Archive for category: Small Business IT

3 Resolutions for Economic Recovery in 2016

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3 Resolutions for Economic Recovery in 2016As oil and gas prices continue to slide here in Alberta – where we tend to rely on the industry to help strengthen our whole economy – the outlook heading into 2016 isn’t as positive as we’d like it to be.

Even so, we have confidence that the oil and gas industry will recover and that Calgary and Alberta businesses will thrive.

The economy is predicted to begin modest recovery, even in Alberta during 2016.

Organizations, regardless of industry, tend to have five primary areas in which they experience the most financial difficulty.

Addressing these financial areas are what we consider the three most important “New Year’s Resolutions” for every Canadian business.

  1. Improve cash flow.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any organization, and there are several ways to improve cash flow, even when times are tough.

One of the quickest ways for businesses – especially small to midsize businesses – to improve cash flow is to improve receivables.

If you offer net 30, consider reducing it to net 10. You’re not a bank; you’re a business. Collect regularly and don’t overextend your business by carrying receivables for too long.

IT strategy to improve cash flow: Rather than make capital investments in IT equipment, lease servers or enlist the services of a hosted service provider.

  1. Take control of your operating budget.

Successful business owners are very aware of their operating budgets and maintain tight controls.

This requires running regular financial reports, identifying where cost overruns are occurring, and developing a meaningful, achievable, and realistic budget under which their organizations can successfully operate.

IT strategy to improve your operating budget: Reduce the cost of IT infrastructure by shifting risk away from your organization.

  1. Replace outdated systems and process.

State of the art equipment and systems allow you to operate more efficiently.

It’s a matter of getting the most out of your assets and your people by making everything work well.

Assess your policies and procedures, eliminate redundancies, and tighten protocols.

IT strategy to improve the

process: Address IT and security risks now, before they become an issue, by including IT in your procedural updates.

The economy will recover. But until it does, we’re dedicated to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses make changes now to remain competitive, flexible, and ready to face whatever challenges come their way. We do this by providing essential IT support and customized services designed to meet the needs of your business. The ITeam will work with you to develop a cost-effective and comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation.

Reduce Business Costs with a Better IT Strategy

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Reduce Business Costs with a Better IT StrategyCanadian businesses of all sizes have been forced to adapt to major IT trends in order to remain competitive on a global scale.

Services such as cloud computing, mobile device management, big data, and IT security have transformed the way almost every industry manages their business.

Technology is a necessary part of virtually every industry, and IT is a bigger portion of nearly every business budget.

While large corporations can often absorb increasing IT costs, small and mid-size businesses struggle to stay up to speed with limited IT budgets.

Unfortunately, in today’s tight economy, large and small businesses alike must find ways to reduce costs.

Reduce Costs without Sacrifice

Most businesses are faced with the dilemma of needing to have access to robust IT infrastructure and support while at the same time being challenged to reduce their overall operating budgets.

According to recent research, cost reduction is one of the top priorities of all mid-market Canadian businesses in the coming year.

The only priority more important to these businesses?

IT security and risk management.

Rather than remaining mired in the doom and gloom of unenthusiastic economic predictions facing Canadian business leaders, savvy leaders are recognizing the opportunity that exists within the advancing technology, to be able to proverbially have their cake and eat it too.

Improved IT ROI

Advancements in technology allow businesses to increase agility and improve competitive advantage while simultaneously reducing costs and streamlining IT services.

Through the increased use of cloud services, which shifts the majority of the capital costs to managed services providers, many companies are realizing an increased ROI on IT investment.

They can then be used to enhance other services such as backup and disaster recovery, off-site data storage, and better mobile-device security management, ultimately resulting in improved operational efficiencies.

In other words, a small investment in IT can have a domino effect that results in bigger cost savings, better overall data security and protection, and significant increases in risk mitigation.

Best Practices for Efficient Operations

  • Move from capital expenditures in IT to predictable, plannable, operational expenditures, by shifting to cloud-based services, infrastructure, and management that is scalable and responsive.
  • Move from in-house IT staff to a virtual CIO who partners with your business to determine the most cost-effective, customized IT solutions.
  • Address IT and data security risks now, before they become costly losses.
  • Minimize the risks of downtime with automated, off-site backups of critical data.

Doing more with less.

That is the challenge every business leader is forced to achieve to remain viable.

A more comprehensive approach to IT management can give business leaders a roadmap, to not only survive tough economic times but thrive.

The economy will recover, but until it does, we’re dedicated to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses make changes now to remain competitive, flexible, and ready to face whatever challenges come their way. We do this by providing essential IT support and customized services designed to meet the needs of your business. The ITeam will work with you to develop a cost-effective and comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation.

Overcome the Economic Downturn with a Better IT Strategy

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Overcome the Economic Downturn with a Better IT StrategyWhile many SUV drivers are celebrating a recent drop in gas prices, most of us here in Calgary are feeling the economic stress of a much more significant economic change in the oil and gas industry.

Oil and gas is the lifeblood of our community, and the downturn affects not just energy enterprises but every other organization as well.

As business leaders seek ways to save money, one area that should be addressed is IT infrastructure and strategy.

Over the next few months, we’ll explore cost-savings measures that businesses can take to better manage IT costs, leverage IT support, and survive a tightening of the belt that may be required.

Reducing the Cost of IT Infrastructure

There are three primary ways an organization’s IT infrastructure can cost more than it should:

  1. When it’s outdated and requires unexpected and costly repairs
  2. When it’s owned and stored by the organization
  3. When it is poorly managed

Outdated IT Equipment

The cost of investing in new servers and equipment can be exorbitant and possibly exceed your budget limitations.

But not replacing outdated equipment can also put your entire organization at risk in terms of significant downtime, unexpected repair costs, and a loss of customer loyalty.

Who Owns the Risk?

If you have your own bank of servers, you’re dealing with enormous costs beyond just the initial cost of the equipment.

Who are you paying to maintain the servers?

How much energy are you consuming to keep the servers cool?

What kind of maintenance costs must you expend to keep them running?

How are you handling offsite backup and recovery?

How does it impact your accounting as you are forced to treat IT costs as capital expenditures rather than operating expenses?

The Cost of Poor IT Support

Whether provided by an internal staff or a sub-par external provider, when IT support goes wrong, it can be costly.

Not only can poor IT support result in costly labour waste and downtime, but you lose the one essential factor you need when working with a Managed Services provider: trust.

Cost-Effective IT Infrastructure Solution

Organizations of all sizes and types can benefit from making changes to the way they approach IT infrastructure and support. By leasing servers or enlisting the services of a hosted service provider, significant savings can be realized, including:

  • Reduced maintenance costs
  • Reduced capital expenditures
  • Reduced risk of downtime
  • Reduced risk of lost business
  • Reduced labour costs

By reducing the cost of IT, you can avoid making cost cuts elsewhere (layoffs, benefit cuts, etc.).

The ITeam provides essential IT support to Calgary businesses, with fully managed and customized services designed to meet the needs of your business. The ITeam will work with your Alberta business to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation.

Save Money, Improve Efficiency, and Survive the Economic Downturn with Better IT

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Businesses in Canada recently reported that they expect an unpredictable economic outlook for at least an additional 12 months, thanks to the oil and gas price drop that is severely impacting our region.

This dismal report on the future of our economy has everyone worried, but it also presents an opportunity for every business in every industry to reevaluate their approach to operations.

From analyzing inventories and renegotiating contracts, businesses can take this opportunity to develop lean practices that not only serve them well during economic downturns but will create better profitability as the economy improves.

From an IT perspective, the same reevaluation may be necessary for most businesses, especially those still relying on legacy systems or paying exorbitant costs to maintain and store their own on-site servers.

We’ve outlined a couple ways every business can take to operate more efficiently from an IT perspective:

Reduce Costs by Eliminating or Upgrading IT Assets

If you are regularly expensing money for repairs to equipment, consider the cost savings you can realize by converting to leased equipment or off-site, cloud-based storage.

This shifts the cost of maintenance and repair and creates an opportunity to shift more of your costs from capital expenses to operating expenses.

Increase Efficiency with Flexible, Customized IT Solutions

Cloud-based applications are scalable and customizable, giving you the flexibility to pay only for what you need while providing a risk-mitigating solution for business continuity.

This allows you to access your data and operate your business from anywhere.

The economy will recover, but until it does, we’re dedicated to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses make changes now to remain competitive, flexible, and ready to face whatever challenges come their way.

We do this by providing essential IT support and customized services designed to meet the needs of your business. The ITeam will work with you to develop a cost-effective and comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation.

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