Are you trying to figure out how to improve the workflow in your business?
Modern technology solutions can help. The web has come a long way in the past few years, and it has given us more tools than ever to help businesses run.
The demand for cloud technology is continuing to grow. It is expected to reach a market value of $246.8 billion.
But do you know where to start?
Below you will find seven ways cloud services can help your business run.
1. Customer Support
Do you work with customers and need to keep track of the problems that they have?
If your team deals with a lot of issues, then you need a way to manage customer issues to deal with them in a timely and effective manner.
An online ticket system can solve this problem for you.
Instead of email and phone calls, when a customer has a problem, they will log onto your ticket portal and submit a ticket. When your customer service logs into the system, they will see a list of issues that they need to resolve.
This system does two things.
The first is that it keeps track of all the work your customer service does. It is an excellent way to measure stats so you can find problem areas and focus on reducing future problems.
The second is that it gives your customers an overview of the work that you are doing for them. They can log in and see what tickets they have open and their status.
They can also check past tickets to see the work that your company does for them.
2. Team Collaboration
Are you still using the old ways to manage your teams and projects? You’re missing out on a lot of collaboration tools available in the cloud.
Instead of having physical copies of plans and endless versions of spreadsheets, online software gives you a hub to manage all your projects.
Project management tools provide several management styles to use.
A tool like Trello provides the Kanban approach to managing projects. You are given a board to place task cards. Your team members can grab the work they want, and there is no mix up on what people are supposed to be doing.
As these tasks get completed, they are moved down the project pipeline.
A tool like Asana provides a more traditional approach. You have a project area where you can set up all the tasks for projects and assign them to individuals.
You can use it to create a workflow that works for your team.
Document suites also make collaborating on documents more accessible than ever. You don’t need to send them back and forth through email anymore.
They have the added benefit of having a version history as well. This way if someone makes a mistake, you can switch back to an old version without losing anything.
3. Remote Work
The internet has created a new work culture. People don’t want to spend their days in the office anymore.
With these solutions for cloud applications, we have the tools to provide remote work opportunities for our employees.
Your staff doesn’t need to come on-site to get the information they need for their job. We also have better communication channels.
All you need is an internet connection to get most of the tools you need to work.
Remote work is a perk that can help you bring in and retain talent for your organization.
4. Teleconference
Meetings are a part of business that probably isn’t going away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make them more efficient.
Instead of having everyone come to an office for meetings, you can conduct them virtually.
Meeting software has made a lot of advancements and allows you to bring everyone into a meeting over the internet.
You aren’t limited to voice either. You can meet with video and share your computer screen.
These capabilities let you conduct presentations that you would typically have to be on location to present.
This helps schedule internal meetings with your staff and have more effective meetings with your clients.
5. Backup Services
If you don’t have a backup in place for your business, you are setting yourself up for a disaster.
Your data is the lifeblood of your business. If you lose it, there’s no telling how much time and money you will lose rebuilding what you lost.
A good backup plan allows for several points of failure. You should keep your data backed up in several locations. You can use online services for this.
Backup software exists that automatically backs up your files on a schedule or your choice. Once your data is on the cloud, you can restore it by logging into your backup provider to grab the information you lost.
Some backup providers also provide version history for files. Version history will allow you to restore old copies of data when adverse changes are made.
6. Phone Technology
Do you have a sales force that is out on the road most of the time?
If they are, they need to use their personal phones to make calls if you don’t provide business phones to them.
If you don’t want them using their personal numbers, you can invest in VoIP technology for your business.
This technology is a replacement for landline phones. You use your internet connection to make calls.
An internet-based technology helps your remote workers because they can connect to your VOIP service on the road. This means they can use their business numbers to make calls.
7. Time Tracking
If you run a business that you bill hourly, you need a way to track time effectively.
Your billing may not always be accurate if you rely on workers to keep track of their time. Time tracking software can help by letting your staff track their hours with a push of a button.
Your software will create reports that show you how much work is done for each of your clients. You can also break down how much each worker does.
This information can give you insights on your best clients and most productive workers.
Use These Modern Technology Solutions for a More Efficient Business
The internet has changed everything. Things are moving faster than ever, so make sure you learn about modern technology solutions so you can keep up.
These tools can help make your business run more efficiently, so you can focus more on building your business.
Do you want to learn more about business tools that can help? Head over to our blog to find more about technology that can make a difference.
