By Brooke Chaplan
With the enterprise world becoming increasingly competitive and complex, business owners must look for technological tools to help manage their operations in a manner that is more efficient and productive for getting things done. The following six tools can be of great assistance in this regard and put your company on pace to keep up with the competition.
1. Tablet Computers
Companies that demand mobility from their employees should strongly consider issuing tablets equipped with SIM cards so they don’t have to seek Wi-Fi connections. Business can be done anywhere, employees will be more connected, and processes that took some time now can be done on the go.
2. Cloud Storage and Backup
Businesses that must comply with strict record retention rules need a comprehensive solution to safely and securely store data for years. Clinical and dental practices tend to be bound by this requirement and depending on the jurisdiction, a cloud-based health data storage and archive solution may be the perfect addition.
3. Cloud Enterprise Productivity Suites
When it comes to productivity software, applications installed locally no longer rule the business marketplace and the current trend involves taking advantage of subscription-based solutions that can be accessed from just about any internet-connected device equipped with a modern browser. Microsoft and Google are the leaders in this regard, and both provide the ability for employees to work offline as well.
4. Electronic Communications
Busy work teams that remotely collaborate on projects need more than just email and smartphones to stay in touch. The modern enterprise communications solution replicates the online social networking experience by offering profiles, messaging, comments, conversations, file sharing, appointments, reminders, and simple task management. Although some enterprise productivity suites offer some of the functions above, they don’t integrate as well as an enterprise social network.
5. Project Management
Getting things done on time and with the adequate utilization of resources is a matter of efficient administration. With today’s project management software tools, busy companies can rally their staff members and keep them on the same page by using a single application. Cloud-based project management tools even allow project team leaders to submit information such as task completion, worksheets, digital images, and project documents.
6. Marketing Automation and Analysis
Any business with an online presence can improve its bottom line with efficient marketing, which is an effort that could prove to be time-consuming. Modern marketing suites can save companies time by giving them a centralized system for posting social media updates, reviewing comments, conducting A/B tests, reviewing analytics, fine-tuning SEO, and more.
With the tools above, busy companies do not have to spend too much to become efficient and productive. Use these new technological advancements to get back on track.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.
