5 Solutions That Can Streamline Your Business Operations
By Rick Delgado, contributing writer
With technology advancing at a rapid pace, more and more companies are finding it difficult to streamline their operations, often enduring painful consequences. Companies that don’t want to get left behind, stuck in the old days, would be wise to consider implementing these five solutions to keep up with the times.
Cloud Storage
There are many benefits to using cloud storage, one of the foremost being backup. Traditionally, companies have backed up files and documentation through ZIP drives and external disks, but these degrade over time and need to be replaced, and can be easily lost or stolen. Cloud storage eliminates these problems while offering safety measures to ensure your information remains accessible without utilizing methods that can be corrupted. With the cloud, you can access files anywhere around the globe and allow multiple employees to work on a single document simultaneously, thereby increasing productivity and efficiency.
Project Management Software
There has been an upsurge in project management software recently with companies such as Trello, Basecamp, and Podium offering solutions that are boosting productivity and efficiency. With management software, teams can collaborate on projects, delegate tasks, track project timelines, communicate with vendors and clients, keep members on schedule, and more. Many of these programs are accessible through web-based applications.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management tool which allows you to access all of your accounts — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, YouTube, and Instagram — on one dashboard. With Hootsuite you can better manage customer service as it allows you to delegate messages to different team members and even offers analytics.
Smart-ware
From smartphones to devices (tablets, iPads, etc.), companies are making sure their business is compatible across many platforms. It is not just have a website; it has to be mobile friendly and provide ability to combine commerce with social media. Online storefronts such as Shopify are helping companies streamline their business and get ecommerce sites up and running, and Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter are adding direct “buy” buttons. It would be foolish for companies to not use these solutions to streamline their business operations.
In-store Solutions
Brick and mortar stores are seeking in-store solutions such as people counting software, iBeacons, and biometrics. These solutions help companies track customer behavior, analyze Big Data and flow of layouts, register interest in displays, boost security, and even make checkout simpler by allowing customers to complete transactions with a quick selfie.