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Decrease printing costs in 5 easy waysYou may think that your printing expenses aren’t a major concern, but mismanaging these may result in a bloated IT budget that’s composed mostly of hardware, supply purchases, and equipment maintenance costs. These five tips will help your business save money on printing expenses. Replace outdated printers Your years-old printer may still be getting the […]

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Decrease printing costs in 5 easy ways

You may think that your printing expenses aren’t a major concern, but mismanaging these may result in a bloated IT budget that’s composed mostly of hardware, supply purchases, and equipment maintenance costs. These five tips will help your business save money on printing expenses.

Replace outdated printers

Your years-old printer may still be getting the job done, but they may be taking a bit out of your IT budget.

Any piece of equipment that is five years old (or older) requires frequent maintenance and causes more trouble than it’s worth. Because old printers are no longer under warranty, fixing them is costly and challenging. It’s also difficult to find replacement parts for old printers because manufacturers have stopped producing them.

When you replace outdated printers with newer, multifunctional ones, you’re investing in hardware that will pay for itself with increases in productivity and efficiency.

Avoid purchasing unnecessary supplies

A poorly managed printer system will result in a stockpile of cartridges, toners, and reams of paper. This happens when, for example, an employee mistakes a basic malfunction for a lack of ink and then makes an unnecessary supply request. This is more common than you may think, and definitely more expensive.

Even without a dedicated printer manager, you can avoid this situation by automating supply replacement. Assign a point person to proactively place orders when supplies are about to run out to avoid ordering items that are still in stock.

Impose strict process workflows

Submitting expense reports, filing trip reimbursements, and other administrative tasks require a proper document workflow. Without proper guidelines, employees and administrative staff end up printing unnecessary documents.

Implementing a printing process workflow can reduce or prevent redundant print jobs that result in wasted paper and ink because of abandoned documents.

Go paperless

Implementing a document management solution that reduces paper consumption is an effective way to save money. It may not be possible in every department, but those who can do their jobs without printing should be encouraged to do so. Printing lengthy email chains that can be discussed in a meeting is just one example of wasteful practices that should be avoided. And for businesses that have shifted to a work from home setup, going paperless makes total sense.

Reduce IT support calls for printing issues

Calling on an in-house IT technician to assist with problems like paper jams, printer Wi-Fi issues, and other concerns probably does more harm than good in terms of productivity. You and your IT personnel could avoid dealing with these productivity killers by identifying the problem areas of your print environment. Then, you can work on solutions specific to your office, such as drafting a printing workflow or getting help from document management experts who can recommend time- and budget-saving solutions.

Partnering with experts to manage your IT workflow will make your day-to-day operations more efficient and save money on printing costs. Our specialists will gladly recommend best practices and tips on document management. Call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Improve your information systems with unified communicationsNowadays, integrated tech is cheaper and more reliable than ever. It’s a great way to graduate from piecemeal business solutions that often conflict with one another and bring about more headaches than they are worth. Unified communications (UC) is one example. What is unified communications? UC allows you to manage all your communications as one […]

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Improve your information systems with unified communications

Nowadays, integrated tech is cheaper and more reliable than ever. It’s a great way to graduate from piecemeal business solutions that often conflict with one another and bring about more headaches than they are worth. Unified communications (UC) is one example.

What is unified communications?

UC allows you to manage all your communications as one piece of architecture rather than as several different components patched together. It integrates computer-related communication technologies like instant messaging and video conferencing with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows you to make and receive calls using the internet.

What can be integrated?

Just about every medium of communication can be integrated. This includes voice communication in all its forms — voicemail, phone calls, voice memos, and the like — as well as multimedia services like video chat and web conferencing. Real-time communication like call screening and call conferencing can also be integrated. Even data services and transactions like eCommerce and online banking can be added to a UC system.

What are the benefits of UC to small businesses?

One of the most evident benefits is having a single and flexible communication infrastructure that allows you to streamline and enhance business communication and easily manage all the components.

Features can be easily scaled up or down to support your business needs. Other benefits include:

Hypermobility

UC enables you to access your files via a wide array of smart devices, like laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more. This means you can create your office environment and satisfy customers from anywhere you please. This opens up a world of opportunity for real-time collaboration and remote work.

Improved productivity

Productivity-enhancing communication features, like call info, call routing, and more, gives staff the ability to work more efficiently and better tend to customers’ needs. Web and video conferencing calls, for instance, not only allow for real-time interactivity, but also for better collaboration. Delayed response times and gaps between dispersed teams are also minimized.

Real-time updates

Real-time presence updates share users’ location and contact information — provided that you authorize the use of this feature. This way, you can get the right information from the right person when you need it.

Single point of contact

Clearly defined points of contact ensure that stakeholders can reach you by email, phone, SMS, etc., whether they are reaching out to you from a softphone, an IP phone, email, or IM.

Reduced costs

UC eliminates travel costs and lowers phone bills since it uses the internet to make calls. It also limits the need for expensive on-site hardware, as one UC server keeps everyone connected using the aforementioned communication features.

Even better, you can potentially save thousands of dollars on office overheads by allowing employees to work from home since they’ll remain connected with their softphones even when they’re not in the office.

It’s only a matter of time before unified communications becomes the norm for day-to-day office interactions. If you’re interested in learning more about how UC or VoIP can transform your business, just give us a call. We’ll answer your questions and help you devise an integration strategy for your business.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Better business forecasting with Power BI for Microsoft 365Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an application that could help predict risks and opportunities for your business products or services? Microsoft has turned this concept into reality with Power BI’s predictive forecasting. Familiarize yourself with the capabilities of predictive forecasting and how this business intelligence feature can help your organization. Power BI is […]

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Better business forecasting with Power BI for Microsoft 365

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an application that could help predict risks and opportunities for your business products or services? Microsoft has turned this concept into reality with Power BI’s predictive forecasting. Familiarize yourself with the capabilities of predictive forecasting and how this business intelligence feature can help your organization.

Power BI is a separate Microsoft product on its own, but if you have a Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 subscription, then you can avail of Power BI for Microsoft 365. Both versions use a variety of statistical techniques, such as modeling and data mining, to analyze current and previous information to make accurate predictions. Power BI also provides users with the ability to generate reports, interactive charts, and 3D visualizations of business performance.

What’s more, Power BI’s built-in predictive forecasting models can automatically detect data seasonality, allowing users to immediately see the annual, regular, and predictable changes in data. It also enables users to see how results are affected by certain parameters. All they have to do is set parameters such as the time or the confidence interval according to their preferred configuration, and the software will analyze data accordingly. Simply put, users can perform advanced forecasting without the complexity that usually accompanies these kinds of processes.

Power BI’s predictive forecasting can also help fill in gaps with data. Power View, an interactive data exploration and presentation tool, fills in missing values from a data set before carrying out a forecast for a more accurate result.

Get started with Power BI for Microsoft 365 predictive forecasting by doing the following:

  1. Upload a workbook with a Power View time series line chart to Power BI for Microsoft 365.
  2. Open the file in Power BI.
  3. Click on the forecast arrow or drag the forecast dot in the line chart to make the forecasting parameters appear in the Analytics pane at the right of your report. To get your desired forecast or projection, configure the following parameters:
    • Forecast length – This lets you look as far into the future as you wish, be it in days, months, or years.
    • Confidence interval – This parameter allows you to indicate the probability of how close predicted values will be to the actual numbers. For instance, you can set the parameter at 80% to be certain that next year’s actual sales figures will be 80% within the range of your forecast. The higher the confidence interval, the closer the prediction is to the actual results.
    • Ignore last – Outliers in data sets can distort averages and forecasts. For instance, you want to look into sales for the past 12 months, but you know that the data of every month goes through adjustments before being locked in. With this parameter, you can take out data from the most recent month if the numbers haven’t been adjusted yet.
    • Seasonality – A data set is said to exhibit seasonality when a pattern can be discerned from the data values over cycles of time. If you anticipate seasonality in a particular workbook, you can specify the pattern to occur monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Predictive forecasting, if used properly, can immensely help with the overall strategic planning, market penetration, and operations of your business.

Looking to learn more about Microsoft 365 and its features? Call us today for a chat.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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The 3 primary cloud service models and how they differThe many benefits of cloud computing enable businesses to easily manage workloads, obtain valuable insights from massive amounts of data, and gain a competitive advantage. But with the many different types of cloud services available, cloud adoption can become overwhelming. To make it easy for you to determine which type of service can drive your […]

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The 3 primary cloud service models and how they differ

The many benefits of cloud computing enable businesses to easily manage workloads, obtain valuable insights from massive amounts of data, and gain a competitive advantage. But with the many different types of cloud services available, cloud adoption can become overwhelming. To make it easy for you to determine which type of service can drive your business to success, here are the three primary cloud service models and how they differ.

1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Unlike software that you install on your computer, SaaS solutions are apps that are hosted on a provider’s servers. Easily the largest and most well known cloud-based service, SaaS uses the cloud to process app functions for users. That is, when a user opens a mobile or web browser app, the device merely sends inputs to a data center. The data center then processes the inputs and sends its outputs back to the user's device.

Minimal to no processing is done on the user's device itself. And for as long as users have an internet connection, they can access the software from any device, at any time.

With SaaS, your provider is responsible for software maintenance and updates, which means all users will be using the same version of a particular software and get updates at the same time. As a business owner, this means that managing the software on all of your computers is not only easier but more affordable.

SaaS software solutions include office document creation suites, accounting software, email service, HR solutions, content management tools, customer relationship management systems, and more.

In a nutshell, SaaS is:

  • Available over the internet
  • Hosted on a remote server by a third-party provider
  • Scalable, with different tiers for small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses
  • Inclusive, offering security, compliance, and maintenance as part of the cost

2. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS is primarily used by developers who need a virtual environment for developing and testing their own custom software or apps. This means developers don’t need to build and maintain their own infrastructure — which is comprised of networking devices, storage, servers, an operating system, and other necessary hardware and software — when developing applications, saving the firm time and money.

Most companies that utilize PaaS do so to either host or develop their own software solutions, or provide support for software used by employees. But while PaaS is gaining popularity with many small businesses, most won’t have firsthand interactions with this type of cloud unless they need to build their own software or app.

In general, PaaS platforms are:

  • Accessible to multiple users
  • Scalable, as you can choose from various tiers of resources to suit the size of your business
  • Built on virtualization technology
  • Easy to run without extensive system administration knowledge

3. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

IaaS offers services such as pay-as-you-go storage, networking, and virtualization. The most popular and well-known type of IaaS is the virtual machine — a digital version of a computer or server that is accessed over the internet. IaaS gives users cloud-based alternatives to expensive on-premises infrastructure so businesses can use their funds to invest in other things.

In other words, if you are looking to virtualize your systems via the cloud, IaaS is a good place to start, as it allows you to move existing support systems into the cloud. Other solutions can then be migrated or introduced as needed.

IaaS is essentially:

  • Highly flexible and scalable
  • Accessible by multiple users
  • Cost-effective

While the cloud offers a wide variety of benefits and solutions, choosing the service which is best for your company’s needs can be tedious. To ease this burden, get in touch with us today. We’ll help you find the best solution your business needs and ensure proper migration and implementation so you can focus on running your business.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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