Technology

Embracing Technology: Steps To Join the 21%

January 10, 2024

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the phrase “every company is now a technology company” has become increasingly relevant.

Yet, it might surprise you to learn that only 21% of businesses are truly incorporating technology into their strategic thinking in a meaningful way.

If your business isn’t part of that 21% just yet, don’t worry. Here are five ways you can take inspiration and make technology an integral part of your business strategy.

Learn from success stories

One of the first steps in embracing technology is to look at businesses that have successfully integrated it into their operations. Study their journeys to understand what they did and how it benefited them.

These success stories can serve as a wellspring of inspiration for your own tech transformation. By examining their strategies and experiences, you can gain valuable insights into the possibilities that technology holds for your business.

Find a tech partner

Navigating the complex world of technology can be challenging, especially if you’re not well-versed in it. To bridge this gap, consider finding a reliable tech partner.

A tech expert can guide you through the intricacies of technology, helping you comprehend its potential and how it aligns with your business goals.

Whether it’s consulting firms, IT professionals, or technology service providers, there are resources available to assist you on your tech journey.

Understanding the impact of technology

It’s crucial to grasp the profound impact that technology can have on your business. Your tech partner can provide you with valuable insights and ideas on how technology can enhance your operations, improve efficiency, and drive growth.

By having a clear understanding of the potential benefits, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions regarding technology integration.

Explore low-code or no-code solutions

You don’t need to be a computer science expert to leverage technology. Start by exploring low-code or no-code solutions that are user-friendly and require minimal coding knowledge.

These platforms allow you to create customized software applications, automate processes, and build digital solutions without the need for extensive technical skills.

By dipping your toes into these tools, you can experience firsthand how technology can streamline your operations and improve productivity.

Participate in workshops and creative sessions

Technology isn’t just about learning; it’s also about envisioning a different future for your company and your team.

Engage in workshops and creative sessions that encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to technology integration.

Collaborate with experts and fellow business owners to brainstorm innovative ideas and strategies for leveraging technology to your advantage.

These interactive sessions can help you envision how technology can shape your business’s future.

Remember, you don’t have to embark on this journey alone. There are resources, experts, and organizations like ours ready to support you every step of the way.

By taking inspiration from successful tech adopters, seeking guidance from tech partners, understanding the potential impact of technology, exploring user-friendly solutions, and participating in creative workshops, you can position your business to join the 21% of companies that are thriving in the age of technology.

Embrace the digital transformation and unlock new opportunities for growth and success. Get in touch with us, and let’s embark on this tech-driven journey together.

Modern Utilization Of Tech In Schools & Workplaces

October 29, 2021

Everywhere you look now, there is some type of technology in use and nearly every industry takes advantage of it. Between food delivery apps, the capability to review your accounts online, or the self-scan check-out lanes at the grocery store, we use technology every day and it’s all part of our common experience.

While we may overlook a lot of it in our daily lives, the right tech can make your professional life much easier and efficient. Convenience is one of the main reasons we innovate, right?

One way you can bring helpful tech into the work setting is by using a company-wide chat. You can have a group messaging system like Discord or Slack, but even a group chat over text messages can be a helpful addition in the right workplace.

A company-wide chat allows you to have conversations as needed and communicate with minimal interruptions. Questions, updates, and requests can be reviewed, then responded to a timely matter or addressed right away. It creates a “paper trail” as well, so past messages can be referenced easily.

With chat, you are able to touch base with your peers, employees, or bosses anywhere and anytime. Instead of having ten people trying to reach the same person all at once, they can send them a message and have a reply almost instantly. Unlike email, chat is less likely to be buried in conversation chains, coupons, and other mail.

Another good way to use modern technology is by utilizing remote access. Being able to work remotely is a huge time-saver and a great help for online collaboration, in both schools and the workplace. It allows us to work from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Remote learning is also a very good use of new technology because it allows students to work from home and have all of the same access to resources as if they were sitting in the classroom in front of a teacher. For working professionals, it’s the same – they can complete their work from anywhere as if they were sitting at their desk in the office.

Another great way that technology has influenced the workplace for the better is automation in repetitive tasks. Some examples are network monitoring, notifications, emails, file-sharing, and time management.

Automation allows employees to focus on critical tasks instead of repetitive, time-consuming ones that aren’t necessarily as important. It also prevents some things from falling through the cracks by sending reminders or by entirely handling a task without human intervention.

Automation can also take on many forms, and you may already be benefiting from it. One example of automation that we use at Tech Experts is that our incoming service tickets, sent via email, are automatically disseminated to the right team. If this was not set-up, someone would have to manually sort every ticket that came in. The programs and apps that you already use in your business may have options to make your life easier through automation, such as email rules in Outlook.

Current technology has come a long way. Copiers, calculators, and faxes used to be amazing, and now, some of us can work entirely off of the phone in our pocket. Sometimes, it may seem overwhelming, but even small tweaks – like email rules – can have a big impact. Embracing the efficiency of tech can give you freedom and time back so you can make the most of your work hours.

Three Ways That Technology Has Transformed Businesses

February 26, 2021

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

Breakthroughs in technology have torn apart old ways of working, as new alternatives have become impossible to ignore.

Here are three examples of ways that technology has transformed businesses everywhere.

Instant customer service
As new methods of communication have emerged, businesses have been able to significantly increase the quality and availability of the customer service they offer.

Instead of relying on face-to-face meetings or telephone calls to answer customer questions, businesses can now help through immediate online channels like live chat.

This is convenient for many customers, as they can talk at the exact moment they need help. It allows them to get immediate answers to their questions without needing to navigate telephone menus or book an appointment.

What’s The Best Way To Scan Old Prints And Negatives?

December 20, 2019

If you have old prints and you would like to share them with your family and friends you can choose from the alternatives listed below:

Flatbed Scanners
A flatbed photo scanner is a great option if you have a large number of photos rather than negatives. Your budget will pretty much determine the quality of those pictures if your intent is to print large-size photos.

However, if you intend to share those with family and friends over your social network sites, you may be ok with a low-cost scanner. Remember that scanning is time consuming, you will have to feed each individual print into the scanner and process the image, which might take weeks depending on how large your collection is.

Negative Scanner
If you would like to scan negatives only, you may be interested in acquiring a negative scanner. Negative scanners are meant to convert film into digital images in the most dedicated way possible. It will not only generate more accurate scans of your negatives, their software will speed up the process. Some scanners offer the comfortable feature of batch scanning, automating
the scanning of multiple 35mm films in a row, in as little as one minute.

Scanning Services
If you find that scanning your photos or films is very time consuming, you may want to try scanning
services that will do the work for you. These services are becoming quite popular. This can be a cost-effective solution for small jobs but may get expensive for larger jobs with higher quality requirements. It is best to research several options.

Tech Giants Are Branching Into The Medical Field

February 22, 2019

Jason Cooley is Support Services Manager for Tech Experts.

In early 2018, Amazon announced a partnership with J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to restructure healthcare for its combined 1.2 million employees.

This partnership between juggernauts is a stepping stone for Amazon, who has many irons in the fire when it comes to healthcare.

Already, Amazon has been selling medical supplies and equipment. Using partnerships with some of the largest distributors in the U.S., they are making headway and have applied or been approved for all state-by-state licenses needed.

They have also been working on AWS, which is Amazon’s cloud business, to compete with Microsoft Azure and Alphabet’s Google Cloud to provide cloud-based solutions for medical practices and health start-ups.

Amazon’s most exciting prospect in the health field may be Alexa. Amazon’s Alexa has quickly become one of the most used, highest rated, and most reliable voice assistants out there. Amazon has started a partnership with Merck to award $125,000 to the best use of Alexa to battle diabetes.

The idea is exciting, but maybe not as exciting as hospitals experimenting with Alexa. Surgeons may use Alexa to create checklists and sharing important information with discharged patients.

We may see a day where Alexa is the tie-in to our appointments with doctors. Imagine having a digital visit set up by Alexa, using a camera to interface with your doctor, and having Alexa capable of sending your prescriptions to the pharmacy.

The possibilities are endless and Amazon knows that. They are dedicating a lot of time an effort to streamline health services – making a nice profit, but also saving money for the average consumer.

While Amazon has an interesting path and a widespread take on where it can make a difference, Apple is also making some headway.

Apple has started beta use of its health record system. Apple utilizes FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) in the health record app.

FHIR is technology being used across the country in an attempt to make interoperability and cooperation the standard in healthcare.

First discussed back in 2013, Apple has been working hard to make its own mark. In 2016, Apple acquired Gliimpse, a personal health record company. Apple has used that software, along with FHIR to build out their system.

In 2018, they added EMR data into the phone’s health record and shortly after announced their API would be available to third parties to work on applications that would tie-in with health records.

This has allowed patients to transfer their records to their phone and allows other apps to use that data as well.

Games like Pokemon Go and Oscar utilize the step tracker built in to health records. A restaurant chain called Sweetgreen logs meals ordered into the health record.

Continued use could create endless possibilities for managing our own health.

More than 120 different healthcare companies are part of the beta testing for Apple’s health record.

Much like Amazon, Apple’s ambition does not stop there. Apple also has a similar trajectory to that of Amazon. They believe in a day where there is Telemedicine, virtual appointments, and health information at your fingertips.

These two aren’t the only ones trying to get in on the healthcare game. Of course, tech giant Google is also working on being a large part of future medical developments. Tech and healthcare are both evolving and it appears like they will be on the trip together.

Advice For Small Business Owners Overwhelmed By Technology

June 30, 2014

Scott Blake is a Senior Network Engineer with Tech Experts.

A recent study by Brother International Corporation and SCORE found that 64 percent of small business owners feel overwhelmed when it comes to technology, because they have limited resources in information technology (IT).

Surprisingly, this isn’t related to a lack of financial resources, but rather this is due to the fact that many of them do not have the proper technological guidance.

Most of them have no dedicated IT support, and 59% of the survey participants said there are insufficient resources available in small business communities to help them.

Keeping pace with tech trends
According to the study, mobile devices are the most important piece of technology for their businesses, because mobile technology allows for easy and quick reach as well as easy access to documents, regardless of where they are.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), social media and cloud services are also among the tech tools that small business owners find necessary in running their businesses. Forty nine percent (49%) of business owners consider tech-related investments as their top priority.

However, about half of them are hesitant to invest in it too quickly without a good ROI (return on investment), while the other half are concerned that failing to invest in technology gives their competitors an advantage.

Solutions
Outsourcing IT is one alternative for small businesses to take advantage of technology without heavily investing in it.

Social media is also a convenient tool that many IT service providers use to provide tech support to their clients, while office technology products are becoming more user-friendly.

Another important step that small businesses must take as far as IT is concerned is to identify and outline their business processes.

This makes it easier to sort through the best technology to meet their business needs. It also eliminates the frustration experienced at the endless pitches small business owners get from vendors and solution providers that do not even understand their business goals.

Recommendations
When you understand your business processes, you can easily determine the technology that you need or don’t need.

Take advantage of the tools available to help you understand the channels that are driving your business, including apps like Google Analytics. Finally, when using consumer apps for your business, go for the business options as they usually offer more security options and tech support.

(Image Source: iCLIPART)