Secrets to a Successful Business – Infrastructure, Backup, and Culture

Secrets to a Successful Business - Infrastructure, Backup, and Culture

According to CNBC, costs are not the only reason keeping small-business owners from embracing new technology: a lack of “learning resources” continues to a factor.

Better Technology = More Productivity

Even so, SMBs press themselves to become “tech-savvy,” knowing full well that the outcome can mean an increase in productivity.

Moreover, by partnering with an outside IT-managed service, SMB-owners can spend their time running their business instead of attempting new learning curves—like how to prepare their network for Disaster Recovery.

Start by assessing current systems

An existing network may be providing the scalability you need now, but will it adapt to the changes you foresee in the future? Are you optimizing the use of the cloud for your software (SaaS) and hardware-as-a-service (HaaS)?

For example, a cloud strategy can not only include the ability for interacting with customers worldwide (CRM platform), but also for secure data backups.

‘Storage’ without adding hardware

In addition to backing up company information, does the network meet compliance for storing company data?

Furthermore, do you have a DR plan in place with key people in the loop should a plan ever have to implemented? By using a managed cloud service, system upgrades can be automatically, for example, to help prevent malware and virus from infecting programs and files.

As the CNN overview notes, by making technology a key part of the business, even the smallest operation can create the right company culture to attract the right employees for future growth.

For sure, having the right mix of technology, including the use of an outside IT service, can advance productivity while preparing for future expansion plans.

Contact us to begin developing your plan to protect the digital tools you use in the workplace, from smartphones and tablets to on-premise networks single or multiple locations.  Trained professionals at WheelHouse IT are standing by to answer your questions.

PowerPoint Can Be For More Than Just Presentations

PowerPoint Can Be For More Than Just Presentations

Most offices contain a productivity suite, and most productivity suites will come with some type of slideshow software that can be used to prepare presentations.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a great tool to make slideshows, but it can be used for other purposes that you might not immediately think of. We’ll go over some of the best, including when and how you might want to use PowerPoint.

Creating Infographics

Infographics are a tried-and-true way to get across a lot of information in an easily consumable format, but it can be tricky to use certain solutions to create them.

Right out of the box, Microsoft PowerPoint is easy enough to use. You can create various graphs, images, and word art to build out info graphics designed to convey information in an easy-to-follow format. Since PowerPoint also works on a slide-by-slide basis, this makes it easy to compare and contrast information easily enough.

Making Quizzes

Let’s say that your employees need some security training. You’d rather not create another boring presentation that makes them zone out. You can create an engaging exercise by turning a PowerPoint presentation into a quiz.

For example, you can have one question be on one slide along with the answers to the question in a multiple-choice format. You can then display the answer on a separate slide afterward.

Create Animated Shorts

Did you know that PowerPoint actually has quite a lot of built-in animation functionality?

Using these, you can make simple animated shorts. They might not be terribly intuitive, but they are certainly better than nothing–and it’s a great way to get just a little bit more value out of your slideshow solution.

Onboarding New Employees

All businesses have an onboarding process, but depending on the type of organization, that process will differ.

If your organization has a lot of intensive tasks that need to be explained, a PowerPoint can be a great way to provide information about your company culture, any benefits the employee receives, and other important things that they should know.

This means that you can take a fairly long-winded process and have the employee review the information as they go. What are some ways your business uses PowerPoint? Let us know in the comments.

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