Starting a Business | SEO & Google

Small Business Technology

All businesses need to use machinery to save on time and expense. With the right systems in place, a single worker can do the job of many.

In this technical age it is highly unlikely that any business can survive without at least one PC. Personal computers empower you to put on any number of hats - from accountant to designer, from strategic planner to salesperson. With the right tools, you can do it all. Although there are other areas in which you can scrimp and save, the more that you can invest in technology, the larger your return. This is not to say you shouldn't still shop around for the best prices. Always try to buy the best specification machines. The growth of technology means that machines do get superseded quite quickly, and therefore, the higher up the bar you are at entry level, the longer it will be before everything needs to be replaced.

No matter what your thoughts are on the rise and influence of the internet, it is here to stay. It is very important that you and your staff are trained to use it well. As soon as you have premises, look into the broadband services for that area. Look at the higher end of what's on offer, for the cheapest price - especially deals that do not charge an installation fee or for the modem. Buy your domain name and set up a website (a holding page) to make your virtual presence known. It is essential to have at least one company email address - don't be tempted with a free web-based account (such as businessname@hotmail.com) because this will give the wrong impression of your business.

You also need more traditional forms of communication such as a phone system, fax machine and the all-important answer phone. Prices for these items are particularly low for reasonably high-spec systems. Although the internet should really have killed the fax, some of your suppliers or customers may still need you to be able to receive/send faxes. Don't disappoint or, worse, lose a sale, just for the price of a restaurant meal.

THE VIRTUAL FILING CABINET

What happened to all the information that used to take up filing cabinets in every room? Mostly it is now sitting on the hard drives of a few PCs - terribly neat, pleasing to the eye and all that extra space means a bigger office for you. But this is where the danger lies. When buying your business machines, the storage facilities you provide for your business are as important as the speed of the processor and the size of the hard drive. A huge hard drive is pointless if the machine is damaged or stolen - all of your records could be lost, with no way of ever recovering them.

There are many storage solutions. The minimum you should have is a Zip drive that will allow you to store anywhere between 100 and 750 Mb on one single disk - for most computer users this is the entire contents of your C:\ drive and therefore every file, folder, email, image ever created or used on the system. The Zip disks can be backed up every day and stored securely off site.

GETTING PROTECTION

Be sure to investigate internet firewalls. Basic packages can be downloaded for free from the internet and even some operating systems such as Windows XP come with a firewall installed. Some network security should be created to stop employees (wilfully or by accident) downloading malicious files or viewing some content on the Web. Finally, protect your business by including a disclaimer on your outgoing emails stating that the views contained are those of the individual and, if the mail is received in error, it should be deleted.


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