Technology from computer hardware, computer software, Saas, voip, cloud computing, smartphones to help small and medium sized businesses grow
With parts of England covered in another thick layer of snow we talked to Simon Devonshire from O2 and got his top ten tips on being able to work remotely to ensure that business productivity doesn’t go down. That is unless you do want to go outside and make snow balls with the kids.
As a result of increased broadband penetration, advancements in VoIP technology and escalating business costs due to harsher economic conditions, more businesses than ever before are looking at VoIP telephony solutions to secure a reliable, cost-effective alternative to legacy telephone services, whilst future-proofing their communication strategies for next-generation Unified Communications at the same time.
Technology to help business travellers work on the move is progressing rapidly, and the launch of the new 3G iPhone is likely to push the trend even further. With this in mind, Oliver Chivers, Head of Business Marketing at T-Mobile UK, suggests some alternative business devices to catch the eye of those who want to make the most of working on the move, without leaping on the iPhone bandwagon.
Access to the Internet via public “hotspots” is growing and will continue to grow as more and more hotspots are made available. We have McDonalds offering free Internet access and even Boris Johnson proposing that London becomes a WiFi city, with free WiFi, following the likes of Norwich.
In the technology world, major players such as Google and IBM are maximising their use of Cloud Computing – but what is it? and more importantly, how can it help businesses?
So what is the definition? According to Gartner, cloud computing is “a style of computing where massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service’ across the Internet to multiple external customers.”
Social networking and microblogging site Twitter made a big splash in 2008. Digital marketing experts are hailing its potential as a business tool to connect with industry leaders and build your online brand. But what most business people want to know is, where do I start?
ecademy – the business-orientated social networking site, that we have covered many times within the pages of Business Matters, gave a stark warning to its members of the possible pitfalls of using social networking as they left supposedly private support emails sent through the site publicly viewable as the result of a programming error earlier this week.
Orange has achieved the number one position in customer experience in the mobile broadband market according to an in-depth report commissioned by independent research and consulting organisation, YouGov.
New research by broadband comparison site Broadband Expert has revealed that broadband speeds slow down to nearly half their average speed between 7pm and 9pm in the evening.
UK businesses of all sizes can now turn their premises into wireless broadband (Wi-Fi) hotspots, expanding the range of services they offer to customers and visitors, and potentially creating a new revenue stream, thanks to the latest initiative from BT Business Total Broadband.
Most of us are familiar with the calming disembodied voice of our GPS device informing us to take a left turn just as we overshoot the junction. What’s less familiar is the process by which that voice gets its information. To find out, I spent a day on the road with digital map provider, Navteq.
The map you see on your GPS device (whether it be on your PDA, mobile or in your car) will probably have come from one of two mapping companies, Navteq or Tele Atlas. Both collect map data by driving the roads with a satellite receiver attached to the vehicle and recording information as they go. Information is also collected from other sources, such as Royal Mail, local councils, and the Highways Agency. It is a complex and time-consuming process; no corners can be cut.
Having web pages that have landing pages which load too slowly do not only hurt your conversion rates but they are to be penalised by Google. Google will be giving websites with slow loading landing pages a lower Quality Score and in turn, a higher minimum bid price in an effort to improve user experience. A landing page could also be referred to as a destination page, the destination URL or a target URL and is the web page that a consumer arrives at once a link is clicked.
The emergence of cheap, portable satnav units really has revolutionised travel for most of us. No longer are you destined to spend hours driving randomly around city centres, and even the geographically-challenged now have a fighting chance of making meetings on time.
As the technology has got more advanced, the satnav gadgets themselves have shrunk, and now there are even mobile phones with mapping capabilities built in. When choosing a unit, it’s key to decide what sort of features you want – while basic maps are free, many providers charge for add-on services like live traffic information, for instance. If you plan a lot of travelling, it’s also worth checking you can easily change country maps – you don’t want to discover on the ferry across the channel that you need to buy a new memory card for French maps, for instance.
Why do larger businesses seem to get the benefits of new technology first? These companies typically have enough employees to justify replacing legacy telephony systems with new IP PBXs — they also have the budget for such large-scale investments.
But there isn’t a company, small or large, that would turn down access to 200 million new customers worldwide, let alone an opportunity to cut long-distance calling costs. So how can smaller companies or those with small IT departments or low budgets experience the benefits of VoIP?
By calling other Skype users for free or standard phones via SkypeOut, companies can achieve significant reductions in their long-distance bills.
More and more businesses are now recognising the urgency of saving energy and developing plans to reduce their carbon footprint. Gaining control of the amount of power that a datacentre uses should be at the forefront of these strategies, as understanding where energy is wasted can make a huge impact to the size of your business’s footprint.
Currently, there is no standard for measuring datacentre efficiency which makes it incredibly difficult to benchmark efficiency performance. Generally, users of datacentres have scant understanding of where savings can be made and make little connection between their electricity bill and operational decisions. As a result the majority of datacentres are grossly inefficient.
