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Small Business Technology Trends for 2018

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Small Business Technology Trends for 2018

Out with the old, in with the new! We have seen a ton of new trends in business tech in recent years, and 2018 will only be a year of more and more changes. Seemingly distant technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are finally making their way down to the small business sector, as well as more powerful tools for workplace convenience and mobility. Keep an eye on these small business technology trends for 2018.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is no longer characterized by science fiction robots and vindictive computers come to life. Today, artificial intelligence is increasingly used in business for both its computing abilities and convenience in freeing up time for its human counterparts. In 2018, artificial intelligence will finally be affordable enough for the little guys to take advantage of. From chat bots to computer learning software, AI for business is a technology you will want to keep your eyes on.

Cloud Computing

If you are not already utilizing cloud computing in one form or another, your business isn’t just stuck in 2017, it’s stuck in 1995. Most of the leading project management software, CRMs, and even file storing services are cloud based. The reason the cloud is so huge in business is its convenience and reliability. You can access a cloud based program from any device and automatically save and backup your information on an ongoing basis.

Cloud based desktops are a huge trend for 2018, as they take cloud computing to a whole new level of convenience. With a cloud based desktop, you can log into your desktop with all of your files from any device. With mobility and working from home at an all-time high, the prevalence of cloud computing will only continue to rise.

More Automation

Automation, automation, automation – this trend isn’t going anywhere any time soon. From marketing to the machine shop, small businesses need now more than ever to hop on the automation train or get left in the dust. You don’t need to worry about automation coming for anyone’s jobs just yet, but it will certainly make menial tasks more bearable and wide scale operations more possible.

More Powerful CRMs

Client relationship managers (CRMs) will be more than a notetaking and follow-up reminder system in 2018. CRMs are growing to include both automation and artificial intelligence. The new wave of CRMs can send your follow-up emails for you automatically and even analyze your leads to recommend which are the most likely to convert. Combine this with being based in the cloud and you’ve got the sales person’s new best friend.

Service Providers Over In-House

With all of these new small business technology trends for 2018, the use of service providers over in-house teams is increasing in popularity. Hiring a service provider for your technology needs allows you to keep up with the fast changing landscape, and means that you don’t have to do constant re-training and new hiring to be able to use the next big tech trend. Service providers are specialists in what they do, and only charge you to use the service you need. Using a service provider over an in-house team allows you to more nimbly shift with trends in technology.

Small Business Technology Trends for 2018

What technology do you think will finally reach the small business sector in 2018? Are we in for a year of AI’s and automation, or just another year of the same old tech everyone is already using? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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DIY Backup vs. Cloud Provider

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diy backup vs cloud provider

Are you a business owner that has recently started to wonder if you should have your computers backed up? If you have enough client and project information that it would be a big setback to lose it all, now is the time to start looking at backup options. Data loss is expensive and stressful. It’s important to choose the best backup solution for your business’s needs, so let’s start with the basics: using DIY backup vs. a cloud provider.

Time it Takes to Recover Lost Data

If you suffered a major data loss, how long would you be willing wait to for your restored data? If your answer is anything other than a few minutes, DIY backup is not for you. With a cloud provider, a phone call or email is all it takes to have your entire network’s data restored. With DIY, depending on the system you are using, it can take days or even weeks to get your data restored! It is a tedious and time-consuming process to restore a computer when you don’t know exactly what you are doing. This lag time is why many users opt to use a professional cloud provider for their backup solutions.

The Factor of Human Error

We all like to think that we and our employees are error-free, efficient workers. The truth of the matter is though, humans are incredibly error prone. The danger with DIY backup is that you bring the factor of human error back into the equation. Humans can forget to update your backup regularly, make an error while creating the backup and damage/lose data, or could even accidentally delete the entire backup.

A cloud provider will set up an automated system to regularly update your backup; no human necessary. Cloud providers have tried and true systems in place to both protect, and maintain, backed up data to keep it free of corrupted files and away from human mistakes.

Peace of Mind

Managing a backup system yourself can be a stressful task. There is the process of figuring out which type of backup is best for you, deciding how often to run the backup, making sure the backups are done correctly, and then there’s the unknown of it actually working to restore your lost data should anything happen.

By using a cloud backup provider, all of that stress and work is the responsibility of someone else. Cloud providers manage and protect your backup files 24/7. They have the technology to back up data properly and securely and do regular checks to make sure the backups are healthy and can be easily recalled should need be. This is why many businesses leave their backup solutions to the professionals.

Cost

When it comes to DIY backup vs. cloud providers, you would be surprised to learn that a cloud provider is, in fact, often less expensive than an in-house solution. With DIY backup, you must purchase the hardware for a backup and likely hire IT personnel to set it up and manage it. On the other hand, the backup services that cloud providers offer have a monthly fee that covers all hardware costs and time spent by personnel to update your backup and maintain it. Any unpredictable costs (like hardware needing to be replaced or running updates) are taken care of by the cloud provider; you only pay a consistent monthly fee for the service.

DIY Backup vs. Cloud Provider

If you are looking for a low stress, reliable way to backup your business’s data, using a cloud provider is the way to go. By setting up a cloud backup system with a provider, a monthly fee gets you hardware, round-the-clock support, and most of all, peace of mind. Should you suffer a data loss, your cloud provider has your back. Save yourself the headache of trying to set up a DIY solution and leave it to the professionals; your future self will thank you.

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What Does Managed IT Services Mean?

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What Does Managed IT Services Mean

A managed service provider, often called an “MSP,” is a third-party contractor that manages services from an offsite location. IT service providers essentially take on everything that an in-house IT department would normally be responsible for. They provide server space for companies to use, run system updates, and even manage data and cyber security. For business owners, it is usually an “out of sight, out of mind” type of all-inclusive IT partner.

How Does Managed IT Services Work?

Managed IT services often work like this: the contractor (or MSP) owns the IT equipment that businesses use and manages all upkeep. This would mean that the provider would own the servers that the company uses, is responsible for running updates, network maintenance, cyber security, and so on. In today’s landscape, this often includes cloud computing services as well, but not always. Services are usually customizable to a company’s needs.

Payment is often in the form of a flat monthly fee and corresponds with what services the business uses and what sort of memory space their data takes up. This system means that the MSP is just as motivated as you are to keep things running smoothly and efficiently; they don’t profit from problems. It is usually more cost effective that hiring IT staff for companies that are smaller or are just not technology savvy.

Why Businesses Use Managed IT Services

Companies of every size use managed IT services. Many small businesses are stuck in an in-between space where they need the security and reliability of IT staff, but are not quite large enough or need enough services to warrant hiring IT staff in-house. Using a managed IT service provider is more cost effective for small businesses and offers professional cyber security and system maintenance, which many small businesses lack. The consistent monthly payment makes IT expenses predictable.

Managed IT services aren’t just for small businesses though. Many medium and even large businesses prefer to use an IT service provider for a few different reasons. One instance where an MSP makes more sense is for businesses that have many locations and/or many remote employees. If your staff is not all in one place, there is not really an advantage to having an on-location IT department. Another example is companies in industries that are just not in the business of technology. A number of companies in older industries, like construction and manufacturing just to name a few, might realize they need to step up their IT game but just aren’t familiar with it or don’t want to learn. Hiring an MSP becomes simply a more convenient option for today’s necessary data security and mobile computing.

Advantages of Managed IT Services vs. Traditional Model

With a managed IT service provider, you are locked into a predictable monthly cost. Your MSP is truly a partner, rather than a service provider that makes more money when you have technical problems or when systems break down. The MSP has the same goal as your company: to keep things running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. That is why the model of managed services is becoming increasingly popular in the IT world.

Managed IT Services

The demand for managed IT services grows as business technology needs continue to change. With each passing year there is a new trend in tech that businesses need to keep up with to stay competitive. Hiring an MSP contractor to manage your equipment, updates, back-ups, and the whole nine yards is an attractive option. It is often more cost effective, too!

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What Are Online Ads that Seem to Follow You?

Online Ads that Seem to Follow You

Have you ever visited a website or been online shopping for a specific item, and now, all of a sudden, you are seeing ads from that website everywhere? If it’s an item you are not interested in or have already purchased, they might seem a little annoying. If you are still considering the purchase though, through a business’s eyes, these ads that follow you online are a marketing dream.

What Are Online Ads that Seem to Follow You?

Ads that “follow” you across different websites are called re-targeting, or re-marketing, ads. This analogy should help explain why they are so powerful: imagine if someone visited your brick and mortar clothing store. They browsed for a while and liked the clothes, but didn’t make a purchase. Normally they would leave and likely never think about your store again. But what if you had a way of subtly putting your clothes in front of them throughout their day? Maybe someone walked by wearing the clothes they were just looking at, or they saw a billboard for your brand featuring what they had just tried on, and now offering a 20% off coupon on these items! If this was you as a consumer, wouldn’t you be pretty close to returning to the store and making a purchase now?

This is essentially what re-marketing is, but in a digital version. With Google’s re-marketing ads you can track who has visited your site, what pages they viewed, and even if they took actions like added items to their cart.

How Re-Marketing Works

For most types of re-marketing, you must set up lists, or “audiences,” in Google Analytics to gather the information of those who visit your website. The most basic audience type is to gather everyone who visits any page of your website to re-market to. On top of a general audience you can also start to build more targeted audiences based on their behavior; such as which web pages they visited and what items they viewed.

These audiences can then be used to either show ads to across Google’s display network or to target them in Google Searches. For display network ads, these are those ads you have probably seen with an image and a little bit of text. For search ads, by using re-targeting here, your ads will be shown at the top of their search results if users in your audience make a google search related to your website.
Re-marketing ads are a powerful way to stay at the top of the mind of shoppers. The transaction process often takes multiple visits to your website over a span of days or weeks before a purchase is made. Don’t let customers move onto a competitor and forget all about you; stay on their radar with re-marketing.

Types of Re-Marketing Ads

Standard Re-Marketing

Standard re-marketing is when you build an audience based on visitors to your website and re-market to them with ads on websites in the Google display network.

Search Re-Marketing

Search re-marketing takes users in your audience, and if they make a Google search for one of your keywords, you will get preference to show up at the top of their search results.

Video Re-Marketing

Video re-marketing takes those who have viewed your content on YouTube and re-markets to them either with YouTube videos, banner ads in the Google search network, or with search ads.

Email List Re-Marketing

Email list re-marketing is great if you already have an established list of past customers or contacts. You can upload that list into Google and specifically target them with either banner ads on Google’s display network or with search ads based on their email address.

Re-Marketing

If you have taken notice of re-marketing ads, that means your potential customers have too. Consider this type of digital advertising for your website. Staying on a customer’s radar will ensure that they stick with you throughout their entire shopping process.

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3 Things Your Business Shouldn’t Skimp On

Things Your Business Shouldn’t Skimp On

As a business owner, one of your ongoing challenges is the balancing act of keeping costs low while not limiting your growth and success. There are a few areas where it is okay to be tight fisted, but for some expenses, cutting corners will only hurt you. 3 of the main things your business shouldn’t skimp on are technology, marketing, and accounting.

Technology

At the core every business is their digital infrastructure and network of computers. Without functioning technology, your business will have a tough time reaching customers, keeping track of leads, and facilitating a smooth sales experience. Invest in a trusted and experienced IT partner. It’s not worth trying to manage it yourself or going with cheap, used equipment.

Cloud computing has also become increasingly popular. With cloud computing, your service provider does all the heavy lifting by setting up your network, running updates, and backing up all data. This sort of technology will be around for years to come and is worth the monthly cost to switch over to. Your business will benefit from more mobility and far less technical difficulties.

Marketing

When done well, marketing should serve to steadily increase your brand awareness and attract new leads more and more as time goes on. Some businesses are able to skate by on referral traffic for a while, but there always comes a time when the referral tap runs dry.

Investing in marketing is investing in the future of your business. It is not something that can be stopped and started and still expected to produce consistent results. For steady growth each year, you must invest in marketing on a regular basis. This doesn’t necessarily mean a multi-million dollar budget, but just keeping your website updated and brand awareness campaigns consistently running to help you out when your referrals become scarce. And even referrals can be easily scared away by a poorly maintained website or outdated branding.

Accounting

Unless you are an accounting wiz, experienced with payroll, and have a few spare hours a week, hire a high-quality accountant to handle your books. Not only is accounting time consuming, but doing it incorrectly can have dire consequences. These consequences could be accidentally over or under paying vendors and employees, or even worse, under paying the IRS. Your employees and vendors might be forgiving, but Uncle Sam isn’t. Hire a business accountant with a proven track record to assure everything is done correctly.

Don’t Limit Your Success by Skimping on Important Costs

Know when to skimp, and when to invest. When it comes to business services, there are a number of crucial areas where you will get what you pay for. Pinching pennies at the wrong time will only end up hurting your business in the long run. Invest in your future with quality technology, consistent marketing, and reliable accounting.

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