Advantage IT Management Blog

The laptop has been gradually seeing a boom in the office, replacing the desktop for a more portable option for meetings and remote work. Long gone are the days where the laptop feels like a more expensive, less capable option. They do have their detriments, though. One of the most complained about parts of using a laptop is the trackpad. They’ve added features and improved materials over the years, but the overall experience of using a trackpad hasn’t changed very much for over a decade.

The productivity software suites now available to businesses have come a long way in a relatively very short time. However, when selecting one, it is still crucial to compare your options based on a few key variables. Let’s go over these variables to make sure that the software suite you’re using is the right one for your needs.

The most successful businesses are those that are always seeking to improve what they offer—oftentimes, taking a successful element and simply making it more efficient to deliver. In the past, this basically meant that businesses needed to have their employees work more quickly. However, today’s improved technology and the automation that it makes possible have delivered a much more consistent option.

For any business endeavor, productivity has to be at the very top of the hierarchy of metrics. Think about it, it doesn’t matter what field you work in or what market you cater to, if your business isn’t productive it is going to have a hard time being profitable. For almost a year, many businesses have relied on remote workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and regardless of what you think about remote work, metrics have shown a fairly surprising rate of productivity out of remote workers over this time. With 12 months of data in hand, we take a look at why productivity is still a king of metrics and how the ongoing pandemic has affected the workforce’s productivity.

Regardless of what your business does, there is a good chance that it relies pretty heavily on technology. When that technology falters, so does your business. Sure, this might be for a couple hours at a time, but it all adds up and has a major impact on the success of your business. Many organizations have outsourced their IT support and management, but could benefit from a more proactive approach than the one they currently employ. Today, we will take a look at some of the priorities that businesses should consider when choosing an outsourced IT provider.

Technology is getting smarter, from the consumer level on up. As such, artificial intelligence is appearing in more and more applications that all businesses can embrace. Let’s take a few minutes and go over the various ways that artificial intelligence can be used to support your business’ operations.

Google Lens isn’t exactly the most well-known application amongst Android users, which is actually a real shame. This nifty little utility can provide some significant productivity benefits, if used correctly. Let’s go over a few capabilities that Google Lens can provide to give you some tips on how to use it.

Google is actively working to improve the working experience for their G Suite customers by continuing to innovate on their many products and services. This includes revamping Gmail to create a more integrated communication platform for businesses to take advantage of. Let’s take a few moments and examine what the upgraded Gmail will offer.

As the summer of 2020 ends, kids are preparing to go back to school… albeit in a much different way than any of us have ever experienced. Instead of going to stores and picking out folders and pencil cases and binders, a lot of kids are hunkering down at home and preparing to learn remotely.

Microsoft has been a major player in the productivity space for decades. Their Microsoft Office platform was one of their first (and one of their most successful) products. Recently, the software giant rebranded their cloud-based Office 365 platform to Microsoft 365. Today, we’ll tell you what that means for consumers. 

So, as the boss, you’re concerned about your employees wasting time, especially on the Internet. However, you can’t exactly keep them off the Internet, as that’s where their work is done. With distractions like social media, streaming, and literally everything else out there to draw their attention away, how can you hope to compete?

While many people who were afforded the option have likely grown used to remote work at this point, that does not mean a business that adopts it can do so with complete impunity. One considerable issue that many remote workers have been experiencing is a sincere issue of overwork, believe it or not. Let’s examine why this is a problem, and how you can address it in your own business.

Productivity is generally included in any company’s list of priorities, and among those, it generally ranks somewhat near the top. With workplaces beginning to open with very different processes than what they are used to, productivity may be a little challenging to maintain. That’s why, for this week’s tip, we’re sharing one way you can hit the ground running at the start of your day.

We’ve all been there before: looking at our schedule and finding that something has been added to our day, with little-to-no context to describe what it is we are supposed to do. This is not the kind of thing that leads to a productive office and a productive working environment. That’s why we’re sharing how to start each of your team’s responsibilities on the right foot for this week’s tip: tasking it out properly.

These days, we use a lot of cloud platforms. They can enhance productivity through improving access, and they allow a business to do more with their capital. For this week’s tip, we thought we’d look at two ways the cloud can help your business excel with its newly-remote workforce.

The influence of COVID-19 has permeated through most aspects of daily life, from the way we live, communicate, work, and for many, the way we learn. As schools must remain closed for now, that is not to say that the learning process will necessarily be suspended for all. Many institutions already have the necessary tools in place to continue their students’ education in the form of remote learning, but for many, this is uncharted territory.

The rise of the remote worker was happening long before the Novel Coronavirus outbreak made it necessary. People in all manners of positions were working remotely, and succeeding in doing so. Many organizations that have embraced the remote worker have seen noteworthy rises in productivity. In fact, many organizations have seen a lot of success using predominantly remote workers. 

There are many reasons that your team may want (or need) to work from home, and there are many reasons to allow them to do so. A 2019 survey by OwlLabs indicated that 71 percent of remote workers are happy with their job (as compared to 55 percent of on-site workers); remote workers responded that they are 13   percent more likely than onsite workers to stay in their current job for five more years than onsite workers will; and when respondents claimed to be working longer than 40 hours per week, onsite workers were doing so out of necessity, while remote workers did so out of desire and enjoyment.

It’s not uncommon where a situation arises and you will find yourself working from home. To make this work, it is important that you keep a few additional issues in mind so that you can make the most of it. We have put together a few simple best practices that you should keep in mind as you operate remotely.

A global pandemic is about one of the worst situations that humans can endure. It has an effect on every person. The CDC is recommending that everyone practice what is called ‘social distancing.’ The unfortunate result of this policy is that many businesses lose access to their onsite workforce. Provided that you are set up to allow your staff to work remotely, you can avoid losing huge swaths of productivity. Today we will discuss some of the considerations and the technology you will need to make this strategy work for you.