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How To Improve Your SME’s Approach To Technology

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |SME approach to technology|How To Improve Your SME’s Approach To TechnologyLet’s face it; almost every business now benefits from modern technology. Sadly, the vast majority fail to unlock their full potential. Given that tech features have become more vital than ever thanks to the pandemic, now is the time to put things right.

Here’s how you can transform your approach to tech in just 10 easy steps. The improvements for your business will be incredible.

Step 1: Invest in a fluid approach

When developing a new IT strategy, it’s imperative that your systems are ready to evolve. Managed services ensure that your hardware systems, data, and software licenses are aligned with your needs. Better still, they can be reviewed and altered at regular intervals as your business grows.

There is nothing worse than satisfying today’s needs but limiting tomorrow’s success. Being ready to adapt is key.

Step 2: Build flexible working environments

Over the past two years, you have probably been forced to embrace versatility. Work from home schemes and other flexible solutions have enabled companies to survive. However, many workers now prefer this way of work. Cloud-computing and real-time team messaging apps facilitate this. It can aid productivity and staff satisfaction.

It will also open the door to using ad-hoc remote workers for short-term agreements and one-off projects.

Step 3: Utilise automation

Automated tech has completely revolutionized modern business. Using equipment that is connected to the Internet of Things promotes fast, reliable operations. Manufacturing plants and warehouses can benefit greatly from this move. However, automation also supports stock management and order fulfillment.

One of the great things about increased automation is that it allows workers to focus on more crucial tasks.

Step 4: Don’t forget the human touch

While automation can make your business run smoothly, you must not forget that consumers expect a human touch. Humanizing the company website is a great starting point. It will make users feel closer to the brand and can remove any confusion. Adding a live chat facility to connect them to a real agent can work wonders too.

Interactions with your brand are supposed to be enjoyable and comfortable. Keep this in mind, and you won’t go wrong.

Step 5: Pay extra attention to maintenance

Employees need the right equipment to complete their jobs to the highest possible standards. Still, it’s not enough to simply ensure that they work well on day one. Scheduling maintenance that avoids unwanted downtime is one of the smartest moves you can make. Not least because it will keep products in good health.

Operational efficiency isn’t only important for productivity speeds. It also prevents employees from becoming disinterested.

Step 6: Invest in your employees

It’s one thing to support your business with the best equipment, but it counts for little if your employees don’t know how to use them properly. Therefore, regular training courses are an essential addition. Aside from making them familiar with new tools or ideas, it ensures that all workers take a consistent approach.

Besides, upskilling your employees keeps them mentally engaged. In turn, they’ll be keen to get more out of the tech features.

Step 7: Adopt eco-friendly moves

While many people assume that technology is an enemy of the environment, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, using solar energy and recycled materials can have a telling impact. Similarly, opting for paperless tech can cut down on the amount of resources you use. It’s an ideal way to use tech in an efficient way.

Aside from efficiency, corporate responsibility through greener processes will aid your brand image.

Step 8: Look to save money

Every business decision is ultimately a financial one. Long-term savings are often the main incentive for adopting new tech tools in the first place. You can use modern tech to price compare all proposed purchases or service subscriptions. Meanwhile, ideas like 3D printing can save money during prototyping. Embrace it.

By reducing your expenses, you will be in the best position to stay competitively priced. It can often aid your sales.

Step 9: Use tech to form client relationships

By now, you will have embraced digital marketing in one shape or form. Success isn’t only linked to awareness, though. You want customers to feel engaged with your content and loyal to the brand. Using video marketing and social media to provide a look behind the scenes is crucial. Again, it humanizes the brand.

Collecting data on client trends and behaviors will also help you adapt your marketing and customer care efforts.

Step 10: Protect your business

Finally, modern tech doesn’t only create new opportunities. It also presents potential dangers. Managed IT can include cybersecurity, but you must not overlook other dangers. Copyrights and patents are very important. Non-disclosure agreements can also be stored digitally.

Should an ex-employee try to profit from your ideas or innovations, you’ll be able to take the appropriate action with ease.

The Three Things Any Business Owner Must Have To Succeed In The Future

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Owner|The Three Things Any Business Owner Must Have To Succeed In The FutureIn order to be successful in the future, businesses will need to keep an open mind to change, embrace new technologies and prepare for a future where automation dominates many industries. By keeping these essential points in mind, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and continue to thrive well into the future!

1. Why Businesses Need To Keep An Open Mind To Change

The world is constantly evolving, and businesses that don’t keep up will quickly fall behind. In order to stay competitive, companies need to be willing to embrace change and adapt to new technologies. They’ll be well-prepared for the future when automation dominates many industries if they can do this.

One example of a business that didn’t adapt to change is Blockbuster. They refused to embrace new technologies, such as online streaming, and as a result, they went bankrupt. Another example is Kodak. They were a leader in the photography industry for many years, but when digital cameras became popular, they failed to embrace the new technology and went bankrupt.

2. Why Businesses Need To Embrace New Technologies

New technologies are constantly emerging, and companies that don’t embrace them will quickly lose ground to their competitors. By embracing new technologies, companies can gain a competitive advantage and stay ahead of the curve. They can also find new ways to improve their products and services.

Some examples of new technologies in the business world include open source web crawlers, which can index websites and track changes. Other examples include big data analytics, which can gain insights into customer behavior, and blockchain technology. This, again, can be used to secure online transactions. By embracing these new technologies, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in the future.

3. Why Businesses Need To Prepare For A Future Dominated By Automation

Automation is rapidly changing how businesses operate, and those who don’t prepare for it will be left behind. Automation can help companies to save money and become more efficient. It can also help them reach new markets and customers. By preparing for a future dominated by automation, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the years to come!

Businesses can save money with automation by automating their payroll processes. Automated payroll systems can help companies save time and money, and they can also help ensure that employees are paid accurately and on time.

Another way businesses can save money with automation is by automating their marketing campaigns. Automated marketing systems can help enterprises save time and money, and they can also help ensure that campaigns are executed flawlessly.

An industry that successfully embraced automation is the manufacturing industry. Over the years, automation has slowly replaced human workers in many factories. This has helped factories become more efficient and produce more products at a lower cost.

One example of a factory that embraced automation is Foxconn. They are a Taiwanese company that manufactures electronic products for Apple, Dell, and HP. To keep up with the market’s ever-changing demands, they have slowly been replacing human workers with robots. As a result, they have reduced their production costs by up to 60%.

The Future In Now

So, if you want to be successful in the future, make sure you have all three of these things in place. And if you don’t currently have them, don’t worry – it’s not too late to start working on them. Just remember, the key is to keep moving forward and always be learning.

How to Make Your Business More Efficient

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Efficient Business|How to Make Your Business More EfficientYou might have an excellent idea for a business. You might have the knowledge and information to set it up in the right way and begin trading. You might be a success. However, this will all depend on many different factors all coming into play, and one of these is that your business must be as efficient as possible. The more efficient your business is, the more productive you and your team will be, and the more successful you’ll be overall.

This might seem like an easy task, but being efficient in business isn’t always as simple as it might appear, and there are many potential stumbling blocks to overcome. Read on to find out more about making your business an efficient one so that you can be as successful as possible.

Evaluate Your Daily Routine

If you feel that your business is not as efficient as it could and should be, the best place to start is with yourself. Take an objective look at your daily routine and see what could be improved. Is there anything you are spending too much time on (time that would be better utilized elsewhere), for example? If that’s the case, you’ll need to outsource, delegate, or automate to ensure you can use your time more efficiently.

Equally, if there are areas you’re not spending enough time on, either because the other tasks are taking too long or because you don’t have the skills to do the work in a quality way, this is another area to look at – how can you improve your to-do list to ensure you’re making the most of your time and skills? When you make whatever changes are necessary, your business will become much more efficient.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

We live in a world full of technology, and using it to your advantage in business is crucial if you want to save time and become more efficient. No matter what kind of business you run, there will be software to help you manage it. From communication tools to financial software to marketing strategies, if you take the time to research each potential piece of tech and how it can relate to your business, you’ll find that once this is all implemented, you have a lot more time to do the important things that only you can do, whether that’s finding the best deals on desiccant air dryers at www.superdrysystems.com or hiring new staff or finding new customers.

Set Goals and Track Progress

If you want to improve the efficiency of your business, it’s crucial to know where you are right now, and it’s just as important to know where you intend to go. This is why you should track your progress and set goals to ensure you’re moving in the right direction. If you set a timeframe to work to, you’ll immediately be able to see if you’re being more or less efficient than you need to be.

If you are falling behind, you can see which areas need improvement and put plans in place to ensure you catch up with where you need to be. This could be by installing new productivity software, as mentioned above, by hiring new staff members, or by finding better quality products, for example.

How to Make Your Headphones Louder on PC

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Headphones|How to Make Your Headphones Louder on PCUsing your headphones on your PC helps you get a better experience of whatever it is you’re listening to. Your hearing experience is ultimately elevated when you use a good pair of headphones. Be it one of your favorite films of you listening to music, whatever you listen to can only be enjoyed if it is listened loud! That is what we are going to help you with today! We are going to bring you a list of ways with which you can make your headphones louder on your PC so that you get to have an even better experience with what you’re listening to.

Here are the ways on how you can make your headphones louder on your PC:

Clean Your Headphones

Some of the simplest solutions work the best and in this case it is very likely that you might be missing the most straightforward one. Cleaning your headphones is something you might need to do if you want to make your hearing experience better. If you use your headphones often, there’s a big chance that they’ll accumulate dust particles and ear wax buildup. Cotton swabs, alcohol wipes and a small cloth are some of the things that you can use to keep your headphones clean. Which in turn is going to make them produce better sound.

Gently remove and wipe down the outer ear buds with an alcohol wipe. After they air dry, take a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and clean the crevices. Dab a small-sized cloth or an alcohol wipe gently against the mesh to sanitize and remove any kind of dirt that still remains. Make sure to let both sections dry. In case you have wireless headphones then use a small toothbrush or a damp cotton swab and lightly brush the mesh of the headphones until it is free of dirt. If silicon tips are present at the end of the buds, remove them and let them soak in soapy water for two minutes.

Increase Volume in the Volume App

Another basic tip which you might not realize until you feel like your music is being played on low volume. Playback can sound different depending on what kind of streaming platform you’re using. Each streaming app has its own default preferences but you can manage to improve your hearing experience by increasing the volume from your music streaming app.

You just need to know how to access them to boost your volume.If you do not have any app installed into your pc to increase volume you can download it from Get Into Pc official website.

Spotify for example allows you to go into its Equalizer settings and get bass boosts or a surround sound experience. Both of which are able to increase the volume on your headphones. You can go into the Advanced Settings menu and toggle on the higher quality audio feature which Spotify offers for an even better experience.

Tidal users can turn on Enable Normalization and adjust the sound settings. To do this, access the Settings menu from the My Collection tab before selecting Loudness Normalization. After tapping Enable Normalization, drag the pre-amp slider to the right to increase the volume at which the loudness will normalize. The loudness is going to be cancelled out while making sure that the volume of your music increases. Simple yet effective.

Use Volume Boosting App

If you didn’t know that volume boosting applications exist, then good news! They actually do. These apps are created solely to help boost your audio output and these apps work in compliance with your phone’s built-in audio tools to override its maximum setting. They can be found in the Apple Store and Google Play Store and both of them are simple to set up. Just remember that louder audio means the possibility of hearing damage. So if you make use of a volume boosting app then you can slowly say goodbye to clear hearing. There are a number of applications you can use for both iPhone and Android that will help you boost your output volume.

For iPhone you can use Equalizer Pro Volume Booster, KaiserTone Audio Player, Bass Booster and Boom Music. The best part of these applications is that they are easily integrated into the settings of your phone’s operating system. Regardless of the iOS version your iPhone is running.

As for Android, the different applications you can use to boost the volume of whatever it is you’re playing include Volume Booster Pro, Equalizer FX, Volume Booster GOODEV, and MX Player. MX Player is an app that is particularly good for movies and it can help boost the volume of what you’re watching by up to 200%.

Adjusting Computer’s Volume and Sound Settings

Whether you’re using a Mac or Windows, different interfaces can change the output of your headphones which is why you should always keep the volume of your PC at maximum. You can adjust the volume of whatever it is you’re playing from its own control center. Like YouTube for example. You don’t need to go all the way to the sound settings of your PC to adjust it. You can adjust the volume level from YouTube’s volume slider.

For Microsoft Windows users, the “Volume Mixer” allows you to control the volume settings for individual speakers or headphones. Right clicking the volume icon or searching “Adjust System Volume” in the Windows Control Panel will open the window where you can change your sound settings with ease.

As for Mac users, click the apple icon in the top left corner of your desktop and open System Preferences to locate the Sound menu. From there, a list of output options will show you the volume levels of your connected device which in this case, will be your headphones. IF your headphones have a built-in amplifier or volume settings then adjust them before adjusting the volume level on your PC.

Adjust Equalizer Settings on Your Phone

Equalizer settings on your phone are usually “optimized” by the manufacturer for a standard listening experience. On iOS devices, there’s a list of different equalizer settings that vary depending on the environment or genre. In loud environments, late night setting gives a significant boost to your sound.

Not only Apple devices but Androids also have equalizer settings which can be adjusted until you find the kind of sound boost that your headphones are looking for. The Advanced Sound Settings under the Sounds and Vibration menu features the equalizer controls for these smartphones. Android offers treble, bass, vocal, and instrumental sound settings to be more precise with your sound levels. Other adjustments that you can make in the equalizer consist of the decibel levels and genre presets to help you get better volume to what you’re hearing. Genre presets help in the sense that you can select the equalizer settings for the genre of music you are listening to and all the other volume-related specifics will be optimized automatically to make sure you’re getting the best experience from the music you’re listening to.

Reset Sound Settings

Several times you might be wondering what is going wrong in the sound department on your headphones and if you think that you or someone meddled with the settings then your best bet would be to reset the sound settings on your PC. You can do this by following these steps:

  • Select the Start button
  • Select Sound Control Panel from the list of results
  • On the Playback tab, right-click the Default Device and then select Properties
  • On the Advanced Tab, under Default Format, change the setting and then retest your audio device

This should help you reset your sound settings easily making sure you have the default sound settings on your PC.

Use an Amplifier

Using an amplifier on your headphones that are connected to your PC isn’t a bad idea in all honesty. It can improve its sound when paired with it and a headphone can benefit from it. With an external hardware headphone amplifier, you will not only get your headsets to sound louder but you will also be astonished by the in-depth music detail, incredible dynamic range and improved clarity of your sound. The dimensions and size of your headphones can provide some information on whether a headphone amplifier is needed or not and whether having one can improve your listening experience.

With most in-ear headphones, you are less likely to benefit from an amplifier. However, with larger on-ear and over-ear headphones, you will get better results using an amplifier. There are a number of headphone amplifiers which you can buy in the market that come at a pretty affordable price. There are several amplifiers which can be bought for under a hundred dollars.

Conclusion

Having low sound doesn’t really start the party, does it? Thankfully with the ways mentioned above, the headphones that are connected to your PC can easily be made louder without any extra effort. All you need to do is simply follow these steps and you’re good to go!

A Managed Technology Service Can Help Your Business Succeed

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | A Managed Technology Service Can Help Your Business SucceedWhen it comes to helping a business succeed, there are a lot of factors to consider. One of those factors is the way technology is used. If there’s too much of it, it can actually get in the way of a good customer experience or relationship due to the impersonal nature of all of it. But if there’s not enough, it can be very difficult to accomplish what needs to be done or even keep up with competitors. Clearly, it’s a balance that’s important and has to be addressed. Here are some things to consider when choosing the technological options that are right for your company.

Not Everything Needs to be Stored On-Site

For many companies, storage for customer data and other information can quickly become overwhelming. But making good use of the IT cloud can change the game. That allows your company to store much of its information somewhere else, so it doesn’t end up with servers that are slow and bogged down, glitches, lost data, and other problems. Too much of a load on your current systems isn’t good for your company or its clients. The IT cloud gives you choices, because you can put all the info in the cloud or choose what’s stored that way and what stays in-house.

Some companies worry about data breaches and related kinds of problems, but there is good protection in most of the larger cloud services — and many of the smaller solutions, as well. While it’s still possible that someone could get into the company’s information, that’s just as much of a risk when keeping the data on your own servers. In some cases it might be even more of a risk, because not all companies have the right kind of security or the level of encryption that a cloud-based IT solution can offer. With the cloud, a business can also get services that are managed and monitored, so they have less to worry about where data is concerned.

Managed solutions Can Make Data Storage Easier and Safer

Among the ways to add security to your company’s data storage is through a managed IT service that can collect, store, and monitor access to information. With managed services, a company can focus on the other aspects of operating the business and worry less about IT issues or whether customer data will be available when it’s really needed. Additionally, it’s easier to control access to information and reduce the chances of large blocks of information being accidentally deleted, lost, or mislabeled.

Companies can control what they want to see handled by their managed IT service, and that makes it easier for those companies to have peace of mind and a strong plan for the future. If a company isn’t sure what services they really need or how to handle those options, they can also work with their provider to get the information they need to make the right choices. Not only does that help protect the company’s customers, but it’s also better at ensuring employees have access to what they need, as well.