source: Emma Jones, founder of small

business community Enterprise Nation

“Traditionally, our perception of

a growing business is one that's

hiring lots of people, whereas in

fact now 70% of businesses

that start in the UK do so from

home.”

“the main way that we're

seeing businesses grow is by

outsourcing and subcontracting

work, as opposed to hiring

people full time. Technology is a

key enabler to all of this,

through software like

Basecamp.”

“The UK is witnessing record

start-up rates at the moment.

In 2012 there were 484,000

new limited companies.

This year the UK is on track to

hit half a million.”

Technology savvy businesses grow faster

“from 2010 to 2012, IT-enabled

small and midsize businesses

created jobs almost twice as

fast than other less tech-savvy

businesses.” (BCG)

“businesses that are technology

leaders increased annual

revenues 15 percent faster than

those that are slow to adopt

new technologies.” (BCG)

Sources: Boston Consulting Group study & Microsoft

“modern technology solutions today enable you and your employees to

be more efficient, work remotely, learn from your data, and get more

done. Cloud services, mobility solutions, and business analytics all offer

valuable capabilities that allow small and midsize businesses access to

the same technology solutions that used to be reserved for larger

companies.

While poised to benefit from these growth enablers, small business

owners need to evaluate how to take advantage of modern technology

to grow and transform your business.” (Microsoft)

The five key technologies that enable small

business to grow ahead of the competition

1. Software Online (or SaaS software as a service) What is it?

Quite simply this is using the internet to deliver access to the software

you need when you need to use it. You simply login to the service

through your browser and access all the facilities you need.

Examples to Explore:

• Microsoft Office 365 – all your familiar office products (word, excel, etc.) plus a

lot more (cloud storage, online meetings, web site hosting)

• Xero, Kashflow – online accounting software

• Salesforce.com– Online sales and marketing software

• Expensify – Automated online expenses

Benefits:

• Rent your software rather than buy – pay for your software by

monthly subscription, only buy what you need and add new users in

minutes

• No lengthy downloads or upgrading – all software is kept up to date

online

• Link packages together – many providers have links to other

services so link your sales software (CRM) to your accounting

package and

your bank

System features:

Abbreviated Dialling, Auto Attendant, Call Forwarding, Call Parking, Call Pickup,

Call Recording, Call Return, Call Transfer, Call Waiting, Conference Bridge, Dial

Directory, Fax To Email, Hunt Group, Intercom Dialling, Music On Hold, Three Way

Calling Voicemail.

Benefits:

• Reduced overall costs – unlimited plans, cheaper overseas calling

• Reduced hassle - no clunky site equipment needed in your office,

no lengthy engineer visits to install

• No maintenance costs

• Fully scalable no matter how many more staff you bring on board.

New users can be set up in minutes

2. VoIP Office Telephone System What is it?

Your telephone calls are routed via your broadband line and all

of the features you would expect from an office telephone system

are managed online.

The five key technologies that enable small

business to grow ahead of the competition

Phone Internet Connection

(Router)

A fully mobile enabled office will have:

• A web site that is adapts to the device it is being viewed on

• Direct links between office telephones and mobile phones

• Data stored on line (in the cloud) so that it can be accessed anywhere

at any time

• A policy of buying lighter weight mobile devices like laptops and tablets rather

than desktop computers

Benefits:

• Increased efficiency – employees out of the office can be productive

wherever they are

• Flexibility – employees can elect to work form home reducing

travelling and other down-time

• Employee satisfaction - employees are encouraged by their ability

to fit work around the demands of home life and will catch up in

their own time on mobile devices

3. Mobile What is it?

It’s not just buying a mobile phone. It’s making sure all your

information & services are available as well over mobile devices as

they are on your desktop computer.

The five key technologies that enable small

business to grow ahead of the competition

Common concerns:

• Will my data be safe? Often more so than if you stored it in your office. The big

data storage providers back things up and keep the data in very secure and

resilient facilities

• Will others see my data? No, again the storage providers are pretty hot on

security and only giving access to those who have the correct permission

Benefits:

• Increased safety and security – your data is backed up and kept

securely. If you had an office fire you could lose all your information.

Keeping it in the cloud will prevent this.

• Cost efficiency – as with all computer costs fallen. Cloud based

data storage is low cost and sometimes free

• Access your data any time any where. As your information is

available online, you can access it any where over any kind of

device.

4. Internet Data Storage (The Cloud) What is it?

Instead of storing your information locally on your computers hard

drive. It is passed over the internet to storage provided by a

specialist data storage company.

The five key technologies that enable small

business to grow ahead of the competition

The five key technologies that enable small

business to grow ahead of the competition

Top apps for the small business:

• Train times – The national rail enquiries app gives you live train information, it

even gives you platform information if you have to change invaluable when you

are travelling

• Camera – Don’t scribble down what's on the whiteboard take a picture

• LinkedIn – Look someone up the moment you have met them

Benefits:

Convenience and efficiency

• Always connected via your mobile device

• Often free

• Dedicated to deliver one solution like the weather, or maps or train

times

• They save your information and settings so that you can use them

seamlessly across devices

• They update themselves

5. Apps (on your mobile devices) What are they?

They are small software programs designed to run on mobile

devices. They typically take advantage of information flowing into the

devices like location, pictures (from the camera) and the internet.

What is the best way to introduce these new technologies into my business?

Don’t attempt to do everything at once – evolution rather than revolution.

Your employees will have to adapt in some cases to a new way of working

Start where there is most immediate advantage – moving to a VoIP telephone

system for example will give you cost savings from day one

Don’t get confused by the range of solutions on offer, keep it simple and look

for things that can work for your specific situation

What four things can I do today to prepare your business to accelerate?

Plan to grow • Research your options online

• Involve others in your business to help make the best decisions

• Set a goal as to what improvement level you want to achieve

• Check when your existing service contracts expire and diarise a change

What next?

Download our White Paper THE HOSTED BUSINESS

PHONE SYSTEM - a flexible and

cost effective option for a growing

small business – NOW!