Archive for the ‘Small Business Communications’

Where are you on the Technology Continuum? Are you a 1, 2, or 3?

Posted by Chris Dellen
Aug23
cdellen

How do you know whether to buy the most expensive cutting edge technology… or, less expensive, slightly outdated technology? Do you have answer for your organization?

I just received a call from a friend in need of a significant technology upgrade for his business. Like a majority of people in his situation, he has made several calls and seen several vendor presentations… However, he has missed one critically important step… he doesn’t know where he should fall on the technology continuum or why? Translated, he doesn’t know if he needs to make technology a serious priority (priority = amount of money invested) at his organization or if there are other areas where money would be better spent.

If you are responsible for making technology investments for your firm, you must have a complete understanding on where your true priority is. There are three things that you need to think about to determine the level of priority that is placed on technology at your companty…


There are three things that can help you determine if you are a 1, 2, or 3 on the technology continuum.

- Your Customer’s Expectations

- Your Competitive Advantage

- Your Competition

Customer’s Expectations: Delivering on your customer’s expectations is critical to your long-term success or failure… Can you define what your customer’s expectations are in 15 words or less? Are you prioritizing your technology investments around your customer’s expectations?

If you are a small bakery, your customers might expect your bread to be deliciously amazing every time they take a bite. To deliver on that expectation you will make a level 3 investment in your cooking technology and ingredients before you will in a highly sophisticated Customer Relationship Management solution. If you sale disgusting bread, no CRM system in the world is going to save you…

On the other hand, if you are a hospital, your customer’s expectation is to get well soon… A critical piece of that equation is the communication infrastructure that makes it possible for nurses, doctors, and technicians to collaborate and communicate and solve patient problems. Meeting those customer expectations could require a technology investment that needs level 3 commitment.

I’m going to ask… Are you matching your customer’s expectations to your area of technology priority?

Your Competitive Advantage: The level of technology investments that you make should directly align with your competitive advantage.

If your competitive advantage is being the lowest cost provider in your field, then making a level 3 investment in technology that does not help you maintain your low cost market leadership will undermine your competitive advantage.

You might ask, well Walmart has a technology infrastructure that rivals most governments AND they also boast the lowest price? What’s going on? For Walmart, the key is investing in technologies that lower the cost to bring merchandise to market. That involves having one of the most sophisticated distribution technology infrastructures on the planet. At Walmart, anything that doesn’t lower the cost to their customer’s gets a level 1 investment.

So, at your business, it’s critically important to align technology investments with your competitive advantage.

Your Competition: If you have already aligned technology investments with your customer’s expectations and your competitive advantage, you are ahead of most. The key is keeping your eye on the technology horizon for disruptive technologies that could either:

1) Transform your customer’s experience (even if your customers don’t know what that is yet)

2) Overturn your industry.

To be ready, you have to continuously innovative and seek out technology innovations that solve your customers problems AND align with your competitive advantage.

So, are you a 1,2, or 3?

Server down? You’ve Just Lost Potential Customers… A Timely and Relevant Article by Rhonda Abrams.

Posted by Christy Poturkovic
Jul5
cpoturkovic

I just read an interesting article in USA Today by Rhonda Abrams. Ms. Abrams is president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. She makes some important points about how critical the network is for a small business. Her article was so timely and relevant I thought I’d re-post it in its entirety:

“Pay attention: I’m going to discuss something today that’s critical for your business, but that you probably never think about. Your network. Yes, I know it’s geeky, but stick with me. This is important.

Consider the following scenarios:

• You’re running a small hotel, it’s the week before Memorial Day, and suddenly, your connection to the Internet goes down, and you can’t accept reservations.

• You’re on deadline for a report to your most lucrative client, and suddenly, you can’t send e-mail.

• Your e-commerce store is up and running, but suddenly, you can’t download orders to your shipping clerk or upload payments to your bank.

• You’ve got a critical file to share with a team member who works remotely, but suddenly you can’t access your server.

• You use the Internet to get cheap phone service, and suddenly, you’ve got no dial tone.

Today, the network is a mission critical component for small business. We turn on our machines, and we expect the network to be there. Until it’s not. Then we panic. Worse, we don’t know what the problem is: “It’s the router. It’s the modem. It’s the DSL. It’s the software.”

All I know is that in my business, I just need the network to work. And I need it to ALWAYS work.

That’s why networking giant Cisco is on a mission. The corporation known for enterprise-level networking equipment — all the dull stuff like routers, switches, hubs and the like — has created an entire group within Cisco to serve companies with fewer than 100 employees.

I recently visited their Small Business Technology Group, (SBTG) which fills more than a large building in Milpitas, Calif. Their task: develop new products and services especially for small companies to give those who run small companies the technologies we need to build and run competitive businesses. And, make sure those technologies work together seamlessly, all the time.

“When you get to the point when you realize your connection to the network is critical, then it’s important that it’s dependable, reliable,” said Ian Pennell, senior vice president, SBTG. “You don’t have to tinker with it.”

“The killer app of the Internet is the Internet,” said Pennell. And that will only be more true as we increasingly use Web-based services for our bookkeeping, payroll, contact management. “The heart of Cisco is all about connecting everything to everything on the network.”

You may not realize it, but your network now is probably built on a patchwork of products. Cisco’s goal is to have everything integrated. “Now, you may have four-to-eight different vendors,” explained Pennell. That makes the chances of problems greater.

Take me: I just walked into our server room. We have a modem, router, switch, hub, backup system. All from different companies. And mine is a simple network. No wonder it goes down about once a month. That doesn’t have to be the case.

“It just works,” that’s Cisco’s value proposition, according to Rick Moran, Cisco’s small business vice president of marketing. According to Moran, Cisco is integrating products enabling small businesses to:

1. Connect — get on, and stay on, the network with stuff like routers, switches, wireless access

2. Secure— both their data, with firewalls and backup, and their physical property, with products like surveillance equipment

3. Communicate— using telephony, video, collaboration tools and more.

The goal: make all these products work together seamlessly, easily, reliably.

Cisco understands that most small business owners and managers aren’t going to build or manage their networks themselves. They’re going to turn to a technology provider — someone who knows about all that geeky gear. That’s why Cisco has created their partner network — to make it easier for small businesses to find qualified technology help. Cisco is also offering, for a limited time, 0% financing on their equipment for small business.

Your network connection is like your plumbing. If your home plumbing goes out, it’s an inconvenience. But if your plumbing goes out at your restaurant, you can’t do business. At home, lose your Internet connection for a couple hours, go without surfing the Web. At the office, even a couple of hours may mean you lose a customer, miss a deadline.

The network IS your business. Pay attention.”

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2010-03-19-networks-key-for-small-business_N.htm?POE=click-refer

Can You See Me Now? Leveraging Video in Your Small Business

Posted by Christy Poturkovic
Jun30
cpoturkovic

Are you looking for ways to make your remote employees part of the team? Or wonder how you can add a more personal feel to meetings with clients whose office is hundreds of miles away? Are you trying to reduce travel expenses and save time? Try adding video to your next conference call.

With the explosion of IP based video options, it’s easier and more cost effective than ever. You no longer have to have a boardroom with tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, but can easily add video telephony or web-based services without a lot of capital investment.

Here are some of the benefits:

1) Video gives your business a more professional image and allows you to meet a higher level of business expectation. Not only does it provide face to face communication, the ability to easily share any type of information results in faster decision making; bringing products or services to market quicker; and enabling you to stay ahead of your competitors.

2) It’s cost-effective and convenient. With sky-rocketing travel costs, video conferencing makes more sense than ever. In addition to saving travel expenses, productivity increases bring about an intangible value.

3) Video conferencing has grown beyond a time and cost savings, it’s become a business opportunity and a strategic advantage. It can be used to easily and conveniently reach a large and geographically diverse audience. Meetings can even be recorded for later playback.

4) It provides a better way to scale resources with limited availability, such as subject matter experts and executives.

The improvements in, and increasing accessibility of, video conferencing technology, in conjunction with an increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed workforce, will cause video conferencing use to continue to grow. The research firm Gartner predicts revenues to grow from $7 million in 2008 to more than $200 million by 2015.

In today’s business climate, the question is no longer if a business can afford video conferencing, but whether they can afford not to use it.

5 Ways To Protect Your Small Business Data Network

Posted by Zach Bertram
Apr27
zbertram

5 Ways To Protect Your Network

Many small businesses are unaware of (1) how dependent they are on their networks and (2) how vulnerable they are to losing them.   But, there are some simple principles business owners and managers can apply to help their network remain fast and reliable.

Here are 5 areas where business owners can improve their network reliability:

1.)    Deploy a solid network design

Every business is different.  Even companies in the same business operate in different ways.  Your network has to be designed to support your unique operations.  While there are general principles that a good network follows, there are always unique issues to your own needs.  Have a trusted professional complete a design that will give you the reliability and speed your business needs.  Plus, a good design now will save you money replacing the wrong hardware down the road.

2.)    Minimize the number of manufacturers you utilize

So, let’s say your network stopped working right now.  You don’t know why.  You just know you can’t connect to the internet and therefore your business operation is on pause.  If you’re like many small businesses, your IT closet is filled with a potpourri of various product manufactures.   And when you contact support to try to figure out what’s wrong, the finger pointing begins.  Everyone says it’s not their fault.  It’s the other guy.

Minimizing the brands in your closet reduces or eliminates the other places the fingers can be pointed.  Therefore, you call one guy, it’s his fault, and he knows it.  Then he fixes it.  Additionally, products designed in families already know how to work together, making them more reliable and simpler to work with.

3.)    Place equipment in an appropriate environment

The IT closet is a highly overlooked issue in a small business’s computer network.  The area where you place your servers, routers, phone systems, etc.  must, at a minimum, be:

-  Constantly temperature controlled to the  comfortable temp for your systems

-  Highly secure and used only for operating IT network equipment.  Only a select group of people should have a key to this area.

-  Always, always, always dry.

If you’re having trouble justifying the costs to build an appropriate IT closet, just review this simple formula:

Cost to replace over heated equipment
PLUS cost of a service provider to try to recover lost data from damaged equipment
PLUS cost of services to install and configure replacement equipment
PLUS lost revenues for services that can’t be performed during down time
PLUS lost operations cost for lack of employee productivity during down time
EQUALS you can’t afford to not have a solid IT closet

4.)    Put appropriate network security measures in place

The days of no one wanting to hack your computer network are gone.  Everyone is a target for one reason or another.  You don’t know what information you have that someone else wants.  Even small non-profits can be targets for their information on the individuals they serve.  And you don’t know when you’re going to be a training session for an up and coming hacker.

A secure network needs to control not only what is coming in, but also what’s going out.  Employees from inside the network can unknowingly undermine network security by utilizing popular web sites and services that create holes in your network security.  These holes can be exploited by outside threats to gain access to your network.

5.)    Only allow trusted professionals to make changes to your network

There are two ways you extend trust to a service provider that works on your network:  (1) By becoming intimate with your network, they also become familiar with your vulnerabilities.  (2)  Your network is critical to your everyday operations.  The quality of the work done to it can directly impact your business’s daily operations.

Make sure you trust the integrity and skill level of the companies you choose to touch your network.

Want to learn more?  Check out USA Today’s recently published an article pointing out how small businesses neglect their computer networks and what one equipment manufacturer is doing to help.

Cisco Video Surveillance Webinar scheduled for Small Businesses

Posted by Zach Bertram
Apr7
zbertram

Did you know the central Indiana property crime rate is 37 percent higher than the national average?

Installing physical security cameras can make the difference between saving your assets and risking burglary, vandalism, or employee theft.

CPI and Cisco will host the free webinar “Saving Your Assets: Small Business Guide to Physical Surveillance” on Wednesday, April 21.

This webinar will educate small business leaders on today’s trends and best practices for utilizing video surveillance for protecting company assets.

Video surveillance allows small businesses to:

  • – Deter theft and vandalism by monitoring property, including:
  • – Collect evidence if theft or vandalism occurs
  • – View arriving guests at office entrances
  • – Allow remote viewing for to observe work status in other locations (e.g. which vehicles are being serviced in a service bay)
  • – And more

Many small businesses use video surveillance to increase secuirty in:

  • - Parking lots, walkways, exterior entrances, etc.
  • - Office areas, especially activity during after hours and weekends
  • - Warehouse and other storage areas

In this session, attendees will see how simple using this new technology can be, including:

  • - Managing multiple cameras through the Internet right from your PC
  • - Moving and adjusting remote cameras and record important data that can be saved for evidence for future reference
  • - Storing surveillance images reliably and affordably

Register now to reserve your spot for this free event.

Saving Your Assets:  Small Business Guide to Physical Surveillance
Wednesday, April 21
9–10 a.m. ET

Webcast details provided upon registration.

Indianapolis Cisco Partner adds Small Business product line

Posted by Zach Bertram
Apr5
zbertram

Cisco Systems, Inc. has named a new Small Business partner in Indianapolis.  Communications Products, Inc. (CPI) has been a premier partner serving the Indianapolis area and is excited to now carry Cisco’s small business product line.

Cisco products provide the resources and reliability businesses have come to expect from CPI.  Along with existing product offerings, CPI will now offer Cisco small business voice and data solutions. 

Cisco is a leading manufacturer for:

  • Voice and video conferencing technologies
  • Routers and switches
  • Network security
  • Video surveillance
  • Network storage

Cisco Systems has been known for enterprise level networking and voice products for over 25 years, and has developed a strong reputation for quality products and reliable customer support.  In recent years, Cisco has additionally began to focus on creating quality, cost effective products designed for small businesses – products that CPI is very enthusiastic about.

CPI believes that this small businesses product line will impact how small businesses use technology and give them more access to technology benefits being utilized by large corporations.

Have you been to sales training recently? Are they getting it right?

Posted by Jeff Dean
Feb16
jdean

A colleague of mine told me about a recent sales training that had a key point of befriending the gatekeepers, which has a place when there is a gatekeeper, but a very insightful sales person recently conveyed a truth about the evolving world, “there are no gatekeepers any more”.

With the many methods of communication today and the openness of the paths to that communication, very rarely is there a gatekeeper to contact the person you need to get to. Today’s corporate America does not employ a person to protect and ward off communication to the management personnel; rather the management is striving to reach out to more people to convey their message and information.

So what is the future of communications and how does the next generation communicate? I recently had the privilege of attending a lecture at a college campus and noticed that as everyone entered and exited the lecture no one talks to each other. Almost all had an mp3 player in and did not speak to their peers. What I came to find out was that they all had been communicating during the entire lecture via texting. This is the reality of how the next generation is communicating. Business needs to embrace these types of communications and work with how they communicate rather than change how they communicate.

With all that is said, how does corporate America begin to incorporate this into standard communications? It all starts with acceptance and a willingness to be open to change. In these tough economic time it is easy to fall back into old habit that have worked in the past, which also may still work. However, in addition, it is also important to spend time reflecting on the big picture and look at how innovation and evolution of your communications can lead your business to places it has never been.

Technologies that SMBs are using Right Now. A conversation with SpinWeb CEO Michael Reynolds & David Schoenenberger

Posted by Chris Dellen
Feb3
cdellen

After reading analyst reports on what technologies small business are using, I wasn’t very impressed. It seemed to distant from the conversations that I have had with business owners in the past. To satisfy my own curiosity I decided to hit the street and talk with successful small business owners myself and find out first hand what technologies they were using right now to maintain closer relationships with their customers and gain a competitive advantage.

Technologies that SMBs are using Right Now. A conversation with SpinWeb CEO Michael Reynolds.

Technologyies that SMBs are using Right Now. A conversation with David Schoenenberger

Is Multi-Tasking Killing your Small Business?

Posted by Christy Poturkovic
Feb2
cpoturkovic

“To do two things at once – is to do neither,” Roman philosopher Publilius Syrus wrote in 100 A.D., and modern science has been proving him right.

It’s been found that:

- People who multitask are less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time

- Managing two mental tasks at once reduces the brain power available for either task

- Trying to do two or three things at once, or in quick succession, can take longer than doing them one at a time

Turns out that our capacity to multi-task is far more limited than most of us think!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent the better part of my career multitasking – typing a proposal while talking on the phone, “listening” to a colleague while reading a report. Not only was that my main way of handling things, I was darn good at it – or so I thought.

Have you ever seen a performer balancing plates on the end of a stick? In order to keep the plates from falling to the ground he has to keep spinning each stick, but what happens when he can’t keep them all going? Usually one starts to wobble, then bumps into the one next to it and pretty soon they’ve all crashed to the ground. Now imagine that you’re the performer and all day, every day, you rush from plate to plate to keep them all going. Do you think that would get a little stressful? How effective are you with so many plates spinning?

The problem with multi-tasking is if that’s your main approach to your work or your life, you’ll frequently end up with too many plates spinning. Then the challenge is you can only touch each task long enough to keep it going, but usually not long enough to complete it adequately. And if you do stop to complete a specific task, the stress caused by ignoring the others can cause a less than satisfactory effort – and outcome – on the task you’re trying to complete. How many spinning plates are you attempting to manage each day? How many should you get rid of?

We’ve all heard of the 80/20 rule – 80 percent of our results come from 20% of our efforts. I think we all intuitively understand it, but we often fail to apply it. Let’s look at a typical work day. Assuming you work 8 hours a day, 20% of your time is 96 minutes. What if you developed the habit of spending 20% of your time each day – 96 minutes – focused on your top priorities? That’s an hour and a half of focused, uninterrupted time accomplishing your most important tasks or projects for the day. What if you started as early in the day as possible, and didn’t allow yourself to be interrupted or distracted by e-mail, ringing phones, your co-workers, or anything else for 96 minutes? What could you get done? How would that affect the rest of your day? Your week?

As author and speaker John Maxwell says, “The secret to your success is determined by your daily agenda. We over-exaggerate yesterday. We over-estimate tomorrow, and we under-estimate today.”

What actions are you taking today to offload your repetitive, time draining tasks? Technology? Personal discipline? How we spend our time each day is a matter of choice. Are your choices leading you closer to your goals?