Business technology is something we are all grateful for. Think back 15 years ago, before CRM and project management systems, before your accounting software automated hundreds of hours of manual work and before you had order and payment processing tools.
Sometimes being ahead of the curve is a difficult place to live. We are all familiar with products that we think will become mainstream one day, but are ‘ahead of their time’, and as such we don’t buy them. But jumping on a new technology bandwagon just as it takes off is very powerful for a business. You are saved all the niggles of the very early versions, yet receive the benefits of new tech before nearly everyone else.
Did you know all employees have the legal right to request flexible working? So long as the employee has worked for at least 6 months, they are eligible to apply.
These days being good at your job means being able to maximise the latest technology. Whether it is a meeting scheduling software, a mobile app for your office phone, or implementing a unified communications solution — those who are able to master the latest tech, get ahead quicker. This is particularly true for sales teams. No longer does a nice smile and a convincing pitch bring home the most bacon. Evolution is critical to survival, and these three emerging technologies can help.
Bad customer service undermines everything — from your newly redesigned product, to your beautiful packaging. It is the most personal interaction your customers will have with your company. It isn’t the same as browsing your website, or even using your product or service, it is a direct human to human connection between your team and your customers. Ultimately, it is an opportunity to make a lasting positive impression.
Back in the early 2000’s, VoIP wasn’t taken seriously as an option for business telephony. In fact, virtually no companies in the UK had business-grade VoIP phone systems. But by 2010, it was catching on quick, with tens of thousands of companies adopting IP based phone services. And by 2025, nearly all companies will have VoIP telephony solutions as BT turns of the traditional IDSN and PSTN phone networks.
From your to-do list to your company's back-up servers, things that were once physical pieces of equipment are now deployed to you ‘as a service’ by service providers. For example traditional phone systems have now been replaced by VoIP telephony and unified communications solutions offered as a service. But it isn’t just equipment that has gone the way of the cloud. There is now something called everything as a service, and it is delivered by IFTTT.
Amazon is now delivering the second generation of its popular Echo device—the home assistant that has become one of the most talked about gadgets in Britain. But is it worth upgrading to the newer model? Will the old Echo still work?
In last weekend’s Sunday Times, style guru Toby Wiseman was asked by a male reader if it was ever acceptable to wear a smartwatch with a suit. The answer was: not three years ago, but these days, yes. What surprised me wasn’t the answer, but range of available smartwatches that would actually look good with a suit. Around our offices, techy-looking smartwatches are cool, but clearly that is not the case everywhere.
You probably already know what the iPhone X can do. It can unlock with facial recognition and charge wirelessly. It has a super retina screen that spans from edge to edge and no home button. It has animated emojis called Animogis, that mimic your current facial expression. But what you probably don’t know is that the best feature of the new iPhone X is its A11 AI neural network brain.
