Today, we’ll be discussing some of the best IT solutions for professional services.

Software as a Service
The cloud has brought about a revolution in the way professional service firms think about and manage their software applications. Software as a Service, or SaaS for short, is the delivery of software through the cloud for a monthly fee. SaaS is usually billed per user, and it includes solutions such as Office 365 and G Suite. Software developers have created solutions that can be deployed through the cloud, providing many industries with cloud-based software that is built specifically for their needs.

Mobile Solutions
Mobility can open up a lot of doors for any business. For a professional services firm, there is more to consider, though. Many of these professional service providers need to consider federal, state, and industry requirements that demand additional layers of security for sending and receiving data. Therefore, the benefit of adding mobility to an infrastructure needs to be approached with considerable caution, as data security must be prioritized.

One of the best solutions to this dilemma is a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN provides a layer of encryption around your communications between mobile devices and the central network infrastructure for your organization. This added security protects data while it’s in transit. It’s also a great solution for a business that wants to limit its use of paper records in favor of a more digital solution.

Document Management
Having access to information gives professionals the ability to stay connected to clients and other resources as needed, whether they are in the office or not. A document management system is the ideal way to digitally store and access files in a database; and trust us when we say it is much easier to find a document in a database compared to digging it out of a filing cabinet.

Professional technicians can scan an organization’s paper files through the use of a special software to deposit them inside a database in the form of PDF files. This database and a Relational database management system give an end user the ability to search the DMS for keywords found in the documents. All of this is accessible to users through an Internet connection, making it both accessible and convenient.

Through combining DMS with a VPN and SaaS offerings, professional services companies can achieve unprecedented security and data access. To learn more about how your organization can take advantage of these tools, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

It goes without saying that having a comprehensive communications strategy is critical for the functionality of your business. Many businesses use traditional phone systems, and they pay handsomely for them. VoIP is a great way to utilize the bandwidth you already pay for to facilitate a business phone solution.

A VoIP system works by transferring sounds into data packets and then transferring them in real-time over an Internet connection. The sound is simply unpacking the data packets. The reason so many small businesses are switching to a VoIP system is that it allows an organization to manage their telephone system cost more effectively.

Nowadays there are hosted VoIP options that present companies with a virtual call center of sorts. Essentially, instead of hosting a stand-alone server at your place of business, the telephone system is hosted in the cloud and accessed through a web client.

Before you can consider either VoIP platform, you’ll have to determine what type of control you need over the technology. If you are someone that wants to play with settings and configurations, hosting your own PBX phone server may be the way to go, but if you are someone that doesn’t mind spending a little more per month to have these systems managed for you, a cloud-based VoIP solution should be right for you.

Your average VoIP solution provides your business with a path to cut the often-substantial capital costs of buying, housing, and maintaining an onsite telephony server. Since the provider will absorb the costs of maintenance and the outward reliability of the platform, you can spend less time focusing on managing your telephone system and more time relying on it.

Since VoIP downtime is not an option for the average business, you’ll want to consult with Coleman Technologies IT professionals to help you find the right solution to fit your business’ needs. Our staff are experts at designing, implementing, and managing computing networks that work for the modern business, so relying on us to help you deploy the right communications platform makes a lot of sense.

For more information about hosted VoIP or any other communication used to improve employee productivity and customer satisfaction, call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Applications
Applications, or “apps,” are pieces of software that can be used for specific purposes in the workplace--but you probably already knew that. If used properly, they can streamline specific processes within your organization. Some apps don’t use connectivity, but there are countless others that utilize it to connect all kinds of workers from the professional spectrum together. These kinds of connected apps are generally found in the cloud, and their wide range of use is one of the defining things about them.

The Cloud
You can think of the cloud like a big data center that gives you access to all sorts of software, processing, and storage options through your Internet connection. Computing resources tend to be made available to users through an “as a service” model, in which users secure access to it by paying a monthly fee rather than purchasing a license outright. Apps deployed through the cloud are slightly more expensive as a result, but the flexibility offered by being able to cancel at any time or add new users makes it a valuable opportunity to save money in the long run. Basically, it creates a situation where you transfer your capital costs of purchasing licenses to an operational cost.

Public, Private, Hybrid
There are several different ways that a cloud solution can be constructed. For example, most of the Software as a Service (SaaS) apps are offered as a public cloud solution, which means that the application and any processing or storage associated with it is on shared hardware. It’s made available through the browser or dedicated app, and for this purpose, its costs are generally lower than more private solutions.

In comparison, a private cloud that’s hosted in-house on a network or server unit is much more secure and customizable, as you’re controlling all of the maintenance and management of the system. For this specific reason, however, we recommend private cloud systems only for businesses that have the assets to take care of them; this includes those who outsource IT maintenance or those who have an in-house IT department who can provide the necessary management and oversight of the system.

For the best of both worlds, a hybrid approach can work. After all, some data is more sensitive than other data is, so anytime-anywhere access to it might not be in your business’ best interests. By combining the cost-effective public cloud model with the security of the private cloud, you can maintain adequate accessibility and data security.

Cloud Services
Just like there are many different types of clouds, there are many different cloud services, all for both businesses and individual users. There are generally three major categories that these cloud services are split into:

• Software as a Service: Software delivery is the name of the game here, including communications (like telephone and email), productivity (Office 365), and even security.
• Platform as a Service: Development is the main reason to go this route. This lets users create applications, collaborate on projects, and test new software without purchasing or paying for hardware.
• Infrastructure as a Service: Virtualized environments that can be used for processing, storage, software, and so much more, are what a user gets from Infrastructure as a Service.

To learn more about how the cloud can help your business, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.

Human Resources may not be the meat and potatoes of any business, but it is exceedingly important. With all the mandates a business has to stay in compliance of, having people whose job it is to deal directly with the staff on behalf of the company makes a lot of sense. Since some SMBs don’t have a dedicated HR department, there are now platforms available that provide those services. But, let’s first start by outlining what kinds of tasks the average small business has to deal with, with a list.

The top six issues a HR department would have to deal with are:

• Employee retention
• Health and safety
• Personnel
• Payroll
• Training and compliance
• Employee management

Software developers have been creating dynamic human resources software, aiming to take the hassle out of a crucial part of your business. Some are pretty advanced, providing human resources directors useful automations that help them control many of the vast responsibilities placed on them. Some useful HR-related software you’ll see includes:

• Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
• Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
• Onboarding
• Benefits Administration
• Time and Compensation Management
• Training Management Performance, and Recognition Management
• HR Analytics
• Wellness Management

It seems overwhelming, but most of today’s most popular and utilized tools check most of the boxes as far as including a useful cache of tools that will allow them to manage any small or medium-sized human resources department competently.

While it once was popular to host all the applications a HR department would use on a single computer or on a very small network, today there are a few HR software vendors that provide a completely hosted solution. This means the software is hosted on secure servers that are managed by a provider, and accessible from anywhere there is an Internet connection.

Human Resources as a Service
Some small businesses have begun to completely outsource their human resources, with some success. HR as a service (HRaaS) basically eliminates the need to hire human resources staff, as the service provides resources that allow for a holistic approach to all the important tasks a human resources director would accomplish without the resounding costs associated with traditional human resources strategies.

Not only does a HRaaS platform eliminate a large section of the costs associated with human resources, it standardizes the approach to HR, eliminating the hiccups that often happen with the traditional method. A business will have their HRaaS platform customized for them and would be assigned a HR professional to help keep everything working properly.

Ultimately, it will be up to you to determine how to do human resources right. If your business is searching for a consultant to help you through hard business and technology decisions, reach out to the professional IT technicians at Coleman Technologies. Call (604) 513-9428 to get started building a more efficient business.

Selecting the Right Type of Phone
It might be tempting to discredit the importance of telephony for your organization, but you should resist this notion. Businesses still rely on the phone to communicate both internally and externally, and eliminating it can create a situation where your clients have one less way of getting in contact with you. Therefore, the importance of the telephone in the office cannot be understated, as your reputation with your patrons hangs in the balance. As you can imagine, there are several different kinds of phones out there, each with their own pros and cons. It’s up to your organization to determine which solution best suits your needs.

Landline
For a long time, the landline was the only kind of telephone solution for businesses. This utilizes the connections provided by a telephone company which consisted of private branch exchange (PBX) hardware in the office. This would give businesses the option to create extensions for employee and office, as well as opportunities for other services like call transferring and directories. Even though these are so familiar, many organizations are ditching landlines in favor of other solutions that are more flexible and efficient. It just so happens that the Internet and all its developments are much better at accommodating the needs of businesses, including new telephone solutions.

Virtual Phones
A virtual phone system can be considered a middle ground between the traditional form of telephony and a Voice over IP system. Incoming calls can be processed through a traditional telephony method, and they are then forwarded to the right employee through a VoIP system. This gives a business with both in-house employees and remote workers the opportunity to unify their communications. Additional features can also be added in for a more dynamic solution.

Voice over Internet Protocol
Voice over IP is a system that aims to cut out the need for traditional telephone solutions entirely. VoIP fully utilizes the Internet connection of your organization’s office to fulfill all of its telephony needs. The right solution can give your business all it needs to be functional on any device from a desktop to a mobile device. There are some different ways to use VoIP, so you’ll want to make sure you select the right method out of the gate to get the best return on your investment.

• An in-house VoIP system will be an expensive up-front cost, as the equipment needed to host the system can be quite taxing on any normal budget. There will also be a monthly fee for the components needed to make calls, and any maintenance the solution requires must be administered by your in-house staff. The benefit to all of this is that you’ll have complete and total control over your business’ telephone system--something that no other solution can offer.
• A cloud-hosted VoIP system means that everything is taken care of so your organization can instead focus on remaining productive with your time. This means that there is no need to buy hardware or maintain it on your end. In the event your phone system goes down, the provider is the one responsible--not you--meaning that you’ll be somewhat reliant on others, but the productivity spike can mean all the difference. In the event your Internet goes down, you’ll also be left without service, but again, this isn’t something that’s directly yours to influence.

It’s easy to see why VoIP is such a great solution, but is it right for you? Find out by giving us a call at (604) 513-9428.

VoIP, either hosted locally or in the cloud, can bring any business a solid ROI because you use a resource that your company already has in place, your Internet connection to send and receive calls.

Out With the Old
If you’re still relying on the traditional telephone system of yesteryear, you could be making your job more difficult than it needs to be. Businesses that still use traditional telephone systems have limited ability to grow and expand. Adding new users can mean adding new telephone lines and extensions--a process that’s not necessarily easy.

The most logical course of action is to figure out how your business can get away from traditional telephone providers. After all, these are the same organizations that are known to provide bundles filled with services you don’t need. Plus, running telephone wires and adding new users or phone numbers can be quite the hassle, and one that you don’t have to worry about with a more dynamic solution.

In With the New
With great new features that put traditional telephony to shame, VoIP is a sustainable and investment-worthy technology for any business, small or large. VoIP uses your Internet connection rather than a traditional telephone line to function, giving any device with a VoIP application and an Internet connection the ability to work like a phone. Since VoIP only needs your Internet connection, you’re essentially eliminating an expense from your budget.

To learn more about how your organization can benefit from VoIP, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

VoIP Improves Inter-Department Communication
Landline telephones in the office have been dated for quite some time. Even if they were once necessary to get in touch with coworkers and other departments, they are now quite antiquated compared to modern solutions. After all, there’s no guarantee that an employee will be available to take your call, as the workplace is filled with countless tasks that often require their full attention. Sure, you could leave a voicemail, but there’s no guarantee that the employee will see the message until it’s too late to respond. Since Voice over Internet Protocol doesn’t rely on your employees having a traditional handset, and instead has them using more mobile devices, they’re more likely to be available when you need them most.

VoIP Is More Flexible
Some organizations have employees who aren’t always able to work in the office for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they are simply on the move for conferences so often that they are just never in the office, or perhaps you have employees who work remotely from time to time (or even permanently). VoIP lets you stay in touch with these employees in the same way you can with your in-house team. Since VoIP can be used on mobile devices, laptops, and even desktops, it doesn’t matter where your employees work, as long as they have the VoIP application and a headset. In this way, VoIP is much more flexible than any traditional landline.

VoIP Allows for Additional Features
Landline phone services tend to have features built into them, but many of them are decided by the cable company that provides your telephone service. These features are often not what your business wants or even needs. VoIP services give your business all the features needed from traditional landline telephone services, including conference calling and voicemail, but with lots of additional features that add a quality to your business’ ability to communicate. You can take advantage of video conferencing and instant messaging built right into your VoIP solution. By going through a VoIP provider in this way, you save money by only paying for services you will use rather than those your cable provider assumes you want.

To get started with a VoIP solution today, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Of course, moving to a cloud-based email solution might seem a little intimidating--especially if you’ve never dealt with a cloud-based service before. We’ll help you make the jump with four tips and tricks to consider for this process.

How is Your Email Being Hosted?
First, you’ve have to determine whether the solution will be hosted in your own personal on-site cloud or if a service provider will host it. If you opt out of managing your own cloud-based email solution, you’ll have to determine if a public cloud is the best place for your email, or if you’d rather have it hosted privately by a managed service provider like Coleman Technologies.

Be Sure to Include Archiving and Backup
If you’re not taking advantage of archiving and backups for those archives, you could be putting your business in jeopardy. What if you ever have to refer back to past emails to determine who said what in the event of a disaster? You should be sure that you are routinely archiving your emails, as well as backing up those archives to make sure they are always available when you need them.

Don’t Forget About Security
If you’re storing your organization’s email infrastructure online in the cloud, you’ll have to worry about the security of it. Make sure that it’s protected--a firewall, antivirus, and especially encryption. With the amount of sensitive information found in most inboxes, you need to keep it secure.

Consider the Devices Used
When choosing an email solution, you should think about which devices will be accessing it. Most of the common email applications out there, including Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and so on, will have mobile applications that can be downloaded to devices for on-the-go access. After all, if you’re implementing cloud-based email to improve access, you want to make sure your employees actually have access to it.

To learn more about how your business can take advantage of cloud-hosted email solutions, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

The types of cloud storage are:

Public
A public cloud is the most accessible form of cloud storage (and cloud computing) for most individuals and small businesses. It comes equipped tied to productivity, management, and other utility applications and is relatively affordable compared to all other types of computing/storage, coming in at just cents per gigabyte. Whatever gains you get from the public cloud, it typically loses in terms of flexibility and customization, as many providers charge a flat rate per user or have static service levels that must be adhered to.

Private
Private clouds differ in that the management of the cloud platform is delegated to your business (or to an outsourced provider like Coleman Technologies), which means that if you’re not taking care of it, nobody is. On the other hand, since your business is the one in control, you have freedoms that you wouldn’t have otherwise, including complete and total control over your cloud infrastructure.

Hybrid
A hybrid cloud storage system is one that takes the customization and flexibility of the private cloud and combines it with the accessibility and ease of use of the public cloud. Since some aspects of your business’ computing need more diligent care than others, hybrid cloud storage melds the cost-effective computing of the public cloud with the more hands-on private cloud to create a computing infrastructure that works the way your businesses needs it to work, while allowing for a pretty significant cost reduction in the places where it’s possible.

The Benefits
The main benefit of cloud computing is always going to be accessibility. You can get access to the files you need from anywhere in real time. Public cloud solutions allow your organization to forgo burning your available capital on the often-enormous upfront hardware costs, while adding the benefit of scalability. You can purchase the storage space you need and scale down and back as needed, but, as mentioned above, with public cloud solutions this benefit may be broken in to static tiers of available space.

The best way to take advantage of this is by working with a managed service provider like Coleman Technologies who can host and manage the cloud on their own infrastructure. To learn more, call us today at (604) 513-9428.

According to Walters, there are three trends which we can expect from the cloud for modern businesses:

• Algorithms will replace certain workflows.
• Mobility in the office will grow.
• Access to data will improve.

Automation Simplifies Tasks and Workflow
In several industries, there are positions which require monotonous repetitive actions, like assembly line workers and phone support. Instead of paying these people for being physically present for these tasks, these positions can simply be fulfilled with algorithms and technology based in the cloud.

Walters compares this trend to electronic payment systems. Prior to these automated processes, humans had to stuff envelopes with checks and send them through the mail. Furthermore, instead of taking down credit card numbers and processing the information manually, we now have machines that process all of the information for us. While people still have to manually input information on occasion, the point stands that the majority of the time, automated tasks are far easier and more efficient.

Leave the Office Behind
Technology has progressed so far that mobility is the key to business. It enhances productivity no matter the work environment. Previous generations had to work in the office, but with the increased prevalence of mobile technology, we are no longer limited by the boundaries of the office. According to Walters, "Business cycles will still be normal, 24/7 affairs, but we'll be selling from the beach, presenting from the living room, and securing shipments in the den. These traditional office functions will not need an office presence."

Break Down Data Barriers
Data will be much easier to access in the future, all thanks to cloud computing. The boundaries which previously limited access to data will all come down, allowing access whenever it is needed. Information will be located within the cloud, rather than what Walters calls "information silos," where individuals can easily access it.

Employees might no longer need to partake in tasks which waste time and energy that could be better spent somewhere else. According to Walters, "It would be a sea [of] change in how workers see themselves. We would no longer work for a single company, yet have a profession, working with many companies at the same time - a sort of hypercharged freelancer."

The cloud is a powerful business tool today, but can you imagine how valuable cloud technology will be in the future? Coleman Technologies can help your business take advantage of all the cloud has to offer. We can equip your business with productivity solutions to help your business access information both on-the-go and in-house. For more information, contact us at (604) 513-9428.

The cloud has proven to be an extremely useful tool for the modern business. Not only does it provide anywhere-anytime access to applications, processing, storage, et al; it also delivers those products as a service, allowing you to budget for recurring costs rather than major upfront ones. This provides your organization with functional, supported, and secure computing environments that eliminate a lot of the support costs that traditional computing environments require. It sounds like a perfect scenario for small and large businesses alike, but things aren’t always what they seem, as a lot of cloud users have found that they have incurred several hidden costs by using cloud platforms. Today, we take a look at these hidden costs.