Why future-proofing your business is a good idea
No business exists in a vacuum and the only way to ensure the continued prosperity and growth of your firm is to invest in future-proof IT solutions that will continue to be relevant for many years to come.
Those that avoid this advice will end up stagnating, thus giving the advantage to rivals. While this may not be a terminal problem, it could end up resulting in a situation in which your business is not fulfilling its potential while others around it forge ahead.
There are a number of ways to future proof your business. Provided below is an outline of several of the most cost-effective and practical options.
The Cloud
Cloud computing is an IT buzzword that is very much worthy of all the hype which surrounds it.
There are both public and private cloud solutions, although many businesses choose to opt for a hybrid approach, as this means they can enjoy the security and control of a private cloud platform in combination with the flexibility and affordability of the public cloud.
The cloud is about as future proof as IT can get because the process of upgrading and developing it is put in the hands of third-party providers. A cloud service provider will aim to stay at the sharp end of the market by providing a cutting-edge service. The leading third-party cloud providers have the funding to make this happen.
If you contrast this with the problems that can face a typical business in relation to IT, with costly upgrade cycles and looming deadlines, which will see both software and hardware become obsolete, it is clear that the cloud is the more sustainable option.
Another cost benefit of the cloud is that its flexibility means you can invest in software and infrastructure as a service on a per-user basis. This means that as your company grows, so too does the computational capacity which is available to you.
You will never have to overspend years in advance in order to prepare for growth which may or may not happen. Instead, you will get precisely the IT provision that you need on a minute-to-minute basis. You will also never have to worry about whether or not you will be stifled or limited by your set-up further down the line.
VoIP
A convenient feature of the age of digital communications is that telephony is no longer expensive to sustain. Nor is it arduous to manage, since the limitations of analogue have been booted off the plank by web-based solutions such as VoIP.
A VoIP service hosted externally lowers the barrier for entry if you want to set up a highly functional telecoms solution for a start-up that will be able to keep the cost of internal communications and external calling low while also letting you add extra extensions for new users as your staff expands.
VoIP and the cloud are both vital platforms that are able to support businesses which wish to enable mobile and remote working. This in turn will allow your workforce to behave more flexibly, allowing them to find a better balance between their jobs and the other aspects of their lives.
An additional benefit of this is that your business as a whole will become more resilient in the face of disasters. If staff are able to work effectively, whether they are in the office or out of it, there will be the potential to enact continuity plans effectively. This can help to avoid damage being inflicted upon a company’s reputation and financial health.
Overall, future proofing your business is as sensible as it is achievable thanks to modern IT systems.
Daisy have provided business communication services since 2001 including, business telephone systems , cloud computing and IP telephony phone systems