In This Evolving Tech Landscape, People Are The Only Fixed Entity

In This Evolving Tech Landscape, People Are The Only Fixed Entity

Advancement demands evolution and adaptability. With technology changing by the day, the only certainty is that this ain’t your mama’s IT landscape. Gone are the archaic machines of the past in favor of systems that grow and develop with your business. In today’s IT ecosystem, people are the only single-fixed entity.

Exploring Tomorrowland

Business technology systems previously focused on creating self-sustaining machines and processes that supported minimal tech support. These dinosaurs of the past were high input in terms of initial costs based on an anticipated low future input in tech support costs. Because the knowledge base required for IT management was thought to be stagnant and relatively manageable, companies would previously allocate a greater budget towards training employees to troubleshoot and become proficient in technology systems on their own. 

This model inevitably failed to withstand the test of time due to one fatal flaw; technology is no dinosaur. Business technology systems are dynamic interfaces that require continued adaptation to meet new goals and outcomes. This changing landscape has lead to a shift in focus from self-taught amateur techies to full service IT professionals. According to CompTIA, a whopping 64% of businesses now use managed IT services.

In short, IT has taken on a “service model” approach to meet the needs of today’s professionals. Where past technology management focused near exclusively on troubleshooting and minimizing disruptions, managed IT services take on a holistic approach to anticipate needs and identify opportunities for growth. To put it in geek terms (our favorite language), think of it as the difference between a band-aid and a shiny, new cybernetic arm.

The Anchor in the Storm

As business systems advance in complexity, tech experts are the standard you can rely on. WheelHouse IT offers professional management services for business models of all types. We recognize that changes means growth. More and more businesses are expanding the way they manage data, with SaaS platforms and Managed Cloud Environments. Sharepoint and One Drive offer new avenues for streamlining collaborative processes in both large and small environments. Our knowledgeable tech gurus engage businesses at each step — from compliance and firewall management to protect your valuable assets, to on-site training and VOIP services to elevate your staff. With co-managed support options, clients are in control of the level of consulting.

Today’s managed IT services are so much more than troubleshooting — we’re the forward looking and solution focused constant in a world of changing dynamics. Get started today and check out our knowledge center for more business technology insights.

How to Select a Phone Solution (and How to Properly Use It)

How to Select a Phone Solution (and How to Properly Use It)

Considering how long we’ve had access to the basic technology, telephones (and proper telephone etiquette while using them) haven’t changed all that much on the surface. What has changed is how the technology fundamentally works, and the options that are available for businesses.

Here, we’ll go over some of the options today’s businesses have.

Selecting the Type of Phone to Use

While many may be tempted to eschew the incorporation of telephony in their business, this temptation should be resisted. After all, most businesses still rely on a phone for communication purposes, so any business that doesn’t have one is cutting off a valuable source of client communications. This also makes the decision of what kind of phone to utilize an extremely important one.

There are a variety of options that a business has when selecting a phone to use, each with its own pros and cons. Admittedly, some of these options have slowly had their benefits phased out by current trends and through the introduction (and improvement) of these benefits by other approaches.

Landline

This is the phone system that, until relatively recently, was the option for anyone who wished to use the telephone. Utilizing the connections provided by the telephone company, a company would need to host PBX (or private branch exchange) hardware on their premises. A PBX system would allow for the creation of the company’s needed extensions as well as the incorporation of many of the business’ necessary telephone functions, including directories and call transferring.

While there is a high comfort level with these solutions, many service providers are gradually abandoning landlines, and the Internet access speeds that many companies require have allowed them to explore other options more easily.

Virtual Phone

Virtual phone systems can often be the middle ground between traditional telephony and a VoIP solution. With incoming calls potentially processed through traditional telephony and forwarded to employees through VoIP solutions, the features of this kind of system can give a business that relies heavily on its remote employees a means of unifying their communications, as well as some advanced features bundled in.

VoIP

A VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system is one that eliminates the need for traditional telephony entirely. Instead, VoIP utilizes the Internet connection that your business already needs for the rest of its tasks, or can be leveraged as an app on a smartphone. In addition, most VoIP solutions include the same enhanced features that a business would need, for a much more affordable cost. These can be leveraged in two ways, though an on-premise system, or through a cloud-based service. Each approach has its own pros and cons.

An in-house system will initially cost your business a tidy expense, as the equipment needed to host the system itself is not cheap. Furthermore, you will need to pay a monthly fee for the necessary components that allow you to make calls. Any maintenance or upgrades will fall to your staff, and will require some skill.

However, this also means that you are in complete and total control of your business telephony.

Utilizing a cloud-hosted system will mean that everything is handled for you – you may not need to buy hardware, and you don’t have any maintenance to worry about. This also means that if your phone system goes down, your provider is the only one who can do anything about it. You’re also susceptible to Internet outages, as that is what allows the system to function.

Despite all this, VoIP is a very reliable solution (especially with a good service level agreement), with little that you have to worry about besides the monthly bill.

At WheelHouse IT, we have the expertise to recommend and implement the right phone system for you. Call (877) 771-2384 for more information.