Coleman Technologies Blog

The cloud has proven to be an extremely useful tool for the modern business. Not only does it provide anywhere-anytime access to applications, processing, storage, et al; it also delivers those products as a service, allowing you to budget for recurring costs rather than major upfront ones. This provides your organization with functional, supported, and secure computing environments that eliminate a lot of the support costs that traditional computing environments require. It sounds like a perfect scenario for small and large businesses alike, but things aren’t always what they seem, as a lot of cloud users have found that they have incurred several hidden costs by using cloud platforms. Today, we take a look at these hidden costs.

A study from Research In Action polled 468 CIOs about their cloud usage and the costs associated with them. Many admitted that cloud investment was one of the largest expenses their organization would have from a technology point of view. The study went on to find that while a majority of CIOs considered the “hidden” costs of this technology, much of the concern is alleviated by the reputation of their vendors. Some of the potential problems they considered include:

Having to put forth more effort to properly manage vendors, and their corresponding Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Bottlenecking and the impact poor cloud performance could have on brand perception, productivity, and customer support.
The increased cost of solving complex problems inside cloud environments.

Are these concerns justified? Sure, but they are hard to measure. Many businesses just haven’t developed a system to properly quantify the perceived loss in revenue tied to cloud inefficiency. In fact, most companies don’t have updated, automated methods in use to track and manage their cloud performance.

Costs of Scalability

Many organizations also run into cloud cost overruns when dealing with the scale of their cloud platforms. Costs associated with over-provisioning (buying too much), under-provisioning (buying too little), management, and administration of cloud hosted environments present costs that may not look significant up front, but over time can have negative effects on the overall profitability of a business. Understanding the amount of space/processing you’ll need to meet your organization's needs is almost always going to be a fluid situation, but understanding how they affect your business’ bottom line is crucial to mitigate unwanted monetary responsibilities or cost overruns associated with the cloud platforms you utilize.

Going Too Far

Cloud platforms are nice, but you don’t have to look much further than your personal situation to see how the ease of use these platforms provide can get expensive pretty quick. For the individual, costs add up quick thanks to cloud-based streaming media and other platforms that come in a subscription model. You’ve got Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, and many, many more that are relatively cheap. Microsoft Office 365 is exceptionally useful and affordable, providing unparalleled value for about any computer user. The more you subscribe to, the more costs add up, which is why you’ll want to design, and stick to a dedicated plan to avoid overextending yourself, or your organization.

Utility computing in the cloud, whether it be applications, storage, processing, or some other form, is extraordinarily valuable, but only if you understand how to avoid paying more than you should for your cloud assets. The knowledgeable technicians at Coleman Technologies can help you come up with cloud deployment strategy, while also helping you avoid cost overruns typically associated with these assets. Call us today at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

VoIP Improves Inter-Department Communication
Landline telephones in the office have been dated for quite some time. Even if they were once necessary to get in touch with coworkers and other departments, they are now quite antiquated compared to modern solutions. After all, there’s no guarantee that an employee will be available to take your call, as the workplace is filled with countless tasks that often require their full attention. Sure, you could leave a voicemail, but there’s no guarantee that the employee will see the message until it’s too late to respond. Since Voice over Internet Protocol doesn’t rely on your employees having a traditional handset, and instead has them using more mobile devices, they’re more likely to be available when you need them most.

VoIP Is More Flexible
Some organizations have employees who aren’t always able to work in the office for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they are simply on the move for conferences so often that they are just never in the office, or perhaps you have employees who work remotely from time to time (or even permanently). VoIP lets you stay in touch with these employees in the same way you can with your in-house team. Since VoIP can be used on mobile devices, laptops, and even desktops, it doesn’t matter where your employees work, as long as they have the VoIP application and a headset. In this way, VoIP is much more flexible than any traditional landline.

VoIP Allows for Additional Features
Landline phone services tend to have features built into them, but many of them are decided by the cable company that provides your telephone service. These features are often not what your business wants or even needs. VoIP services give your business all the features needed from traditional landline telephone services, including conference calling and voicemail, but with lots of additional features that add a quality to your business’ ability to communicate. You can take advantage of video conferencing and instant messaging built right into your VoIP solution. By going through a VoIP provider in this way, you save money by only paying for services you will use rather than those your cable provider assumes you want.

To get started with a VoIP solution today, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Most businesses who utilize the cloud report that they have managed to cut costs while still getting the resources they need to perform to spec. Businesses can use the cloud for processing and storing data, as well as application deployment, making it a very dynamic solution to a business’ needs. However, you cannot make decisions based on cost alone. Here are some other factors to consider.

Explaining Cloud Computing

The benefits of cloud computing are many, with the cost of using it being perhaps the most important one. Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, is the most common way people use cloud computing with its global market being worth around $230 billion in 2022—a number that is increasing at this moment. It’s estimated that cloud growth sits at around 12-15 percent year to year, showing just how valuable businesses find these tools and possibilities.

To explain SaaS a little more in-depth, consider the following example. You might have purchased a software license to use a particular application in the past, renewing it year to year for the privilege of its continued use. Now, with cloud computing and SaaS, you pay what’s essentially a subscription fee for access to the latest version of the cloud-based software. You don’t have to outright purchase the solution and maintain it yourself—the provider handles that part for you and hosts it themselves on their own internal hardware.

There are other ways to use the cloud too, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The Benefits of the Cloud Computing Model

There are great benefits to cloud computing, and the cost savings from using it are just the tip of the iceberg. Cloud computing might be more expensive on the surface compared to a single software license, but that cost also includes flexibility that saves you money in the long run. It also saves you from having to manage and maintain the solutions yourself, which can be costly and time-consuming in its own right.

More than 92% of businesses use services that are connected or run through the cloud, establishing it as a crucial part of business operations both now and in the future. Here are some of the other benefits that your company can take advantage of through moving some of its computing tasks into the cloud:

• Potential cost reduction
• Fast scalability
• Promoted collaboration and efficiency
• Provider-side encryption and updates to improve data security

Challenges with Cloud Computing

Now, there are some reasons you should be at least a little wary of the cloud, despite its many benefits. Just like any other technology solution, you need to know what you’re getting into before committing to it. The deployment method itself requires a high-speed Internet connection, and it must be reliable and safe to boot. Most cloud platforms have security features built into them, which is why over 90 percent of businesses have no qualms with using it, but it’s best to be aware of the risk, however small it might be.

Coleman Technologies can help your business with its cloud computing needs. To learn more, call us today at (604) 513-9428.

It’s the cloud.

Specifically, software-as-a-service (SaaS).

What is SaaS?

In order to understand SaaS, you definitely need to have a cursory understanding of the concept of cloud computing. Basically—for you that don’t know—cloud computing is the use of servers hosted in data centers to provide your business (or individuals) the computing they need through the Internet. It’s as simple as that. Companies create data centers where any business can get the processing, the data storage, the services, and the software utilities they need. Software-as-a-service represents the last part of that. Basically, if you need a piece of software, you can now get it in the cloud.

Why Buy Software In the Cloud?

If you are going to buy software, why not buy a physical copy of the software? Well, you obviously still can, but in order to run the software, you will also need the infrastructure in place that can handle the dissemination and computation of data; you need reliable and continuous IT support to ensure that the hardware is maintained, the software is patched, and that any issues that come up are handled, if not proactively, quickly. You also need to ensure that the people using your software are networked together, which can be extremely costly to perfect and secure.

Software-as-a-service comes with all this. Not only does your business get the software it needs, it does so without having to take on the responsibility of maintenance, utility costs, and other detriments to having a centralized computing infrastructure. In most cases with a SaaS offering, the cloud provider will handle all of the hosting and maintenance costs and bake them into the cost of the service.

So How Does SaaS Work?

SaaS platforms are simple to set up and are completely scalable. This means that if you need five licenses for a certain program and 40 for another, you can get them. Better yet, you can add or remove users from any of these platforms for any monthly subscription cycle, allowing you to control your business’ computing costs more accurately than if you are trying to maintain multiple servers.

Users will sign in using a login and a password, and many of these offerings today come with two-factor authentication (2FA) as an additional security option. At Coleman Technologies, we recommend using 2FA on as many online accounts as you can. Once in, they have full access to the software. Users can select the storage they want to use to save and export files created with this software, giving them full control over their work.

Your business uses a lot of software, and if you could avoid paying for software upfront and turn your computing into an operational expense, it might just open up more available capital that you can use to invest in your vision.

If you would like more information about cloud computing or software-as-a-service, or you would like help implementing solutions that will help your business be the best it can be, call us today at (604) 513-9428.

Countless Options

The cloud provides a myriad of options for any-sized business. In the cloud, you can host applications, communications, storage, and even full-platform infrastructure. With so many options available, your business can get the computing power and tools it needs, when needed. 

User Tip: When trying to determine which cloud platforms are right for you, you may find the cost/benefit analysis won’t give you the definitive answer you are looking for. Your best bet is to prioritize which information systems would work best hosted onsite and which one brings the most value hosted in the cloud. The best decision for your business’ bottom line may not be the best decision. 

Productivity Improves

One of the most important aspects of cloud computing is the possibility that it provides a modern business. With all of the options the cloud presents, a business can pick and choose how to leverage them to produce increased productivity. Of course, the computing platform itself isn’t going to produce more, but with the data and application accessibility and the collaborative options the cloud provides a business, they are able to get more done, faster.

User Tip: Cloud computing may provide the ability for your team to collaborate better, but it isn’t going to produce anything on its own. One tip to ensure for efficient collaboration and enhanced teamwork using cloud interfaces is to assign one person to manage the files and data inside your cloud solution so that everyone knows who to go to if they need answers. Running a project is a lot like running a basketball team, one person has to run point.

Monetary Benefits

Implementing cloud computing can absolutely help save a business money off the bat. A shift to the cloud works to eliminate huge capital costs. Say you need a server. If you bought, powered, and supported the hardware yourself, you are looking at a bill that’s likely in the five-to-six-figure range. If you choose a cloud, you can fire up a new server for a monthly fee that gives you a lot of the same computing power your business commands, without the waste of computing resources and the upfront expense you would see by running your own hardware.

User Tip: The cloud may help you transfer cost, but if you jump in with both feet it can get pricey quick. That’s why it is important to migrate your processes, data, and infrastructure to the cloud in small, incremental steps. It keeps operational costs down and keeps your IT administrator sane. 

At Coleman Technologies, we understand the value of cloud computing, but we also recognize that the cloud isn’t right for every situation. If you would like to meet with our knowledgeable consultants about a shift to the cloud, call us at (604) 513-9428 today.

Costs
A lot of business owners don’t realize that creating cloud platforms has been completely possible for a long time. It wasn’t until public cloud offerings like SaaS or IaaS were made available that the business world really turned an eye toward these virtualized computing constructs. The reason was, of course cost. As cost goes down, options get more viable. One problem that businesses that have jumped into public cloud computing with both feet have found is that they haven't properly accounted for the risk inherent in hosting their business’ data and infrastructure with someone else. These risks can significantly reduce (or in some cases decimate) the ROI of a cloud computing initiative.

One of the major risks, loss of data security, has driven many organizations toward a more private cloud strategy. Building a private cloud can be complicated as it involves calculating both fixed and recurring costs over a pertinent time frame. Since with a private cloud platform, an organization will be responsible for the hardware systems, management, and control, variables such as usage (forecasted/actual), system and data redundancy, and the general specifications of the machines used to run the virtualized infrastructure have to be taken into account.

So, while it’s true that public cloud costs are also difficult to determine, when settling in on a private cloud solution, you need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s at every turn to ensure that you are properly forecasting what the private cloud will cost your company in both migration and operation.

Integration
Chances are your business already uses several public cloud applications, and some of those applications function better, and more cost-effectively, if left there. You see, if you utilize public cloud resources to host non-critical infrastructure or applications, you will likely want to consider setting up a hybrid cloud system, where your private cloud and your public cloud resources are integrated.

This hybrid cloud platform will absolutely have its difficulties, but once it is up and running, your business’ computing will be accessible through one single access portal. If you so choose to reinforce this strategy with secure access control systems you can do that, but know that it requires a lot of effort to include security provisions and configurations to allow workloads to be run anywhere.

Time
One big problem many businesses have when deciding to move a portion of their IT out of the public cloud and into their own private cloud is just the time it will take to get this finished. These virtualized computing environments are more robust than ever and can facilitate a lot of organizational flexibility, but operational issues and hardware management of on-premise hardware is time consuming and costly.

Not only does your IT admin (and team) need time to configure and migrate all relevant data, they will be on the hook for all the maintenance and management of the virtual machines and the underlying hardware, making it problematic for small IT teams.

At Coleman Technologies, we know how important collaborative work environments are, we also know how crucial data security is. As a result, we are in a great position to help you. Our technicians can work with you to find the right balance between public and private cloud resources, while having the technical expertise to help manage and maintain any computing environment or infrastructure. If you would like more information about hosted solutions, whether they be on the web or in your server room, our technicians can help. Call us today at (604) 513-9428.

The Decision

It may seem pretty simple, but there really are a lot of variables to consider. How important is uptime to your business? How much capital are you willing to spend? What are you using the server for? These questions (and more) need to be addressed before you decide which way to go with your IT.

Benefits of an In-House Server

The physical server option brings with it some substantial benefits. Firstly, it gives you physical control over your infrastructure, and therefore keeps all data in one central location. It also provides a way for administrators to eliminate third-party access of server resources. Secondly, you have several networking options. It is the only time that the Internet is not necessary, as all inhouse servers can use wired or wireless networking to transmit data over internal network. For the small business, an in-house server can be the most cost effective. 

Detriments of an In-House Server

The biggest detriment of the in-house server is the upfront capital outlay. In order to have an effective IT infrastructure set up, your company will need to fork over thousands of dollars to purchase the hardware. Then, once it’s set up and working, you will need to pay to maintain it, so without a structured IT department or a managed IT service agreement, you won’t have any uptime guarantees. 

Benefits of a Cloud Server

Hosted solutions can be right for your business, but first you have to understand what exactly you are gaining. Firstly, unlike in-house servers, you don’t have to have a pile of cash dedicated to build a cloud server. Moreover, when your business grows, you won’t have to worry too much about scaling the hardware, you can just purchase all the computing that your organization requires. 

Most cloud servers come with all the support that is needed as well as full redundancy, a consideration that has to be made no matter what type of infrastructure you choose to implement.

Detriments of a Cloud Server

The main detriment of the cloud server is that, over time, it will be more expensive than in-house servers.  Another potential deal-break for some organizations is that if they absolutely demand to have control over their hardware, most cloud platforms will not abide. Storage costs can also be substantial, especially for businesses that have a lot of media.

Of course, with the technology as it is today, companies can start with a reliable in-house computing structure and expand into the cloud for more productivity-fueled endeavors. One thing is for sure, to keep your business’ data safe, you need to have solid and consistent management of your servers. 

If your business needs some expert help selecting the computing construct that will help you run your business effectively, don’t hesitate to reach out the IT technicians at Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428. 

After all, by leveraging the cloud, a company can take advantage of up-to-date and reliable solutions and resources with no added maintenance needs, and the cloud’s flexibility is extremely well-known. Whether your employees are working in the office or from home, the cloud allows them to access and collaborate upon the same documents with the same resources.

Here, we’ll go over the steps you need to take to adopt these capabilities in a hurry, with the help of an MSP like Coleman Technologies.

Planning and Identifying Priorities

Unfortunately, the cloud implementation process typically isn’t known for its speed, as there are many considerations that must go into its planning. If certain processes aren’t followed, steps are missed, and the entire thing can be delayed. Therefore, it is best to have a resource by your side to assist you through the process.

This means that it only becomes more crucial that your implementation is well-thought-out and planned, starting with identifying and prioritizing what is to be moved. Take the time to consider this and make these calls with the help of your technology resource.

Our advice: start with your most important transitions (naturally) and that which will be simplest to migrate, and then focus on the remaining workloads afterwards. Working in phases like this make it more important to lean on a trusted resource for assistance, as it will make it more complicated to do.

There also needs to be a dedicated effort into training a staff to prepare them for the capabilities that cloud solutions deliver and the complications that may arise.

Coleman Technologies can help deliver all of this, and so much more. Talk to us about it by calling (604) 513-9428.

How the Cloud is Like a Rideshare

Cost Efficiency

Let’s say you are with three people and you need to get someplace and don’t have access to a car. You all could call an Uber or a taxi that would cost you $20 or so. If you are going to the same place, you could all share the cost of a ride for $7 each. You all get to the same place for a fraction of the cost. 

This is a lot like how cloud services work. Since you are paying for access to storage, processing, or application deployment on an outside computer, you are just paying rent for the privilege. This means that you can get the computing resources your business needs at a substantial cost savings. This is because you are often not the only one using these resources. 

Just like you pay less if you split your transportation costs, cloud service companies allow for substantial cost savings by virtualizing computing resources and making them available at attractive rates. 

Reduced Maintenance

The combination of leasing these virtualized computing resources, while taking on a majority of the management of these resources, provides substantial value for businesses and individuals. 

Let’s say that, to continue the rideshare metaphor, you decide to lease a car from a local dealership. One day the car breaks down. You’ve spent a premium amount of money trying to get a reliable ride to work, but if you don’t have access to your car, your investment isn’t cost effective. This is the same experience a business has that purchases hardware and has issues with it. Outsourcing the computing resources (or the management) ensures that you have continuous, reliable access to them. 

Productivity

Finally, just like ordering a shared ride, cloud services allow you maximize productivity. With cloud computing you can even work from anywhere with an Internet connection and utilize your time reliably. Turning to cloud computing resources is a great way to free yourself from the costs of purchasing expensive hardware, while giving you the resources your business needs to get where you want to go.

If you would like more information about cloud services and how they can improve your business, call the It experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Uses for the Cloud

No matter what your business needs, there is likely a cloud solution for it. Hosted VoIP and email are great communication tools. Infrastructure and Platform as a Service solutions empower organizations to leverage more flexible computing power. Software as a Service and hosted storage are available for all of your organization’s needs.

In the end, you can get just as much done with cloud infrastructure as you can with onsite hardware.

The cloud allows for functionality and redundancy, no matter what the industry is or the kind of workforce it contains. These services can be utilized as needed and deployed quickly.

The Drawbacks

Cloud computing isn’t perfect. Businesses can create a private cloud system that can create large costs for their bottom line while also maintaining the control, management, and accessibility… but again, a lot of thought needs to be invested into this kind of solution. Environments that are hosted outside of a service provider can be difficult to control, since your organization doesn’t have control over the hardware it’s hosted on.

A major drawback of cloud computing can actually be the cost. Since the IT infrastructure used to run the solutions is managed by the service provider, the price is adjusted accordingly. If your business needs a certain number of cloud licenses, you could see the cost of your solution rise. Plus, if you don’t cancel accounts when employees leave, you could be paying more for services that aren’t being utilized.

Furthermore, imagine if your organization has teams assembled that need to use three or four cloud-based applications to complete a project. Think about all of the money that’s spent just providing access to the appropriate software solutions. If it’s not properly managed, your return on investment could be put in jeopardy.

Coleman Technologies can help you keep track of your cloud-based resources, whether you’re just hitting the cloud environment, or you have an established presence in the cloud. To learn more about how we can help you manage cloud applications, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Applications
Applications, or “apps,” are pieces of software that can be used for specific purposes in the workplace--but you probably already knew that. If used properly, they can streamline specific processes within your organization. Some apps don’t use connectivity, but there are countless others that utilize it to connect all kinds of workers from the professional spectrum together. These kinds of connected apps are generally found in the cloud, and their wide range of use is one of the defining things about them.

The Cloud
You can think of the cloud like a big data center that gives you access to all sorts of software, processing, and storage options through your Internet connection. Computing resources tend to be made available to users through an “as a service” model, in which users secure access to it by paying a monthly fee rather than purchasing a license outright. Apps deployed through the cloud are slightly more expensive as a result, but the flexibility offered by being able to cancel at any time or add new users makes it a valuable opportunity to save money in the long run. Basically, it creates a situation where you transfer your capital costs of purchasing licenses to an operational cost.

Public, Private, Hybrid
There are several different ways that a cloud solution can be constructed. For example, most of the Software as a Service (SaaS) apps are offered as a public cloud solution, which means that the application and any processing or storage associated with it is on shared hardware. It’s made available through the browser or dedicated app, and for this purpose, its costs are generally lower than more private solutions.

In comparison, a private cloud that’s hosted in-house on a network or server unit is much more secure and customizable, as you’re controlling all of the maintenance and management of the system. For this specific reason, however, we recommend private cloud systems only for businesses that have the assets to take care of them; this includes those who outsource IT maintenance or those who have an in-house IT department who can provide the necessary management and oversight of the system.

For the best of both worlds, a hybrid approach can work. After all, some data is more sensitive than other data is, so anytime-anywhere access to it might not be in your business’ best interests. By combining the cost-effective public cloud model with the security of the private cloud, you can maintain adequate accessibility and data security.

Cloud Services
Just like there are many different types of clouds, there are many different cloud services, all for both businesses and individual users. There are generally three major categories that these cloud services are split into:

• Software as a Service: Software delivery is the name of the game here, including communications (like telephone and email), productivity (Office 365), and even security.
• Platform as a Service: Development is the main reason to go this route. This lets users create applications, collaborate on projects, and test new software without purchasing or paying for hardware.
• Infrastructure as a Service: Virtualized environments that can be used for processing, storage, software, and so much more, are what a user gets from Infrastructure as a Service.

To learn more about how the cloud can help your business, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.

It goes without saying that having a comprehensive communications strategy is critical for the functionality of your business. Many businesses use traditional phone systems, and they pay handsomely for them. VoIP is a great way to utilize the bandwidth you already pay for to facilitate a business phone solution.

A VoIP system works by transferring sounds into data packets and then transferring them in real-time over an Internet connection. The sound is simply unpacking the data packets. The reason so many small businesses are switching to a VoIP system is that it allows an organization to manage their telephone system cost more effectively.

Nowadays there are hosted VoIP options that present companies with a virtual call center of sorts. Essentially, instead of hosting a stand-alone server at your place of business, the telephone system is hosted in the cloud and accessed through a web client.

Before you can consider either VoIP platform, you’ll have to determine what type of control you need over the technology. If you are someone that wants to play with settings and configurations, hosting your own PBX phone server may be the way to go, but if you are someone that doesn’t mind spending a little more per month to have these systems managed for you, a cloud-based VoIP solution should be right for you.

Your average VoIP solution provides your business with a path to cut the often-substantial capital costs of buying, housing, and maintaining an onsite telephony server. Since the provider will absorb the costs of maintenance and the outward reliability of the platform, you can spend less time focusing on managing your telephone system and more time relying on it.

Since VoIP downtime is not an option for the average business, you’ll want to consult with Coleman Technologies IT professionals to help you find the right solution to fit your business’ needs. Our staff are experts at designing, implementing, and managing computing networks that work for the modern business, so relying on us to help you deploy the right communications platform makes a lot of sense.

For more information about hosted VoIP or any other communication used to improve employee productivity and customer satisfaction, call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Selecting the Right Type of Phone
It might be tempting to discredit the importance of telephony for your organization, but you should resist this notion. Businesses still rely on the phone to communicate both internally and externally, and eliminating it can create a situation where your clients have one less way of getting in contact with you. Therefore, the importance of the telephone in the office cannot be understated, as your reputation with your patrons hangs in the balance. As you can imagine, there are several different kinds of phones out there, each with their own pros and cons. It’s up to your organization to determine which solution best suits your needs.

Landline
For a long time, the landline was the only kind of telephone solution for businesses. This utilizes the connections provided by a telephone company which consisted of private branch exchange (PBX) hardware in the office. This would give businesses the option to create extensions for employee and office, as well as opportunities for other services like call transferring and directories. Even though these are so familiar, many organizations are ditching landlines in favor of other solutions that are more flexible and efficient. It just so happens that the Internet and all its developments are much better at accommodating the needs of businesses, including new telephone solutions.

Virtual Phones
A virtual phone system can be considered a middle ground between the traditional form of telephony and a Voice over IP system. Incoming calls can be processed through a traditional telephony method, and they are then forwarded to the right employee through a VoIP system. This gives a business with both in-house employees and remote workers the opportunity to unify their communications. Additional features can also be added in for a more dynamic solution.

Voice over Internet Protocol
Voice over IP is a system that aims to cut out the need for traditional telephone solutions entirely. VoIP fully utilizes the Internet connection of your organization’s office to fulfill all of its telephony needs. The right solution can give your business all it needs to be functional on any device from a desktop to a mobile device. There are some different ways to use VoIP, so you’ll want to make sure you select the right method out of the gate to get the best return on your investment.

• An in-house VoIP system will be an expensive up-front cost, as the equipment needed to host the system can be quite taxing on any normal budget. There will also be a monthly fee for the components needed to make calls, and any maintenance the solution requires must be administered by your in-house staff. The benefit to all of this is that you’ll have complete and total control over your business’ telephone system--something that no other solution can offer.
• A cloud-hosted VoIP system means that everything is taken care of so your organization can instead focus on remaining productive with your time. This means that there is no need to buy hardware or maintain it on your end. In the event your phone system goes down, the provider is the one responsible--not you--meaning that you’ll be somewhat reliant on others, but the productivity spike can mean all the difference. In the event your Internet goes down, you’ll also be left without service, but again, this isn’t something that’s directly yours to influence.

It’s easy to see why VoIP is such a great solution, but is it right for you? Find out by giving us a call at (604) 513-9428.

Communication Solutions

Many, many solutions devoted to keeping people in touch and in the loop are now commonly hosted in, and delivered through, the cloud. This method only makes sense, as it enables your team to fully collaborate whenever an Internet connection is available. Take extra steps to foster these habits in your organization at every possible opportunity.

Software

As with communication solutions, other kinds of software can become more collaborative when they are hosted in the cloud. This is because the cloud eliminates the need for work to all be done in the same location, or the same time of day. With each team member contributing what they can, when they can, teamwork is just more convenient. There is also the added advantage of an entire team having access to the same tools as one another, another factor that the cloud can guarantee with the ability to push updates out.

Documentation and File Sharing

Notes and other forms of documentation quickly become a workplace asset, as they offer a time capsule of sorts to be referenced later when the data is needed once again. Due to the number of people who may need access to this data at some point, the cloud makes this level of collaboration the most convenient option for your team to make use of as they compile a repository of important information.

Project and Customer Relationship Management

Similarly to a cloud-based notebook, a project management or CRM solution that is accessed via the cloud enables your entire team access to the important data contained within, making cooperative work a much more feasible prospect. With the same information at their disposal, your entire team appears to act as one to your clients and customers. On the same path, cloud-based project management offers the same benefits to your team members as they work together towards a shared goal.

Data Visualization

A final key facet that we must discuss is the use of data to help create predictive models that further streamline your operations. Using a cloud platform to consolidate the data generated and collected by your users, you can aggregate it and call attention to previously unnoticed trends and patterns. A cloud solution is best to use in order to do this, as the data sets involved in these operations are of massive proportions. Doing so enables you to combine the efforts of your entire team into contributing to a single goal.

As the modern work environment has developed, it has done so with an increased focus on collaborative work and cooperation. The cloud is simply the latest result of this development.

For more information on how you can use the cloud as a collaborative asset for your business, give us a call at (604) 513-9428.