Page 15 - Blue Valley_Issue 1_2022

BUSINESS

Productivity technologies have emerged,
which provide workforce analytics to help you
understand your people and how they work
on their computers. Innovative employee
monitoring software allows managers to gain
real-time insights via easy-to-understand
dashboards, graphs and reports, to keep track
of how their team is doing and decide when to
take action if necessary.
VIRTUAL . . . WELL, EVERYTHING
Virtualising almost everything is definitely here
in a big way. This means that your company can
use a virtual server, network, operating system,
or storage device. Some of the benefits you can
take advantage of is having quicker backups
and easier disaster recovery if something
should go wrong – you can literally move, for
example, a virtual server quickly and be back up
and running in no time. Also, virtualising your
environment means lower costs because you
don’t need expensive hardware.
MANAGED SERVICES –
OUTSOURCING TO SPECIALISTS
As controlling costs become key in a downturn,
looking for ways to ensure accurate budgeting
or reining in IT costs is key. Through managed
services, which means outsourcing part or all of
your IT to a specialist, you can focus on your core
business while saving on high IT resource costs.
These companies have invested heavily in smart
systems, which allow them to provide a host
of services for small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) at an affordable fee. From IT support,
anti-virus protection, backups, cybersecurity,
network management, you name it, these days
most managed service providers can take care
of your IT, while you focus on growing your
company.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – LET’S
GO AUTOMATION
Automation is one of the biggest breakthroughs
in business today, essentially allowing you to
wherever they are on any device. With software with Microsoft, where work, collaboration and use tech to deliver or get services without any
such as Microsoft 365 in the cloud, employees communication happen within one business human intervention. From an IT perspective, a
are able to stream all their applications, data ecosystem. With Teams, for example, employees human can only do so much in the time they
and tools – including their personalised can share files, organise meetings from their have. But you can now automate thousands of
settings – from the cloud to any device, whether calendar and sync with other office apps, all routine IT tasks, plus by using AI tech you can
it is a laptop, computer, iPad or mobile phone. remotely. anticipate, diagnose and fix any issues that may
Employees can work from anywhere, provide a crop up before they become a problem. This
consistent customer experience, and they can PRODUCTIVITY – DATA FOR kind of proactive approach to tech means that
keep up their normal, steady work rate. MANAGERS your IT environment is not constantly breaking
The productivity of your employees is the down and hampering productivity.
Technologies such as Zoom, Skype, Microsoft driving force of your business. And in the fast-
Teams and Google Meet allow virtual meetings paced new world of teams working both offsite So, there you have it, the six technologies
to be held and, in many instances, these have and in the office, making sure everyone is businesses are using to take full advantage
now become the norm. One thing we saw achieving their full potential is a challenge for of digitisation, to help them adapt to the new
companies embrace are integrated systems like most companies. world of work.

BLUE VALLEY NEWS • Issue 1 2022• 13