Coleman Technologies Blog

A Few Brief Disclaimers

Before we get into how this is possible, we should mention a few of the prerequisites of this process.

As of right now, the Windows/ChromeOS compatibility is clearly intended for enterprise use, as it is configured for company-wide setups and rings up an annual per-user cost of $70. Furthermore, the method we are covering here is only compatible on higher-end Chromebooks, with at least an i5 or i7 Intel Core processor, 16GB of RAM, and 128GB of onboard storage.

The IoT

The Internet of Things has been growing incredibly fast over the past five years, but many small business owners don’t know where it fits. That’s because there are tens of millions of devices that could actually serve some purpose for their businesses and basically have buyer’s paralysis or are skeptical that integrating these tools is going to save them money. Here are some ways that the IoT could be used to do just that.

Why a Hardwired Connection?

Security

The fact is that a direct connection is inherently more secure than one that is broadcast over the airwaves, as these have the potential to be snagged in transit much more easily. Therefore, if security is paramount, a wired connection is the better option by default. That said, there are ways to secure your wireless connection, utilizing a VPN.

Employee Expectations

Mobility is becoming a critical component for small and medium-sized businesses largely due to the demand brought by employees. Today, where most tasks can be completed with the use of a smartphone, it creates the kind of scenario that gets employees asking, “Why not?” 

Agriculture

Farms often cover miles and miles of real estate. Traditionally, this makes it more difficult to keep track of everything that is going on around the property. Drones can make monitoring the status of the farm much simpler. With specialized sensors that collect important data, farmers are able to successfully manage irrigation levels, fertilization, and crop spacing, leading to higher agriculture output. Using drones, farmers can also manage livestock much simpler.

What Exactly is Hosted VoiP?

Hosted VoIP is easily described as a communications platform that utilizes an Internet connection to function. Unlike traditional telephone systems that are purchased through the telephone company and have their own dedicated lines, hosted VoIP is hosted in the cloud and allows a business to build a strong, customized telephone system that meets a lot of a company’s communications needs. 

What Does “Normal” Mean?

Let’s just come out and say it: as terrible as the pandemic has been for so many, it has also given businesses some very strong motivations to adapt and innovate. Really, most had no choice if they wanted to remain open in the long-term.

This led to many businesses finally adopting the modern solutions that enabled productive and secure remote work and collaboration.

Let’s go over what this means, how you can go about doing so to your business’ benefit.

Your Wireless Network and its Bandwidth

When you sign on for Internet services from your service provider, you’re effectively subscribing to a preset amount of bandwidth—hopefully, enough for your staff to do everything they need to do. However, once some people start a few resource-intensive tasks, they could potentially pull network resources away from your other users… not the ideal situation.

What Exactly is Passwordless Authentication?

Instead of using passwords, you would effectively verify your identity through alternative means such as a verification app, a predefined security token, or even biometric information. These forms of authentication aren’t exactly new--most smartphones have a biometric authentication system onboard--but now they are beginning to become the predominant way that IT administrators set up their authentication systems. 

There are multiple add-ons and browser extensions available to help boost your email templates with more dynamic options, but today, we’ll be focusing on the baked-in capabilities that Gmail comes with.

Let’s go over a few key practices to successfully using MDM to your business’ benefit.

What is Mobile Device Management?

Mobile device management is the application of software solutions that allow you to implement policies that control how users can access your business’ data. This enables your business to improve its data security while implementing a Bring Your Own Device policy.

Windows 10

In Windows 10, Microsoft has built a complete and secure operating system. Users can do about anything they’d like inside of Windows 10. The platform was initially built to support three levels of devices, from smartphones to other mobile productivity machines, to your traditional productivity machines, your PCs. After Microsoft pulled the plug on their smartphone division, the subsequent changes they’ve made to the OS have been with the PC user in mind. 

Give Your Team Members Some Responsibilities

An in-person meeting and a meeting through a conferencing solution can admittedly have two very different feelings to the participants. The kind of participation that comes somewhat naturally in an in-person meeting can suddenly feel entirely foreign, the visual context cues that would normally drive the conversation stripped away using technology. As a result, awkward pauses and missed line items abound. This can easily lead to people increasingly talking out of turn, while others will remain silent. One way to help mitigate this is by distributing an agenda with assigned segments beforehand. That way, each team member will be responsible for some facet of the meeting, with the bonus of being able to prepare ahead of time to increase the meeting’s benefit.

What is a CRM?

Short for Customer Relationship Management, your CRM is the tool that helps you track the relationships you have with the people you offer your services to, assisting you in developing these contacts into faithful clientele. As a bonus, these solutions generally come with integrations that give you access to even greater capabilities and resources.

How Do Hard Drives Store Data?

A traditional mechanical hard drive, also known as an HDD, holds your data on small magnetic platters. These platters are layered on top of each other, with a small mechanical arm that rests above them. Think about a record player, with the arm and needle over the record, except you have many, many records stacked on top of each other.

Business Communications

With so much relying today on shared information and collaboration, the capability to communicate internally and externally is something that any business needs to have. Small businesses especially have greater access to the tools that can provide this capability, such as: 

• VoIP – A Voice over Internet Protocol solution is a great way for a business to acquire comprehensive phone services and features for a much more sustainable cost that the traditional means of telephone services.
• Messaging – Messaging can take many forms, from email to instant messages, and plays a vital role in keeping a business in touch with its various internal parts and with other entities outside of it.
• Cloud collaboration – Cloud technology can provide a variety of business utilities, including the collaborative benefits of sharing documents and cooperatively working on them in real-time.

A Look at the Numbers

Before the pandemic hit, it was believed that roughly 5.2 percent of Americans worked out of their home. That’s about 8 million people, and that number is fairly recent, from 2017. By the end of 2019, we can estimate it was maybe between 5.5 percent to 6 percent.

We can simplify this and say one out of every 20 American workers worked from home before the pandemic.

Let’s go over some of the ways that an MSP can help reduce your support costs, while still providing better support than the alternative.

Where Support Costs Build Up

Take a moment and consider why technology costs tend to rise so rapidly once an issue is discovered.

• The technology itself could be expensive to repair or replace.
• The repair fee will likely include fees and travel costs in addition to the cost of the service itself.
• The repair is likely only focused on fixing the immediate problem, without considering if it will recur or if the fix itself will cause further problems down the road, leading to repeat visits.
• If an issue does happen, you have to call in the technician for them to come and actually fix the problem. This all takes a lot of time, before the repair even takes place, which itself can take a large amount of billable time as well. So, in addition to paying for the travel time for the tech to get there and the time they spend solving the issue, you are also incurring costs through missed productivity.
• It is next to impossible to predict these kinds of expenses when trying to budget out your year, as you can never know when you may be surprised. If you set aside too little, you could drain your budget long before you planned.

-aaS

-as-a-Service
Businesses of all kinds are starting to outsource various responsibilities and needs to external providers. When you see something-or-other offered “as-a-Service,” it basically expresses that this opportunity is being offered. By getting something as-a-Service, a business is able to scale that responsibility to your needs and budgetary abilities. 

To start, let’s consider the situation that we find ourselves in.

With COVID-19 still spreading, the general consensus is that spending time around other people is currently a bad thing, making the workplace a less-than-ideal environment in which to spend one’s time. As a result, many people have self-quarantined themselves in their homes. With today’s available technology, however, this does not mean that they cannot get work done, with the cloud offering great opportunities for collaboration and remote work. This plays into VoIP’s benefits quite nicely.