Successful Blog

Fly Past These Cloud Computing Concerns

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acloudyCloud computing has been seeing rapid adoption around the world over the past few years; because it is a truly beneficial IT solution that can help businesses achieve greater growth and success.

While many businesses have already jumped on the Cloud bandwagon, others prefer to take a cautious stance. Despite its many advantages, Cloud adoption comes with certain risks and challenges.

Here is a look at the five biggest Cloud computing concerns and how you can overcome them….

Security and Privacy

Security is one of the top priorities for businesses, especially those that have to deal with sensitive data on a regular basis.

Many businesses are hesitant to adopt Cloud computing because having their sensitive data residing in the Cloud means leaving it in the hands of outsiders.

However, most Cloud service providers are now able to offer the same level of protection as on-premise computing systems.

When you are choosing a Cloud service, it is important that you find out about the security solutions that the provider is using and the assurances that it is willing to provide in the event of a data breach.

Also, you can make your data more secure by implementing a strong user authentication solution.

Regulatory Compliance

According to an article entitled “The 5 Biggest Security Concerns with Cloud Computing“, businesses in North America are required to comply with certain data security regulations.

There are numerous regulations that apply to the handling of sensitive data, and this makes achieving and maintaining compliance a daunting task. Make sure you select a provider that is truly compliant.

Loss of Control

When you are using a Cloud service, you have to rely on your provider to keep your workloads up and running, protect your data and perform backup and recovery.

The lack of visibility and control that comes with Cloud computing can make you feel vulnerable.

You can alleviate this concern by choosing a provider that has an excellent track record and using management tools that enable you to gain good visibility into your entire Cloud environment.

Reliability and Availability

Service disruptions used to be a relatively common part of the Cloud experience, but most Cloud providers have improved their uptimes dramatically over the years.

Many providers have created multiple redundancy levels in their systems to enhance the reliability and availability of their services, and they have also developed excellent backup and recovery plans to mitigate the impact of Cloud outages. Selecting one of these providers will give you a better Cloud experience.

Interoperability

Being locked into a Cloud service is another challenge that you may face after you switch to Cloud computing.

Businesses value the freedom of being able to move data and workloads in and out of the Cloud with minimal issues, and lock-in is one of the factors that make them think twice about adopting the Cloud.

In order to overcome this challenge, you need to make sure that your provider can seamlessly integrate your Cloud computing needs with its IT operations.

Once you get past these concerns, you will be able to take full advantage of the benefits of Cloud computing.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Pixomar at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to Cloud computing.

Let Software Help Keep You on Schedule

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asoftwareRunning a business takes plenty of time and effort. In fact, most business owners will tell you there is not enough time in the day to get everything done that they want to.

With that in mind, what if your business life could be made just a little bit easier, especially when it comes to keeping your employee schedules in check?

Given all business owners must deal with when it comes to their customers, having a good repertoire with their employees is critical, especially in a day and age when more and more employees are telecommuting. Whether your employees all work under one roof or some are working from home and/or the road, keeping their schedules in sync is crucial to running a smooth operation.

Know When Your Employees Are on the Clock

Whether your company employs only a few people or hundreds of workers, keeping their days running smoothly with the right scheduling software is important for several reasons. Among them:

  • Continuity – Having a business that runs on time is important, especially given the fact that consumers have more and more choices these days with where their dollars will be spent;
  • Production – If you have employees coming and going at all hours of the day and no real schedule in place, your production schedule could suffer. The right scheduling software allows you to coordinate the proper shifts from the minute your business day begins;
  • Fairness – Face it, some offices have to deal with office politics at times. In order to keep everyone relatively happy when it comes to work schedules, having a software program in place dedicated to coordinating shifts can do wonders for your business. Its biggest attribute is it should cut down on any potential complaints from co-workers that so-and-so is not reporting for work on time and/or cutting out too early;
  • Absenteeism – As all too many business owners discover over time, absenteeism can have a profoundly negative impact on their company. Many workers can certainly have legitimate excuses for missing work, ranging from illness to injury involving themselves or a loved one. That said many others will try and milk the system, taking advantage of their bosses in the process. When this happens, not only is the employee ultimately hurting him or herself, but they are negatively impacting their place of employment. More pressure is put on other employees to pick up the slack, thereby making it more difficult for them to do their own jobs. This can also result in lower office morale, something that can ultimately have a significant impact on the company’s ability to meet the needs of customers.

If your company has essentially let employee schedules run on the fly over time, now might be a good time to turn to technology to better enforce worker schedules.

By investing in the right scheduling software, you can schedule and communicate with your hourly workers right from day one of their employment. Keeping them on schedule will ultimately keep your business on schedule with the people who matter most, your customers.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes for a variety of websites on topics such as human resources and running a small business.

Are You Dressed to Impress or for Trouble?

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adressOffice dress codes have always been a hot topic, especially for women.

One of the concerns is that there may be a double standard on expectations for how women dress over what men wear.

Sometimes this double standard seems to be spelled out while other times it may be implied through comments by co-workers and supervisors. It’s often difficult for women to know what is appropriate and acceptable.

Controversial Topic for Many

Salary.com conducted a survey about dress codes and how they affect the workplace.

Many of the respondents felt that often dress codes were never strictly enforced and weren’t part of the company’s policy. Instead, they were put in place by supervisors or department managers and at random.

The survey also showed that many employees believe that their office’s policy on attire is too lenient.

When companies are too permissive, things can go too far.

A professional dress code not only enhances the company’s image, employees often act more professional.

This survey also showed the issue with some employees “getting away” with wearing what was considered inappropriate attire.

One of the issues with establishing a dress code policy is that there are more fashion choices for women than for men. It can be difficult to address every type of clothing and either prohibit it or set up specific guidelines.

Another problem is that some offices actually encourage provocative dress to capture the attention of clients.

One example is in some medical facilities where cosmetic procedures are performed.

Dressing and looking like the “after” photo can encourage those who are contemplating some type of procedure.

How to Address the Double Standard

Businesses that do not have a dress code policy should seriously think about establishing one.

However, if they choose to do so, they need to offer clear-cut guidelines. How employees dress can reflect on the company, which is why the rules should be designed to enhance the image of the business.

Monitoring is another area where some businesses must improve.

Every employee must be subject to discipline if he or she is not willing to follow the dress code. Supervisors and managers must be educated in the dress code and their roles. They cannot look the other way on certain people while calling out others.

In many cases, managers may have to educate employees on how to dress appropriately.

For instance, the Faded Glory Women’s Bree’s Solid Planet Jersey Maxi Dress, which is sold at major retailers like Walmart, would be appropriate clothing to wear in warmer weather with a sweater or shrug on top. A blazer would make it look more professional.

The choices people make in how they dress are often personal to them.

When dictating what is allowed and what is prohibited and enforcing those policies make sure to remain professional so that the employee recognizes that it is not a personal attack on the person.

This is a controversial area and businesses must tread carefully when dealing with the issues that occur.

The one rule that must be followed is that men and women must be treated equally with no double standard.

As a business owner/manager or employee, what are the dress code rules (if any) at your company?

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including HR and small business.

Plug in to Importance of Computer Knowledge for Your Business

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asuccess82714As a business owner, what are your greatest needs?

Safe to say, many running companies these days still lack all the resources necessary to run their office computers, business website and more.

Whether due to finances or not seeing the bigger picture of how important computer knowledge is to a company’s fortunes especially in 2014 and beyond, some business owners need to stop and rethink their approach to technology.

If you’re running a business where technology is on the back burner, consider the following:

  • Not being computer savvy and relevant likely means you are losing potential and even some current customers to competitors;
  • You are missing out on chances to promote your company website, interact with consumers on social media and more;
  • Your employees are not as useful to you as they could be if you had the latest in computers and approaches to using technology at your disposal. Many people applying for jobs today have computer experience either from school and/or prior jobs, so use that to your company’s benefit.

With those three among a number of reasons computer experience is important to your business, how do you go about finding the right people for the job?

Computer Science Backgrounds Pay Off

According to a salary survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), those who graduated college just in the last year with a degree in computer science can expect to make in the area of $60,000, an increase of more than four percent from 2012. Surveyed employers to the tune of a little more than 65 percent indicated they would hire graduates in this major. For those with expertise as senior software engineers, $98,000 is the average income.

As more and more businesses are discovering and addressing, being Internet savvy is not enough in today’s world. Taking a mobile approach to promoting your brand and meeting the needs of customers is critical too.

Whether those you hire are in the areas of computer programmers, software developers, computer technicians or even SEO strategists, there must be a sizable degree of computer knowledge involved.

As your business grows its computer operations, make sure those you hire are effective communicators, team members and leaders that bring not only a high degree of computer science knowledge to the table, but also the ability to look to the future. Remember, your business must always be thinking about tomorrow and not yesterday.

Computer science jobs are only likely to increase in the years to come, with more employers coming to the realization that this field is a necessity and not an option in order to compete.

The question then becomes, is your business plugged in to the importance of computer knowledge?

If the answer is no, act today and not tomorrow.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers a variety of topics for various websites, among which include small business and technology.

Make It Your Business to Market Apps

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aappereWould you like to encourage both sales and customer loyalty at the press of a button or the tap of a screen?

A mobile app can help your business do both those things. We live in a mobile world, with people using their phones for everything from finding the best deals to finding a local restaurant.

Developing and marketing your own app means your brand is there when consumers are searching for a business like yours.

If you’re ready for your business to go mobile, start with these four steps….

Create an App Worth Marketing

Before you start marketing your app, you need to design and create it, or employ someone to do that for you.

At this stage, ask yourself what your app is going to do for your customers. There’s no doubt that an app has advantages for your business – you’re putting your brand right there on your customers’ phones, creating another channel for communication, and making your company a part of their daily life.

But to reap those advantages, customers need to like and use your app, which means they need to know what it will do for them.

Ask yourself “what problem will this app solve for my customers? How will it make their lives better?” and you’ll be well on your way to making the most of your app.

Know and Communicate Your App’s Unique Selling Point

Is your app built and ready to launch? It’s time to make sure your customers know about it and know what it can do for them.

As the article “How to Market an App to Consumers” points out, your app needs to stand out from the competition.

The first step is making a functional app that is truly useful. The second is your customers know about it. Instead of “download our app”, tell them why they will love it.

For example, a restaurant might let their customers know that downloading their app means getting the latest offers direct to their phone, while a financial planning service might offer financial advice and tracking.

Offer Time or Location Sensitive Advantages

One of the best things about mobile apps from a customer perspective is the chance to get deals and bargains that aren’t available anywhere else.

From exclusive downloads or games to money saving coupons and offers, or even information that is tailored using location and date, there are lots of ways you can make your app indispensable.

After all, who doesn’t love a great deal?

By offering something exclusive to customers who download your app, you’re giving them a strong incentive to do so, and making it worth their time to open your app regularly, which means keeping your company name at their fingertips.

Make Use of Social Media

If your customers want to keep up with their favorite brands, research purchases or find good deals, where do they go? There’s a good chance that social media is one of their go-to places.

Meet them there with Facebook updates, Tweets or even blog posts that tell them all about your new app.

Keep the focus on why your app will make their life better. If it suits your business tone, add in some fun, encourage feedback, or even run a competition based on sharing or re-tweeting your updates to get your customers sharing on your behalf.

An app is a versatile business tool that you can use to connect with your customers and build brand loyalty.

Plan your app carefully and market it with enthusiasm and plenty of talk about the benefits it offers your customers to increase your app’s usability and popularity.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, small businesses, mobile apps and SEO.

Are You Spilling Money Away?

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asuccessfulYou’ve got your business going quite well.

It’s just you and yourself, working from your home, but you’ve got some great clients and accounts. Maybe your business is a bit bigger and you’ve got a few employees and a nice office.

Here’s one thing you need to make sure you have, as well, no matter the size of your business – insurance.

Why do you need insurance if your business is small?

No matter the size of your business, if you are working with anyone, you should have insurance.

If a client comes to your home to meet with you (or your office for that matter) and trips on a loose carpet or an icy stair, you can be liable for paying all costs. If you don’t have insurance, you could be in big financial trouble.

Many customers want to know your insurance background, especially if you are doing work on their property.

For instance, if you are in construction and working in someone’s home, your customers will more than likely want to see you are insured before they’ll sign a contract with you because they don’t want to be responsible if you or your employees get hurt.

What kind of insurance is best?

Most professionals recommend general liability insurance, or commercial general liability insurance.  This protects a broad spectrum of claims, including negligence and injury.

With this, you’ll be covered in the case of a lawsuit, with court costs and reasonable expenses being covered through insurance. Your employees are also covered, even volunteers.

However, liability insurance does not cover if your employees get hurt and sue you. This would fall under workers compensation, which is another story.

Are these lawsuits common?

Unfortunately, yes.

Many slip and fall lawsuits are actually hoaxes by con-artists looking to make money, in fact, probably more are scams than not. However, people do legitimately get hurt and want compensation.

And, it’s not always a slip – as the article “Common Spills in Businesses” notes, these can include a trip, a stumble or anything that causes a fall.

Sure, it can be due to the client being careless, but it also can be your fault, maybe you have loose stones in your walkway or boxes were left in the way inhibiting safe stepping.

Even the legitimate cases are often quite hard to prove and the plaintiff needs a combination of documentation including photos of the scene, proof of injury and medical damage, and other evidence. However, the cost of the lawsuit itself can be detrimental to your business.

Bottom line, you need insurance to protect you and your business.

You don’t want something that could have been prevented or a dishonest person to be the downfall of your business.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Praisaeng at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Heather Legg is an independent writer who covers a variety of topics including small business, social media and education.