You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s an age-old problem. And nowhere is this more true than with Business IT solutions.
As a business owner or manager, you have to be a jack of all trades, and you probably feel like you need to be an all-around expert. But that’s not realistic in our highly technological world and workforce.
If you’re an expert in your field, you’ve spent years mastering a set of skills. Someone else can’t just come in and do what you do. And the same is true for every other business.
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Understanding Business IT Solutions
IT Business solutions are just one area in which you as a business owner must make decisions. And with technology being a field that is constantly changing by its very definition, it can be hard to keep up with.
For comparison, plumbing is a field that has technological advances, but if you installed a toilet ten years ago, you could probably do so today. The same is not valid for programming a computer or telephone system.
You can’t expect to stay abreast of everything that changes in the business technology field.
How Tech Changes Affect Your Business
Every change in IT business solution is a potential change for your business. It can help or hurt you. Or it may not affect you at all.
There’s a lot of jargon to cut through, and if it’s not your full-time job, how can you be expected to understand it? I wrote an entire blog about the metaverse and barely touched on it!
Which Changes in Business IT Are Relevant to Your Business?
Figuring out what is relevant can be a full-time job. Do I need VOIP? Are my computers secure? Can I be found on Google?
You can’t be expected to know everything. But there are some places where it’s imperative to pay attention.
IT & Network Security
We’ve written here about network security. Unfortunately, hackers keep getting better at beating the system, and you need to stay up to date on the best ways to keep your business secure.
Some of the most basic precautions involve keeping up with password hygiene and always following password complexity rules.
You should also be careful to have up-to-date network security equipment since outdated (or worse, no longer supported) equipment is much easier to hack.
Never assume your business is too small of a target! Not every hack makes it into the news; the vast majority happen to smaller firms.
Communication and Searchability
The next most important IT Business Solution is ensuring it’s easy for your customers to reach and find you. RCI doesn’t do people’s websites or social media, but we recognize their importance for any modern business. We can also recommend good local companies to take care of it for you.
You don’t need to be a tik-tok sensation, but you should ensure that your business is easily located on all the platforms where you have customers.
If you’re business to business, that might mean LinkedIn. It varies more for business to consumer businesses, but Facebook still has a good piece of the market.
And no matter your business, make sure your customers can find you with a Google search!
Other Business IT Solutions
Many other business solutions are the domain of RCI. They involve communications, surveillance, sound, and more.
Having the newest technology isn’t necessarily vital for your business, but making sure you keep pace with the times.
Also important is using technology to save your business money.
Money Saving Business IT Solutions
Not every money-saving technology is worth an investment. You don’t want to spend nickels to save pennies!
But there are many new (relatively) new technologies that are worth at least a second look.
VOIP can frequently save users money as it can remove a monthly telephone bill from your recurring expenses. However, it is different for every business whether the savings equal the cost quickly enough to make the change worth it.
Some questions to ask yourself when thinking about making a change are:
- How fast will I get my return on investment?
- Are there benefits to this beyond the monetary ones?
- How long will this new technology be around?
- How long has this new technology been around?
Putting It All Together
Answering all of these technology questions is not for the inexperienced. And with constant spam emails telling you what you need and don’t, it can be hard to know who to trust.
Be sure to speak with a trusted IT Business Solution provider with a good reputation and references. You may even consider working with a consultant before choosing an IT company to take care of your regular IT tasks.
Once you have a trusted company in your corner, they can help you make all the business IT solution decisions your company needs. RCI would love to be your provider. Let us know if we can help!
