To succeed in business today, it’s not enough to have strong ideas and be willing to work hard. You also need the right software. While investing in software might feel daunting if money is tight, it can make a big difference to your productivity and quickly pay for itself – especially cloud-based software.
Cloud software is more appealing to the general business user, due to the fact that it allows you to pay only for the feature and/or resource that you use. What’s more, it doesn’t require a great deal of initial outlay as long as you make good decisions. One more key benefit of cloud-based software is the ability to scale as you grow, which means that software expenses are only increasing when your growth requires you to invest in more feature and resource.
This article is designed to help you hunt down the right cloud-based software for your business – software that’s designed for the general user but still gets good results.
Key office software needs
To work out what software you most need in your office, it’s best to look at it area by area.
- Organization – investing in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can take a lot of the pressure off management by streamlining day-to-day tasks and helping with project coordination. Deltek is a good source of systems tailored to this business type.
- Communication – aim to streamline office communication with internal messaging software and phone numbers as backup. Facilitate off-site communication and out-of-office work using cloud software so that your team can connect even when commuting or on business trips.
- Finance – the best finance packages are now so good that anyone can use them; no specialist knowledge is required. Try QuickBooks Online for the office and FreshBooks as a useful aid when you’re out and about.
- Security – getting security right is vital to protecting your data and keeping everything else running smoothly, so more and more businesses are choosing to outsource it to the cloud. For in-office use, Norton AntiVirus is still ahead of the pack. If you are outsourcing your IT, you may want to partner with a local IT support specialist to advise you on how to secure your IT better. For example, if you reside in Boston area, you may want to partner with an IT support in Boston.
Boosting performance online
When it comes to the software you should be using on the internet, you can take a similar approach.
- Business-to-business interaction – the cloud is definitely the way to go in this area, giving you the flexibility to deal with any type of file you’re sent. Alternatively, a Linux-based system with emulators is a good solution when your Windows or Mac software won’t cooperate.
- Business-to-customer interaction – according to my web designer friend in Perth, Western Australia, web design is now more complex than ever as it’s essential to ensure mobile device compatibility, but WordPress can give you something functional at a low cost. You’ll also need to use social media to guarantee visibility.
- Marketing – for small businesses, performance-based marketing such as that described in Matomy’s feed is the safest bet and can get great results. Check out Matomy Media Group to find a package designed to suit your business size and type.
Staying ahead
In such a rapidly changing world, it has never been more important to stay ahead technologically if you want to succeed. Fortunately, more and more of today’s software is modular and widely compatible, so you can invest according to your needs without having to overhaul the whole system. What you should be doing, on a routine basis, is taking the time to read technology news websites, and discussing new software when networking. You don’t want to miss the next big thing!
