Mistake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The following is a guest post by Patrick Del Rosario. His bio is at the end of the article.
Technology has improved the way companies do business and has even leveled the playing field for small businesses to compete with large brand names simply by using the internet to their advantage. Yet many businesses are still making some common computing mistakes that are costing them big money. Without correcting them, businesses stand to lose significant dollars in the long run.
Here are the top 8 computing mistakes businesses make.
- Not installing an anti-virus program – In business, knowledge is power. If a virus comes onto a computer and either ruins the computer, or opens it up to the risk of having that valuable knowledge stolen, the results can be devastating. Businesses without an anti-virus solution installed on every computer run the significant risk of exposing their valuable information to hackers and losing their biggest asset, their knowledge.
- Not protecting mobile data – More major companies are allowing their employees to bring their own devices to work or use their personal smartphone or tablet for business related purposes. While this is not always a bad solution, if not done with the proper security measures in place, it can be detrimental if the employee leaves the company with the information still on their phone, or if their device is stolen.
- Not using a backup solution – Companies who do not back up their data run the risk of losing significant information, such as customer records, graphics, data files, contracts, and more. Without this vital data, a business can suffer dramatically and waste hours, day, and even weeks rebuilding and regaining the information they lost.
- Not moving data to the Cloud – The cloud is simply a place where businesses and consumers can store their digital information on a server in another physical location, or online. In an increasingly mobile world, this can be enormously beneficial to businesses, give flexibility to their employees, and ultimately allow them to close more deals.
- Not taking advantage of current technology – There have been many advances with applications that can be accessed online. These applications save businesses money as they allow important business meetings to take place, such as meetings, without the need for the high cost of travel. Businesses that want to cut significant dollars from their bottom line should take advantage of the solutions available to them.
- Not using social media effectively – There are many outlets to promote your brand and business. These social media platforms have become so streamlined that customers expect to be able to find brands on at least one of the main networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and connect with them on this level. If your business is avoiding these networks, they are losing out on exposure, viral marketing, and a chance to create more loyalty among their clients.
- Not paying attention to your online reputation – The world has become more dependent on the internet to find information. This means that if a negative review is written about your company, or your customers are saying negative things about your brand on social media networks, you will have no defense to help remedy these opinions and stop them from tainting the minds of potential customers during the decision-making process. The online reputation of a business is crucial and without monitoring what is being said, businesses can be hurt without realizing it.
- Not being educated on how to use technology – Technology is useless if no one in the company knows how to use it. For complex solutions, it may be a good idea to invest in a training course for at least some of the employees of the office. This way, the products you have invested money in can be used to their full potential.
Avoid making these 8 mistakes in your business, so you do not lose valuable data, customers and employees.
Patrick Del Rosario is part of the team behind Open Colleges, one of Australia’s pioneer and leading providers of Business management courses and Human resources courses. When not working, Patrick enjoys blogging about career and business. He is also a photography enthusiast and is currently running a photography studio in the Philippines. If you have a blog and would like free content, you can find him on Google+.
