Successful businesses and their leaders stay three steps ahead of everything. But growth isn’t easy–there’s no one right way to anticipate and prepare for the unknown. It’s essential for growing companies to keep their IT systems as far ahead of the game as their people are if success is to be in the cards. We’ve evaluated some of the most critical upgrades for fast-growing companies so you and your team can stay ahead with the help of your technology, not in spite of it.
Speed and Efficiency:
802.11n WiFi is non-negotiable these days. Faster connections mean a superior user experience as well as the capability to support more devices. Because most laptops might not have three-stream support, it’s worth it to track down two-stream business-grade Access Points with 300 Mbps access speeds. Speed isn’t just about faster downloads—it can be the difference-maker for a rapidly growing business.
Power efficiency and flexibility set Network Attached Storage (NAS) apart as the best new file server solutions for growing businesses. Unlike their predecessors, these storage solutions are flexible and can be expanded readily as storage demands grow.
Physical Equipment:
Multiple Monitors might just be the holy grail of increased productivity. CIO.com reports that not only does it boost user satisfaction, using multiple monitors can improve productivity by almost 50%. For a relatively minor one-time cost, that’s a pretty impressive ROI—definitely worth considering for a fast-growing organization.
Docking Stations with Laptops also address the issue of lost productivity by allowing users to seamlessly sync up laptops and desktop workstations. Most connect with a standard USB hookup, making the investment versatile, and a few options even allow for multiple-monitor use as well.
If your business is planning to wait a year or two for a system upgrade, an Upgrade to Solid State Drive (SSD) can let you prolong the lives of older laptops and desktops. SSD writes and reads data faster, which means faster boot-ups and application launches for users. It’s one of the most immediately noticeable system upgrades, which can really boost user satisfaction as well as providing an immediate ROI.
Storage:
Yes, you know all about The Cloud, but is it involved in every aspect of your business? It can, and should, be. More than just a convenient storage solution, the Cloud can transform business, tying together customer engagement (more on that later), analytics, Big Data, and opportunity to create a powerful initiative. It’s more than worth figuring out a plan for expanding the Cloud’s presence in your business beyond storage—it’s essential to growth, simple as that.
Upgrading RAM can free up valuable virtual memory space, giving users a better, faster experience. Newer solid-state drive laptops will free up their flash-based storage space, and reduce stress on heavily loaded hard disk drive systems as well. Again, a lower-cost solution that can have an immediate and substantial impact on user experience and productivity.
Whatever your current storage situation may be, “Future-Proofing” is critical to be ready for what’s next. More likely than not, your current storage solutions aren’t going to cut it for what’s in store three years from now, and adding on to what you already have probably won’t either. Fresh ideas and versatility are crucial to sustained growth in the complex and rapidly-changing demands of the business world. Think ahead when you make decisions today about what might be next, and leave the door open to change your strategies as growth continues.
What upgrades do YOU suggest for a growing company? Please share your thoughts below!
Posted By: Madeline Stone