Zinc Blog

Wasting money is a major problem regardless of the kind of business you run. Technology can do a lot to stretch your dollars, but it can also be the cause of waste. This week, we thought we’d identify three ways that your business could be wasting significant money on your IT. 

There are many proponents of the four-day workweek, so many to the point where it is actively being implemented to determine if it is as successful of a strategy as it is in theory. You might be surprised to hear that it is, in fact, a successful business model, and there are studies to back it up.

It’s not uncommon for an employee to hold a second job outside of your office, whether it’s a side gig that they are trying to turn into a passion project or a side hustle just to make ends meet or put away a little extra money every month. Workers holding multiple jobs is certainly not unheard of—if anything it’s more common than ever, thanks to the remote work surge. How does this phenomenon impact your organization?

When trying to determine if a certain piece of technology should be replaced or just taken away entirely, you should first ask yourself if the technology affects your products or services in any discernible way. If the technology is something that helps with productivity and efficiency to aid in the production or delivery of said product or service, then it’s worth investing in.

There are a few different types of stress that may be present in your business right now, either or both of which could be causing no small amount of distress to your team members and disruption to your processes. Let’s explore the sources of these stresses—digital/workplace friction and interpersonal friction—and what can be done to help resolve them.

There are literally thousands of pieces of technology available that accomplish something positive for your business. Whether they are communications tools that help your team collaborate and build a better client-support system, gadgets and software to help streamline your team’s ability to get work done, or devices to help advance the company’s mobile strategies, considering what you can do with innovative new technologies is a responsibility of a forward-looking executive or small business owner.

Now that many of us have been working remotely for the past 18 months, what are your thoughts on the concept of a remote or hybrid office? Have your opinions changed at all, or are you still clinging to your previously conceived notions of what it would be like? It does not help that some major companies, like Microsoft, are sending out mixed signals on their own experiences with remote work. What can we learn from these experiences?

Instant messaging is a solution that has picked up in the business world, and for good reason. While email allows for more passive communication, instant messaging allows for more instantaneous communication, similar to a phone call in its urgency. But are you using instant messaging in the proper way?

Technology is one of those parts of your operational infrastructure that plays a massive role, even if you don’t realize it. In fact, you’ve been using all of the standard fare for business technology, such as computers, server units, and networking components for quite some time. All technology must eventually be replaced though, so it’s critical that your company has an established approach to make this happen in the most seamless and least stressful way possible.

Let’s face it: with so (so) many streaming platforms now available for us to binge a trendy show or revisit a favorite movie on, technology and entertainment have become inexorably linked. When you really think about it, the technology that makes these streaming services possible is truly impressive. Let’s go over this technology together.

Imagine that you are a kid again and you get low marks on a test in school. The natural response from your parents and teachers is that you need to double down on studying for that subject, as it is clear that you struggle with it. The same can be said for any professional shortcomings, such as public speaking, interpersonal communication, and other performance-based skills. But what if we flipped this concept on its head and focused not on what our deficits are, but instead where our strengths lie?

You may have noticed the recent price increase for consumer and business electronics, and it’s all caused by issues related to the global shortage of computer chips. How have these supply chains, stable for so long, been dealt such a severe blow to the point where acquiring new computers and networking equipment is so challenging? Read on to find out.

Revenue generation is the name of the game for businesses. That’s why the decisions they make with their available capital are really important. SMBs especially need to have a rapid and noticeable return on their investments if they want to keep pace. To that end, technology is one investment that can provide that kind of fast ROI. Here are three ways you can use technology to benefit your business.

Each business uses a certain amount of technology to get things done, but today, no technology is as important to businesses as the Internet. You’ve begun to see businesses of all sizes spending thousands of dollars a month on Software-as-a-Service platforms designed to get workers the tools they need without placing undue pressure on a company’s capital budget. Today, we will talk about another cloud-based platform that is growing rapidly: Infrastructure-as-a-Service.

The pandemic has been difficult for many business owners, but in this time of peril there has been a silver lining. Many business owners have taken some of the time away from business to sharpen their technical skills. Some of the skills these entrepreneurs are looking to improve include their understanding of the software, telecommunications, and marketing that they use in the course of doing business. To do this, they are using some of the same resources that you use when you want help sharpening your skills: YouTube

So far, 2020 has been a bust, especially for businesses. The challenges that business owners have seen this year have been considerable to say the least: not only have there been economic and political tensions creating roadblocks, we’re now all dealing with the ramifications of an actual pandemic event. If any business is going to make it through all this, there needs to be a few shifts in how business technology is handled from this point on.

While many people who were afforded the option have likely grown used to remote work at this point, that does not mean a business that adopts it can do so with complete impunity. One considerable issue that many remote workers have been experiencing is a sincere issue of overwork, believe it or not. Let’s examine why this is a problem, and how you can address it in your own business.

COVID-19 has most small businesses in the United States over a barrel. On the one hand, reopening too soon could help the virus resume its spread, waiting too long could put an organization’s entire future in jeopardy. Fortunately, with the right technology at their disposal, businesses have a better option.

Cloud computing has seen momentous growth over the past decade, but despite this, many business decision makers have been resistant to the change. However, with stay-at-home orders now keeping employees at home for months at a time, the cloud is swiftly becoming the best option to fulfill many of their needs. Let’s review how businesses can use the cloud to present solutions to solve potential problems. 

COVID-19 has been pretty rough on the small business. Millions of businesses have either been forced to suspend or alter operations. Today, we wanted to point out that you may be distracted with a lot of things, but your business’ cybersecurity efforts need to be a priority.