Technology and Productivity Go Hand in Hand

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) understand the importance of technology for productivity, and are constantly looking for new technology to create a workforce that is more productive, more efficient, and more innovative. In addition, the rising trend of remote workers has led to an increased demand for on-demand data: data that is accessible at any time, from anywhere. According to David Klein, Director of Marketing for the timesheet management software ClickTime, productivity can best be described as “the strategic alignment of vision, focus, and technology.” Productivity can be improved by identifying technology solutions that unlock these attributes. The ability to accomplish this all while staying under budget is a goal of all SMBs. Here are some examples of how to increase productivity in business using today’s technologies:

1. Connect dispersed workforces. As in-house staff levels contract and the mobile workforce expands, businesses are making due with smaller physical office spaces. More and more companies are giving their employees the option to work offsite, allowing them to save money on the overhead required to maintain large workspaces. This option also allows hiring managers to cast a wider net into the talent pool, increasing the odds of finding a well-qualified candidate. Productive employees need instant access to business information, data, and their team; mobile-friendly technologies are a sure-fire way to provide that.
2. Enable collaboration tools. Collaboration is essential to business, but employees don’t have to be in adjoining cubicles to achieve it. Increased productivity due to technology has become not only a convenience, but a necessity. With the abundance of free applications like Google’s cloud-based suite of products, staff members working from remote locations can collaborate and share documents easily. Custom cloud solutions offer more robust solutions with greater security for sensitive data. Unified Communications (UC) systems allow for various types of communication- so you can choose which would be the most effective: a phone call, an instant message, a conference session, or video chat. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce, Zoho or Insightly allow your sales team to save time by keeping track of the status of a prospect in one shared location. These solutions increase consistency in your customer relations, which, in turn, increase productivity and profitability.Related Reading: Top 10 Web-Based Tools for Small Businesses
3. Get organized. Countless hours can be wasted searching through spreadsheets for information stored in large data sets, some of which are only accessible via desktop. Investing in a database system that allows your staff to easily add and access data pays for itself in efficiency. For example, a cloud-based time tracking software such as ClickTime allows on-the-road employees to keep track of their hours, mileage, and expenses, all in one place. Tracking solutions such as these keep the mundane yet critical information accurate and in one place, which helps managers, employees, and clients remain compliant, well-informed, and productive.
4. Be reachable. Make sure your remote employees are armed with updated mobile devices and the support solutions to keep them connected. A missed call can mean a missed business opportunity. Invest in a business phone system with UC so you can take advantage of the features that keep you connected. Voicemail to email, find-me-follow-me, softphones, and work caller ID are all features that ensure employees never miss an opportunity, all while maintaining a consistent level of professionalism.Related Reading: Business Phone System Apps and Integrations
5. Know your pain points. Productivity can be improved by making a careful assessment of your company’s greatest productivity challenges. For example, dealing with slow or obsolete technology or throttled Internet bandwidth can slow down even the most productive employees. Develop a plan to proactively upgrade hardware and software on a regular basis before it slows you down and breaks the budget.
6. Explore virtualization. Extend the lifespan of older desktop computers by virtualizing operating systems on offsite servers. Virtualization helps lower hardware maintenance costs and capital expenditures by reducing the frequency of required upgrades, in addition to saving costs on service upkeep. If you already have a virtualized environment, add things such as your phone system to it to save even more and increase business redundancy. It’s hard to be productive during a power outage, and downtime is expensive, so having a virtual copy of your infrastructure can get your team back up and running instantly.Related Product: Switchvox for VMware® | Virtualized Unified Communication
7. Trust the experts. Technology and productivity are intrinsically linked, but there’s a vast amount of tech available, and it can be overwhelming to master it all. Instead of attempting to be the jack-of-all-trades around the office, be the master of one: managing your business. All kinds of services and processes can be outsourced, but as a general rule of thumb, anything outside of your scope of expertise or anything that can’t be automated should be outsourced. Keep yourself and your employees focused on the job you hired them to do and trust the experts to handle things that are over your head or out of your control.

How Can Sangoma Help You Use Technology to Increase Productivity?

Now that you know how technology and productivity are related, learn more about how your organization can work with Sangoma to increase productivity.

Connect Dispersed Teams with Video Conferencing

Sangoma Meet is a video conferencing tool that actually makes meetings better. Plan, host, and share your meetings. Sangoma Meet secures your information and safeguard your privacy, allows you to meet from anywhere on any device, and integrates with your existing technology investments.

Unified Communications and Improved Workforce Collaboration

Collaboration tools are part of a wider Unified Communications strategy. Learn how collaboration tools can help you improve communications. Also, Sangoma offers Zulu UC, a business communications designed for today’s flexible workforce. Read more about this productivity tool for your business.

Unified Communications Business Phone Systems

Meet Switchvox, a Unified Communications business phone system for modern, smart business. Switchvox is the smarter way for businesses to take advantage of Unified Communications (UC) and collaboration tools – without a high price tag. Learn how Switchvox’s technology can improve productivity for your business.

What Internet Speed Do You Need to Support VoIP?

If you’re considering a VoIP phone system for your business or organization, you’re probably well aware of the many benefits a VoIP  (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system has to offer. Learn how Internet speed and VoIP bandwidth affect your business.

Virtualized Unified Communications

Companies are turning to virtualization. These businesses are rewarded with cost savings and simplicity by utilizing solutions that are optimized using virtualization. Learn more about Switchvox for VMware® and Hyper-V. Also read the Top 5 Reasons to Virtualize Your Phone System.