Do you have any dinosaurs hanging out in your office? They might not be the giant kind with big claws and teeth, but odds are, your company uses many pieces of outdated technology. A technological T. Rex like this can keep your employees tied to a single location, most likely an office. An office dinosaur doesn’t just make your company look behind the times — it can cost productivity as well as customer and employee satisfaction. There is no room for dinosaur technology in business.

However, when you offer your employees technologies that promote flexibility, they are more engaged and likely to deliver better service to your customers. With modern solutions, they can work wherever they are. The following are some outdated pieces of technology in business that may be better off extinct, along with their modern versions you should consider to get out of prehistoric times:

From Sitting Desks to Treadmill Desks

Offices used to be full of desks, and employees always sat at them. Now, many companies are offering other places for employees to work, including cafe tables in break rooms and open work areas. If you do see a desk in an office, it could very well be a standing desk or a treadmill desk. Employees using these can walk or stand while working, which is a much healthier option than sitting all day.

From Dial-Up to Wireless Internet

Do you remember the sound of a modem dialing? It’s a thing of the past, and if you still hear that in your office, you’re harboring a very old dinosaur. Even if you have wired internet, you’re lingering in the ice age. By providing wireless internet at your office, you give your employees the flexibility to work wherever ideas hit them, whether in a meeting, sitting in the courtyard on a nice day, or at a colleague’s desk.

From Desk Phones to Business Phones with Mobility

Every desk used to have its own phone. It was usually black and plugged into the wall, tethering employees to their desks. Customers or co-workers could only reach them if they were physically sitting in their desk chairs. By giving employees mobile tools, you also give them flexibility in their work locations. Business communication systems are now accessible on whatever devices employees are using and can even mask their personal information from customers when they’re replying from their personal phones.

From Servers to Cloud Networks

Every office used to have a room they often affectionately called the “server room” or the “server farm,” with rows of physical servers that powered the office networks. Employees had to be physically at the office to access these files, and any software program a company needed had to be installed onto the hard drive of the server. These servers took up space and made it difficult for companies to expand due to increased maintenance costs and physical limitations. Thanks to cloud networks, servers are hosted offsite by dedicated cloud vendors who handle the day-to-day care of the servers while companies focus on serving clients and growing their businesses to scale.

On the Endangered List: Offices

You might be surprised to learn that physical business offices — where most employees spend eight hours each day — are actually on the endangered list. With cloud and mobile technology available at affordable prices, many businesses have virtual offices, or at least some remote workers. Odds are that one day, the concept of an office will end up in a museum, alongside the other dinosaur relics. By preparing your business to move in that direction, you won’t be left using outdated business concepts and watching the asteroid fall from the sky.

Technology in business, especially cloud technology, has made work much less location-dependent and gives employees the flexibility they need. Companies that embrace the cloud and provide their employees with technology that fosters flexibility are the ones that will succeed. On the other hand, companies that stay in the past and cling to these artifacts will quickly find themselves on the endangered list — or worse, extinct.

ssource: https://www.vonage.com/business/perspectives/technology-in-business-why-you-should-get-rid-of-your-office-dinosaurs/?CMP=SOC-ORG-VBE-TW-PER

In the world of safety and security, everyone wants to be secured by adopting latest security surveillance technologies. The vast array of CCTV surveillance cameras and recorders on the market can be daunting, making it difficult to decide which system would be best suited to your home or business environment. To cut through the information overload, check out this list of nine points to help you make the best investment in a security camera system for your needs.

Think before you buy low cost camera

It’s always wiser to invest in a good quality, small, entry level system that allows you to add more cameras later on. Reputable security companies will offer a range of camera and recorder options from good brand. Another benefit of reputable brands is the confidence in their warranty offerings compared to small retailers’ unbranded cameras, which may only offer the required six-month product guarantee at best, and will rarely include the service of professional installation and an extended no-nonsense warranty period of up to 2 years.

Decide what you need to catch on camera

If you consider what you can see with your own eyes, it is tricky to find a camera that will be able to mimic it. Advances in technology mean today’s cameras offer a range of angles, some even provide 360-degree vision and function under a range of lighting conditions.

Think about what you need to see on camera. That will help you decide what type of camera and what different camera functions you need. Do you want the camera to be able to see a vehicle outside the front driveway gate or a pedestrian ringing the bell?

 Lens length and width explained

It can seem confusing to understand the technicalities of choosing lens size and wide angle degree when selecting CCTV cameras.

For each millimetre of lens size, the rule of thumb is that this is how far away in meters the camera will be able to view its subject (focal length). The degree of a wide angle lens will determine the field of vision and shorten the focal length as the angle gets wider.

For example, a basic 60-degree wide angle, 4 mm lens will effectively identify a human target at up to 4 meters, but it will not have enough range to view the neighbour’s property to the left or right.

Storage and data

CCTV cameras can be attached to your home or business network through internet protocol (IP) to sound the alarm of a security breach and transmit data such as images to a security provider’s control centre via a broadband connection, such as wireless, GSM or ADSL.

The HD cameras will require more bandwidth and better internet connections and can be data hungry when accessing the feed on mobile devices, as well as require higher levels of memory storage to keep the better quality film which will mean bigger file sizes.

Analogue vs HD or IP?

Ultimately the quality of the image you require from your camera will help you decide whether to buy more affordable entry level analogue cameras or if you should go with high definition (HD) or IP cameras instead.

A basic analogue camera offers a low-resolution image while HD cameras can record crisp high-resolution images suitable for identifying numbers and characters. If you are going to need the recordings for legal or investigative purposes a higher resolution offers a far more enhanced picture which can be digitally zoomed into while retaining image quality. The benefit of zooming in is that this intelligence can be shared with police investigators and security companies.

 Position is everything

Knowing where to put cameras is very important as having the best cameras poorly positioned is as good as having no cameras at all. When considering this, think about the topography of your home. Ideally, covering the entire perimeter of the property with cameras will offer the security of an early warning system – if the camera has been connected to outdoor beams – and of being able to investigate security breaches without peering out a window.

As can be seen in this video above, CCTV cameras act as a good deterrent.  The robbers lift a driveway gate and enter the property, but as soon as they spot a CCTV camera they beat a hasty retreat.

 Lights, camera, action!

CCTV surveillance cameras can record colour during the day but at night, unless sufficient support lighting has been set up, they switch to black and white. It’s important to provide support outdoor lighting, such as a LED lamp, for colour definition, so that a meaningful intelligence report can be written up describing, for example, the colour of vehicles and clothing of intruders. Low light cameras are available but are far more expensive, making it cost effective to use lighting.

Understand all costs

Selecting the correct type of CCTV surveillance camera is just part of the process of shopping around. You must also consider the cost of recorders and peripherals such as cables, connectors, an uninterrupted power supply and the cost of labour and commissioning of the unit. Professionals can help you by answering all the questions you might have and even pointing out questions you might not have thought of.

Ask a security professional for advice

Before selecting a CCTV surveillance camera, seek the advice of a security professional. They will be able to assess your property and show you recorded footage from different types of cameras, that will enable you to get the full picture on quality and pricing before you commit to a decision. Check the website of a professional service provider  for comprehensive advice and tips to help you find about the total costs of purchasing and installing a camera at the outset, to avoid any surprises later on.

source:http://highwaymail.co.za

Digital transformation is a hot topic and it’s no real surprise. It promises greater agility, increased efficiencies, lower costs and improved customer service. For IT teams, the challenge is to modernize legacy systems and identify services and applications for digitization. They also need to use the flexibility of the cloud to accelerate change and reduce workload.

Unified Communication ( UC) will play a key role in digital transformation. It supports effective communication with customers, suppliers, and partners. UC makes it easy for teams to collaborate inside and outside the organization. And, it has the ability to streamline business processes by integrating communications with business applications.

Cloud solution or premise solution?

However, to reach the full potential of your digital transformation, you may have to modernize your UC deployment. One key decision is whether to move a premise UC deployment to the cloud.

A cloud-based solution gives you the scale and flexibility you will need. This is essential because digital transformation will make your organization more agile and responsive to changes in the market or the business environment. Your communication system must match that agility.

Moving UC to the cloud will also help IT by removing the support and upgrade burden. This will free the team to concentrate on more strategic digital transformation tasks.

Increase collaboration

A key goal of digital transformation is increased collaboration across the organization to accelerate innovation and deliver the best solutions for customers. UC’s collaboration tools must allow teams to easily share knowledge, resources, and information so they can improve personal and group performance. Some organizations are using UC’s collaboration tools to set up centers of excellence where employees can source advice and expertise, or ask teams of experts to work on complex problems. Updating UC systems to incorporate the latest cloud collaboration technologies is essential to accelerate digital transformation.

New ways of working

In a digital enterprise, location is no longer an issue. Virtual teams working in remote locations, flexible working policies and mobile working are the factors that shape the digital workplace. UC must support mobile and remote teams, as well as the more informal internal structures. Cloud-based UC solutions provide the reach and flexibility to bring together a dispersed workforce and create a collaborative working environment.

Streamlining business processes

Integration of communications tools and business applications is an important aspect of digital transformation. Because UC runs on a data network, it’s easy to integrate business apps and give them communications capability. Microsoft’s UC solution, Skype for Business, for example, can integrate with Office 365. Users can launch calls or conferences from within apps like Word, PowerPoint or Excel. Users no longer have to leave their work or change applications to get feedback or approval on work in progress. That integration capability makes it easy for users and applications to share the same data and interact with each other. This improves collaboration even further, helping to accelerate development and transformation projects.

IT’s focus on business

IT is no longer modernizing infrastructure for its own sake. It must deliver business benefits and demonstrate value to the business. Modernizing Unified Communication is an essential part of that process.

source: thevoipreport.com

The success of an organization is dependent on its employees. Engaged employees are enthusiastic and committed to their jobs. They understand goals and objectives of the organization and are committed to its overall success. Engaged employees are less likely to leave the organization to pursue other opportunities. Employee engagement results in higher productivity, better employee retention, a positive, more creative environment, and generally a better place to work for everyone. So how do you improve employee engagement in your organization using Digital Signage?

First, take care of the basics

Employee engagement isn’t always easy to define. Studies by the Dale Carnegie Institute have found that there are three key influences on employee engagement in the workplace:

• Employee relationships with the immediate supervisor;
• Confidence in senior leadership; and
• Pride in working for the organization

Are these three influences positively affecting employees in your organization?

Put digital communications to use in the workplace

Employee bulletin boards, memos and announcements over the public-address system have been used for ages to communicate to and among employees, but there was no guarantee the information was reaching the right employees at the right time.

Digital communications on devices like digital signs, video walls, tablets and mobile phones, incorporate the best of these traditional communication channels with the best of technology.

Most people associate digital communications with customer-facing communications, but employee-facing digital communications can be remarkably effective too. Not only can you notify people of emergencies quickly, you can communicate personalized real-time information in a manner that’s efficient and often entertaining as well.

Make digital content appropriate to the audience

One of the best things about digital communications is that you can do as successful television networks do and tailor content to the audience and their needs. Consider a digital screen in a warehouse – a message welcomes the morning shift to work and reminds them to finish their safety training by the deadline could precede a message from HR about the changes to the benefits plan. The company can also push personalized information about the orders for the day and key statistics from the previous shift to an employee’s phones or a display in the area

Digital signage in the locker room could thank the departing shift for their work, showcase key stats from their shift, and provide real-time updates on weather and traffic for their drive home.

Use digital communications for employee recognition

A terrific use for digital communications and devices like digital signage is employee recognition. Content could include coverage of formal awards people have earned, or even information from the company social network. Giving employees a way to submit positive information about their peers helps maintain a positive work environment, and when employee achievements are tied in with brand philosophy, both are amplified.

Consider creating a corporate social responsibility channel

Some organizations improve team cohesiveness even more by using digital communications to promote corporate social responsibility . Most consumers today expect businesses to focus on the world we live in as well as their own interests, and this, of course, carries over to employee attitudes. For example, using digital signage to communicate CSR initiatives and highlight relevant accomplishments on both the employee and corporate level can help employees take pride in their organization.

Digital communications is far more than a way for businesses to communicate with customers. It’s also terrific for communicating with employees and gives companies lots of opportunity for doing so in an entertaining and effective manner. Not only can devices like digital signs and mobile phones be used to inform employees quickly in the event of an emergency, they can be used for countless everyday applications as well, including deadline reminders, employee recognition, and information about how the company is striving to make the world better.

Using digital communications toward better employee engagement helps create a more cohesive workforce, with better morale, and hence a greater willingness among employees to give their best effort. It’s fast, flexible, more environmentally friendly than printed materials, and offers endless possibilities for programming content.

Source: digitalsignagetoday.com

The successful deployment of communications technology relies on one critical factor: high user adoption. As IT leaders and CIOs are keenly aware, significant time, money and resources are devoted to the rollout of new technologies. And yet, even the most promising deployments can fizzle in the hands of employees. Of course, there’s quite a bit at stake for CIOs who plan to introduce new unified communications and collaboration tools throughout the enterprise. If they fail to persuade users to embrace the new technologies, their investment is wasted. But more importantly, it could make their organization less competitive.

So what do IT leaders need to know to achieve high user adoption? While there are many strategies to increase adoption rates, the most effective approaches are those that engage the user early and often. Here’s how:

Let Employees Lead the Way

Traditionally, IT introduced new systems and tools to employees. But today’s elevated awareness about how technology can be used to deliver stronger results, it’s just as likely that line of business leaders and employees will suggest tools to IT.

For example, sales and marketing teams know that customer relationship management solutions can drive more revenue. Thus, they are easy converts to new communications technologies that integrate with their core applications. The lesson for CIOs? Understand the applications that are critical to various departments and ensure any new communications solutions can seamlessly integrate with them. Getting buy-in from future users up front and doing your research on what will offer them the easiest path forward will help increase adoption before anything has even been deployed.

Share Best Practices from Early Adopters

Despite the productivity benefits of new communications tools, an astonishing number of employees are still reluctant to use them. According to a recent survey by Technalysis Research, emails, text and phone calls make up 75% of communications in the workplace. In fact, more than a third of workers continue to collaborate with co-workers by emailing documents, but just 19% use real-time collaboration tools.

This means IT leaders have a daunting task to get the laggards on board. One way to resolve this problem is to engage early adopters. Eric Newsome, the CIO of gas supplier, Praxair, recently told CIO Magazine that immediately after a major deployment, his team observes early adopters as they work with the new tools.

“We are ethnographers; we go around and watch these users in action,” Newsome says. This approach allows his team to identify best practices, which are then compiled and shared with users around the organization. By sharing relevant examples from colleagues and teeing up early adopters as internal evangelists, IT leaders and CIOs can create positive peer pressure that entices reluctant employees to begin using the tools.

Get Buy-In from the IT Staff

The challenges of getting end-users to try new technologies may be legendary, but the reluctance of IT staff who support legacy applications isn’t discussed quite as often. However, it’s important that IT executives also consider the resistance they might get from their own staff.

There are two strategies that can be followed: retrain or replace. First, leaders should evaluate their teams and determine not only if an employee can be retrained on the new solution, but also if they are willing to embrace the change. Retraining is preferable, but sometimes it may be necessary to replace or reassign team members who are resistant to learning how to effectively support the new technology. After all, without 100% buy-in from the supporting IT staff, it will be much more difficult to reach user adoption goals.

At the end of the day, ensuring your software implementation is a success is just as much about building internal relationships as it is about technology itself. It’s not always easy, but IT leaders who actively cultivate opinions of cross-functional teams and engage end-users throughout the process are much more likely to see adoption rates – and resulting productivity – rise.

Source:www.shoretel.com