Most successful businesses could not enjoy the success or scale of their operations without taking advantage of the technology at their disposal. Besides facilitating the massive leaps and bounds we have made in the past few decades, modern technology is responsible for the improved performance of businesses through ergonomics, analytics, and the myriad of platforms available to take businesses to the next level.
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Fast, Secure, and Mobile Computing
One of the most crucial pieces of equipment you and your team will work on is your computers. Flexibility is vital when running a small business, and a good laptop can cover most of your office’s computing needs. One of the best bang-for-buck devices you can buy now is gaming laptop. They usually have better performing components than standard office laptops, better and more fleshed-out cooling systems, and they are extremely power efficient when not running under loads. One of the best examples of value for your money comes from the Threadripper at Lenovo. These machines feature top-end processing power, excellent graphical performance, and good battery life, all at a decent price.
Mechanical Keyboards
Anyone who does any typing can tell you that what you type can make a big difference to your productivity and your wrists. A significant drawback to mechanical keyboards in an office environment would be how loud the click and clack of the keys can be. This noise is easily offset by opting for mechanical keyboards with MX Brown switches with O-rings. They have a great tactile feel, one of the fastest response times, and backlit keys, and they also produce less noise. Using a good quality mechanical keyboard will also keep typing fatigue to a minimum and allow for more precise and faster typing.
Digital Pens and Smart Stylus
As we move further and further into a digitally dominated world of tablets and smartphones, you would be at a significant disadvantage if you were to ignore the smaller yet profound leaps in technology. One of these is the smart pen. Bridging the gap between analogue and digital, these pens allow users to convert text to a nearby device quickly and even digitally edit what has been written. Some cells also have microphones to record spoken words and convert them to digital text. This facilitates the easy and secure storage of notes and transcriptions and saves hours of manpower.
Smart Desks
Ergonomics is a long-trending topic among professionals who spend extended periods behind a screen and a desk. Good ergonomics are crucial to happy and productive work life. Intelligent desks are reshaping the contemporary workspace, keeping office throughput at a maximum while keeping your footprint to a minimum and promoting the best ergonomics for workers. Studies show that sitting for long periods is detrimental to our posture, so adjusting from sitting to standing is a boon for the body. These desks are adjustable to allow a comfortable standing or sitting stance while working and often come with multiple memory options for saving heights and configurations. Once the desk has been set up, you can shift from a standing to a sitting position and back again at the push of a button.
Management Systems for Access
Access to most businesses is crucial, and a safe and professional atmosphere for staff and clients alike is critical. Long waits at reception and manual sign-ins are cumbersome parts of a business that many cannot afford. Instead, visitor management systems have been revamped, with hardware and software now available to facilitate clear processes for everyone. Manual approaches to security can be very labour intensive and thus costly. A good access management system can cut down on much of these overheads and facilitate a smooth flow at your door. In light of the pandemic, a good management system can also help capture, process, track, and cache this information for later scrutiny or track-and-trace purposes.
Multi-Factor Security
Passwords get copied, hacked, cracked, lifted, and scammed daily. That is why most secure services now employ a multi-factor authentication approach to keep whatever they protect as safe as possible. This easily extends to confidential information in the office, websites where money is exchanged, devices you need to be protected, and files you need to be secured. Multi-factor security shines because it requires more than one key or piece of information to unlock. A good example is when you make a credit card payment online. To do so, you need to provide the card number, the PIN, and the CVV number, making it more difficult for someone to abuse without access to all three numbers. Building access can work similarly, where a card, fingerprint, and pin code are required to access secure or critical areas.
Solar Power
As countries and states worldwide keep showing us, the power grid we take for granted is not infallible. Nothing can be as crippling to a business as an extended loss of power, and few things can be easily avoided. By investing in a small solar generation system for your business, you can be sure always to have backup power when you need it. The solar system can also be set up to help offset some of your monthly electrical bills by generating a portion, or all, of the power your business needs. With some homework, your efforts can go a long way toward reducing your business’s carbon footprint. This has a two-fold effect, with incentives and tax breaks from local government and a good morale boost to any staff concerned with their imprint and the planet’s wellbeing.
Having the right technology in place can help your office run more smoothly and efficiently, facilitate innovation, and ensure that staff and visitors are in the best environment possible. Start with what you deem is a priority for your business and expand from there, but security is always a good place to start. Ultimately, it is the people using the technology that will determine its efficacy, so ensure users and staff are knowledgeable and trained to use your new technology and get the most out of it.