UniComData Blogs

By 2014, mobile browsing is projected to exceed desktop browsing and currently 1/2 of all local searches are done on a mobile device.

• 43% of mobile searchers “walk through the door” of a local business discovered via mobile search.  Of those, 22% make a purchase.
• 63.2 million people in the U.S. own smartphones,  a 60% increase from the number of smartphone owners in 2009.
• 33% of Google’s mobile searches have local intent.
• 53% of Bing’s mobile searches are local.

The UniComData Team can create your mobile website to be easily accessible, user friendly and optimized for over 5,000 mobile devices.  With today’s technology, it’s the place to be.

Cloud computing is changing the way businesses operate. By accessing software and services through the internet, instead of on internal hardware, companies can save capital and respond to opportunities quickly.

With cloud computing, businesses can tap into software and services, as they need them, using an Internet connection and a web browser. Cloud services can help you manage growth and connect with your staff across town or the world.

Manage Growth
One of the toughest aspects of running a small business is predicting what resources are needed to support future demand. If the company grows quickly, more people and equipment need to be added to fulfill the work. Too much investment for the future is risky.

Cloud computing allows companies to quickly access the applications needed to increase capacity, support growth and handle busy periods. If a customer or project demands increase, software in the cloud scales without a big outlay of cash. The flexibility of the organization increases with cloud computing because it is easy to adjust and scale.

Improve Collaboration
Companies with remote employees can particularly benefit from cloud computing. More and more small and medium-sized businesses support home workers and employees that aren’t in the main office every day.
No matter where they’re located, employees can use cloud applications to have meetings, talk to one another, share files, and collaborate on materials in real time. With cloud computing, you can build a team that works together seamlessly. Improved productivity and better communication allows businesses to capitalize on new opportunities quickly.

To find out more about the benefits of cloud computing, contact us. We’ll help you find the solutions that fit your business and your budget.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad’s screen. That’s easy to do on an iPad.
Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all your captured screenshots.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Is your staff bringing their own devices and gadgets to the workplace? There are pros and cons that you need to know before you decide to adopt this practice for your business.

You may have noticed more and more of your employees or colleagues bringing their own computing devices to work, such as their mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. Or perhaps in your company or in other companies you may have seen, they have let people decide which device they prefer because they are used to it at home. You may not realize it, but this is all part of a large trend called the “consumerization” of IT, in which the influence of consumer technology is being increasingly felt in the workplace. With the wide availability of cheap but powerful mobile devices and online services, a growing number of people are being exposed to the latest technology at home first—adopting them at a rate faster than most businesses are able to manage. This flips on its head the old paradigm in which traditionally new technologies would be rolled out to businesses first, before they would find their way to consumers.

This trend, plus the increasing sophistication of young workers today and their frustration with the tools available to them at the office, is pushing some companies to adopt a “bring your own device” or BYOD policy at work. They are not alone. According to research by technology analyst group Gartner end users, not the IT department, will soon be responsible for 50 percent of business IT procurement decisions—ultimately bringing and running their own systems on company networks. Meanwhile, according to management consultants Accenture, around one-third of today’s younger generation of workers (a group called “millenials”) not only wants to use the computer of their choice at work, but also wants control of the applications they use too.

The benefits companies cite to adopting a BYOD policy are many, among them:
• Savings on capital expenses and training costs in using company equipment—compensating employees instead via other means such as flexible work hours, subsidized purchases, insurance, and other benefits.
• Less management headache—effectively letting employees decide what to use releases the company from some overhead and management responsibilities.
• Improved employee satisfaction—by giving employees the freedom to use devices and applications that they prefer.

However, before you consider letting employees bring their own personal technology to the work place, be aware that there are also disadvantages, and sometimes very real dangers in doing so. These include:

• Non-standardization of hardware, operating systems, and applications. If your business operations require that some equipment is integrated with others, then BYOD can, in the long run, actually increase IT management costs and decrease efficiency.
• Exposing your network to malware or security vulnerabilities and breaches. When your employees bring their own devices to work, you lose important control over their security. Consumer devices often don’t employ comparable bullet-proof security technologies mandated by businesses.
• Leakage of confidential or proprietary information. Employees will naturally do what they want with the data on their devices, even if it doesn’t belong to them, or it’s against company policies. Employees can also lose precious company data when they misplace or damage their personal devices.
• Lower economies of scale in procurement. Essentially because everyone is buying devices on their own, you miss out on the chance to consolidate purchases and lower purchase costs for everybody.

Have you adopted a BYOD policy at work? Thinking about it? Worried about this trend? If you need to understand BYOD better so you can define a policy for your staff, contact us and see how we can help.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

While professional social networking site LinkedIn is much used by many businesses, many organizations only skim the top of the potential benefits. These tips will help you improve the way you utilize this unique social networking tool.

With a still-growing user base of at least 120 million, LinkedIn has become THE professional social networking tool of many businesses. While Facebook is still the major network on the personal side, LinkedIn’s importance in the business-to-business world is growing.

With LinkedIn, your social networking strategy doesn’t have to be complex, and smaller companies, in particular, can quickly see results with just a little effort. Here are a few pointers to help you maximize the positive effect of your LinkedIn connections.

Be comprehensive. “Short and sweet” may be the rule of thumb in any other kind of forum, but for professional purposes it’s always best to include as many credentials about you and your business as possible. It’s helpful to give potential clients and connections the full story on your strengths – which means listing past employment and work experience, academic backgrounds, pertinent skills, competencies and certifications, and even educational backgrounds. It’s important to understand that many of the people who will enlist your services will only have your online credentials to go on, so give them a complete picture of what you’ve done and can do.

Customize your URL. When you create a LinkedIn profile, the site auto-generates a URL for that profile. But did you know that you can customize and change that URL? By changing it to reflect your business, it makes you much easier to remember and find.

Be involved. Much like in Facebook, a LinkedIn profile is useless if you simply post and forget. It’s essential to keep your info up to date, and interact with people by posting questions and comments. Proactive, educational input into the groups that serve your potential clients will build a good impression with professionals who are looking for the services or products that your company supplies.

We are always ready to help you build your business, so let us help you build your customer connections.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

VoIP is certainly a technology that has come of age. It’s ubiquitous, and easy-to-use and any business should have VoIP in their toolset. Any business, no matter the size, should be using VoIP to increase productivity, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.

If you are running a business, then there is no reason you shouldn’t be using Voice-over-IP, or VoIP, to reduce telecommunications cost, streamline operations, and improve the flexibility for your organization today.

VoIP, simply put, allows telephone communications to run over your data network or the Internet. The benefits of this setup are many, and the following are just a few.

1. VoIP allows companies to maximize investments already made in their network infrastructure. The same network which handles the flow of data such as web access and email can now accommodate voice as well—no need to add and maintain additional wires and devices.

2. VoIP can allow you to dramatically reduce the cost of communications, especially for interstate or international communications—everything can go through the Internet instead of incurring expensive long distance toll charges.

3. VoIP allows your employees to be more productive and efficient by giving them the ability to receive and make calls anywhere with a data connection, using their laptop, mobile phone, tablet, or virtually any device connected to the Internet.

4. VoIP increases the number of features you can use with your phone system. For example, it’s easier to add extensions to your phone. You can provide a local number or extension for all your staff without additional costs or cabling. You can also set up sophisticated auto answering routines and call routing. You can join voice messages with email and faxes all in one inbox.

5. You can use VoIP as a tool for real-time collaboration—along with video conferencing and screen sharing. You can employ presence technologies that come standard with VoIP phones and VoIP communication systems. Communicate with colleagues about your presence or receive info on the status and whereabouts of your staff.

Previously, all these benefits were only available with a big price tag and a critical limitation—the unavailability or unreliability of the company’s Internet connection—but not anymore. With the great strides made in technology and the wide availability and affordability of broadband connections over the last few years, VoIP is now readily within reach for many businesses—large or small.

If you are interested in learning more about how VoIP can help your business, contact us today to find out more!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Businesses are constantly looking for exploitable holes in their security systems to protect themselves from hackers. But while your focus may currently be on the security of your employees’ laptops and smartphones, it appears that the very heart of your corporation could have been left wide open.

Boston based Rapid7 is a security company that specializes in finding holes in computer systems. Earlier this year their chief security officer, HD Moore, found a way to remotely spy on top firms’ conference rooms across the nation.

Moore wrote a program that scans the Internet for unsecured videoconferencing systems, and found that by simply calling in, his researchers could not only see and hear inside boardrooms, but they could also move the camera and utilize its zoom. In less than two hours, they had gained access to 5,000 video conference systems.

Information at Risk
If a hacker can access your boardroom through your videoconferencing equipment; your company is left extremely vulnerable. Private conversations, trade secrets and privileged financial information are all up for grabs. By operating the camera using mouse gestures, a hacker could see who is present at your boardroom meetings. Silence will afford anonymity no longer.
Once in, a hacker could also see who’s on your speed-dial and connect to any boardroom on your list, negating security measures that your colleagues or customers may have put in place.

Protect Company Information
While time and money have been put into ensuring your videoconferencing equipment’s visual and audio clarity, it’s time to make security your number one priority. If you are still using unsecured systems set up outside firewalls, it’s time to evaluate the system and look at alternatives.

In addition, systems that include a feature that automatically accepts inbound calls so users do not have to press an “accept” button every time someone dials in are adding to your security risk. Anyone can dial in and look around a room, and the only sign of their presence is a tiny light on a console unit.

There are trade-offs with every connection you make from your business to the outside world. Make sure that you are aware of the risks and taking the security steps that are right for your company. Contact us if you would like to make your boardroom more secure.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Have you heard the term Unified Communications before? Curious as to what Unified Communications is all about? Read on to find out what it is and what it can do for your business.

Because of continued improvements in technology, and changes in the way people work, we now have a multitude of options to communicate with one another. This can be both a benefit and a curse, as not only do we have to learn and master a variety of devices from which to communicate—but also contend with an equal or higher number of forms with which to communicate. For example, not only do we make a phone call to talk nowadays, but we also chat, text, tweet, post, like, poke, huddle, share screens, do white board sessions, and more. We can do all of these whether on the desktop computer, laptop, netbook, tablet, desk phone, mobile phone, TV – and soon maybe even from the kitchen refrigerator! Not surprisingly, people have started looking for ways to tame and simplify all of this complexity—and thus was born the concept of “Unified Communications.”

Unified Communications, simply stated, encompasses the organization of different communication tools and models so that it can be used and managed in an integrated way, with the goal of improving flexibility, efficiency, and effectiveness. To illustrate the benefits of Unified Communications, here are some examples of how it can be used in several business scenarios:

1. Have a “single number to call” or a simpler way of reaching people. Instead of remembering and sharing a phone number, IM handle, email address, twitter account, and more, you can have just one number or address by which people can reach you—and systems will bridge that with whatever device or application your Unified Communications happen to be on or you prefer. So you can easily have calls placed to your desk phone routed to your mobile phone when you are out, and have voice mail emailed to you as a recording in case you can’t answer.

2. Reaching people when you need them. If you are working remotely, or managing remote workers, Unified Communications systems can indicate your or your colleagues’ location or “presence”—i.e., whether you or they are available at the normal location, working remotely, or out in the field.

3. Synchronous or asynchronous way of working. If you work with people in different time zones you can opt to conference when your schedules overlap, or swap messages that can be answered at their convenience if they don’t —and be able to track and tie all of these together.

4. Richer collaboration. If you work on projects, Unified Communications can allow you or your team to get in touch and collaborate in a richer and more interactive way. While working on a project you can chat, switch to voice calls for better clarity, or conference via video to provide more contexts, as well as share screens for easier collaboration—all from a single screen or session.

5. Application integration. Imagine if you had the ability to call people from your email application’s address book, or initiate a web conference from your instant messaging tool. With Unified Communications that is all possible.
Unified Communications may sound expensive and complex, but in reality it can actually lessen costs and make things simpler for you and your business. Learn more about Unified Communications and what else it can do to improve your business by contacting us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can be a real lifesaver, especially for small businesses that have IT needs just like everyone else but are hard pressed to find the manpower and resources to support a dedicated tech department. As with all business relationships, it’s important to establish good rapport with your MSP to ensure that everything flows and goes as planned.

Business relationships are cultivated. Grown. That’s what you do – at least if you want your business to flourish. The healthier your business relationships, the more productive and efficient your operations become.

Naturally, this applies to your relationship with your Managed Service Provider (MSP). Your IT is an important part of your day-to-day operations, and contributes greatly to how productive your business can become – so establishing good working rapport with your MSP is especially essential. Here are a few pointers for building and maintaining a great relationship with your current or prospective MSP partner.

Assess what your MSP can provide for you: Sit down with your MSP to learn their ideas for your business, then carefully assess whether the services they offer support and augment your operations – current and planned. Look closely at contracts and make sure you understand the fine print, and carefully evaluate whether the service agreement meets your needs. Do some research about prospective MSPs (which is easy to do through the Internet) to verify their claims. Making sure you have the right fit is an important first step in getting the most out of an MSP.

Define roles and manage expectations: Make sure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood early in the process, especially if your MSP is integrated with or augmenting an existing IT operation. This will help minimize overlapping job roles (which is ultimately unproductive for the both of you), as well as territorial disputes and misunderstandings.

Communicate constantly: While your MSP will essentially manage your IT, it’s still your IT department. Make sure that you open healthy channels of feedback and communication. It’s also recommended that you keep your MSP informed of any new directions or strategies that you feel will affect the IT operations that your MSP partner handles. It’s a good idea to schedule regular planning sessions and meetings with them so that they will be able to anticipate what you need – and provide it – in line with your own goals and timetables.

Establish trust and respect your MSP’s decisions: Treat your MSP like you would your IT manager. Give them general direction, and then let them do what they do best: manage IT. Entrusting your IT to an outside contractor can be a difficult decision, but as long as your MSP is reliable and secure, it may very well be one of the best business decisions you’ve ever made.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

On one hand, social media is simple enough that a child can use it – which nowadays, is happening literally. But when it comes to business and social media, it’s a different ballgame entirely. Sadly, this concept is lost on many businesses, who unknowingly commit all sorts of mistakes that actually hinder growth, rather than help speed it up.

Social media is booming. Since its introduction a few years ago, social media platforms have not only changed the way people connect on the internet, it’s also changed the way business is done. When applied correctly, it’s a cost-effective tool that helps businesses connect with a much larger audience and client base, as well as potential clients. That is, however, if it’s used properly.

One common mistake businesses make is the failure to draw the line between personal and professional. While showing a human aspect of your business isn’t bad at all, doing it too much makes you less consistent as a business entity and makes followers or audiences lose touch of what you’re really about.

Another common error is the failure to handle bad feedback correctly. More often than not, one negative comment can balloon into a full blown argument that will only give people an even more negative impression about you and your business. While you should acknowledge even bad feedback, more detailed discussion should be done privately and only between the parties concerned.

Social media is not a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. You need to constantly update and monitor your social media platforms so they don’t become stagnant. People will be more encouraged to follow you on Twitter or visit your Facebook page if they have something new to look forward to every once in a while. Make sure, though, that you don’t post too frequently – or worse, fall into the trap of making it too promotionally-driven, which comes across as self-serving and impersonal.

If you’re interested in knowing more and drawing up a comprehensive and effective social media plan for your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can discuss things and better respond to any issues or questions you might have.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.