August 2014 - Falcon Network Services Falcon Network Services

Five Ways to Maximize Employee Mobile Devices

Virtually every employee today has a smart phone. Many also have tablets, such as iPads and Android devices. Most businesses are underutilizing these devices, because they belong to the employee in most cases. They are BYOD, “bring your own device,” as they say. This is a mistake. Your hyper connected employees will be glued to their mobile devices, whether you want them to or not. Savvy business owners and executives have realized the secret to higher employee productivity is embracing mobility and the BYOD trend. Find ways to help your staff work more, work smarter, and serve your clients better. The key is to empower the mobile experience of your staff, without compromising security and control of your corporate data. Business-class file sync services can give you the best of both worlds: you can allow your corporate data to be synced to employee mobile devices, without giving up control of your corporate data. Here’s how:

Sync to smartphones

Business-class cloud file sync services allow employees to sync their critical work files between their desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and the cloud. Your staff becomes more nimble and productive when they have their files at their fingertips, no matter where they go. Whether it is iOS, Android, or Windows Phone, business-class sync keeps users connected on the go.

Empower them with tablets

Tablet users today are usually your cutting edge staffers. More and more, everyday computing tasks once performed on laptops are now being done on iPads and Android tablets. Tablets are great for field-based staff, often sales professionals. Whether your staff is visiting a client or working a tradeshows, tablets are fantastic for demos, show and tell, and visual content to share with prospects and clients. Growth oriented companies should encourage tablet use and help users leverage all of their files and corporate data, securely from their tablets.

Sync your file server

Mobile devices are the lifeline for remote employees. But it is easy to feel cut off from HQ if all the content, files, and data you need is stuck back on the corporate file server. Business-grade sync services allow you to cloud connect your file server and in turn sync the content to mobile users and other remote computers. On the go professionals are in sync with HQ and better able to serve clients and prospects in the field.

Don’t lose control

Leveraging employee mobile devices is not without risks. Data privacy and security has always been a balancing act. With BYOD resources, it is no different. But with business-grade sync services you can connect employees with corporate data without losing control. Business-class services allow you to implement fine grained controls on employee sync and share behavior. For instance, you could allow employees to sync to their iPhone and iPad, but not a remote Windows or Mac device. You may also evolve your security policy over time, either loosening or strengthening your policies depending on the circumstances. The choice is yours.

Be ready when disaster strikes

No matter what security policies you implement, you need to be ready for when disasters strike. Everyday disasters are all too common. Lost or stolen smartphones are common. With business-grade file sync you can remotely wipe corporate data off of a lost device. In more serious situations, such as an employee termination, you are also ready. Remote wipe actions can be taken on a whole user account and across devices that were previously synced, eliminating corporate data from smartphones, tablets, and remote computers.

Balancing security and convenience is a necessary choice in today’s workplace. Fortunately, business-class file sync helps business owners and executives ride the mobility wave, while safeguarding corporate data.

Posted in: Secure Cloud File Sync

Leave a Comment (0) →

Should You Hire Or Outsource to an External IT Service Provider?

Most small business owners handle all aspects of their businesses, including acting as the Information Technology department. This will work for as long as you remain a small business without employees. When you grow and start hiring staff, will it make more sense to use your business-building time on handling IT issues or outsource to an external IT Service Provider?

Unless you are an Information Technology Service Provider yourself, chances are your time will be much better spent marketing your products and/or services, establishing relationships with your clients, providing exceptional customer service and just otherwise growing your business – so why not outsource to an external IT Service Provider?

How do you know when it’s time to get IT help? If the information technology demands are affecting your day and negatively impacting your actual business related activities – it’s definitely time to consider finding an IT resource. If you start adding new employees and computers, it’s probably a good time to look into adding IT help, as well.

Should You Hire Internal IT Staff or Outsource to an External IT Service Provider?

When you make the decision to find an IT resource, your first decision will be whether you need to hire one or more staff to fulfill the role, or if you’re going to outsource IT services. Having dedicated IT staff means they are 100% committed to your business. They’re not splitting their time among numerous clients the way a contracted company might. One of the benefits of having an IT department is that the staff develops a strong understanding of your unique business needs and should be in a good position to manage your short and long term IT requirements. With your own IT staff on payroll, you know you’ve always got someone available (unless they’re out sick or on vacation!) should an emergency or urgent situation present itself.

The primary disadvantage of hiring IT staff is that you’ll be paying for their benefits, their training, and a variety of other costs associated with hiring a new employee. Not to mention, you have to pay them the agreed upon salary regardless of how much IT work you end up having, which means you may be overpaying based on workload!

There are a variety of advantages of outsourcing to an external IT service provider over hiring staff. You can choose to outsource your information technology needs to a flat rate IT service provider and reduce your monthly and overall costs. Having a virtual IT department lets you focus more on running your business rather than the technology that supports it. You aren’t stuck paying employee benefits or other employee costs, and you aren’t responsible for making sure the IT team remains up to date with their training and knowledge.

The Bottom Line

Finding the right information technology help for a growing business needs is challenging. When you think strategically about your business’ unique IT requirements, you can make sound decisions that further promote its growth and profitability.