The IoT, as it’s referred to, is expanding rapidly and is expected to reach far beyond watches that track our health stats and thermostats that learn our comfort levels. The IoT is in cars, hospital equipment, shoes, cash registers, trains, and on and on. We are finding new ways to connect things, collect their data, harvest that data, and feed it to other things. So what does this mean for you and your business?

The Internet of Opportunities

Businesses need to figure out how to translate this hyper-connectivity to the customer experience. The move to the cloud is intrinsic to the IoT. This means less hardware, more data, and easier customization.

To take advantage of this pivot, ask yourself these questions:

• Can your offerings be purchased via subscription? The rise of the subscription model will continue to influence how consumers view commerce and convenience. The sale of physical products will decrease in importance as services become more and more prominent. More and more, your revenue will come from the services you offer.
• Can everyone in your company get the data they need? The IoT will bombard your business with information. But unless you know how to organize and distribute that info to the right people on your team, it won’t help your business grow. You’ve got to have the business intelligence in place to make it work.
• Are you ready to educate your staff? The growth of the IoT will be fast and inconstant. The learning curve might look like a roller coaster. In order to keep your team engaged and informed, you’ll need to place a high priority on training. Encourage your people to keep their eyes on emerging trends.
• Are you willing to re-up your security? All connected devices can be hacked. The IoT requires a security force field and an ever-present vigilance. If you can’t put the most secure measures in place, you won’t be able to compete.
• Have you embraced the cloud? The IoT doesn’t work without cloud computing. If your company has been hesitant to make the move to the cloud, it’s time to rethink your resistance. The cloud makes it possible for your company to adapt quickly, take on more capacity, and offer more options to your customers—all at a lower cost, as additional physical infrastructure is no longer necessary.

Roll with the Changes: The Internet of Things Is Now

If you think your business could benefit from the impending ubiquity of the Internet of Things, the time to get on board is now.

Need a solid IT team to lead the effort? Solvere One is ready to take on the challenge. Call us at (202) 905-2722 or contact us online to learn more about our IT support services.

Apple is joining up with Cisco to fully realize mobile’s potential to transform business by integrating Cisco’s collaboration products like video and web conferencing. This collaboration helps Apple get into business where it lives. From the Wall Street Journal:

“Among other recent moves, Apple has developed a sales program with technology companies that create apps targeted at businesses. Apple is playing matchmaker to help companies bundle apps together for small businesses—coupling, for example, a digital cash-register app with a workplace scheduling app.”

If you haven’t considered Apple for business in the past, now might be the time to take the leap.

What Has Apple Done for Business Lately?

Apple is offering more and more business-friendly features and applications.

• iPad for business – Apple partnered with IBM in 2014 to build business-focused apps. Those new applications have definitely caught on with small businesses. Home service techs are using iPads to facilitate estimates and _____. iOS 9 is expected to debut in the fall of 2015, with Apple promising a host of new business features and management tools.
• iPhone for business – Part of their partnership with Cisco involves optimizing networks and maximizing the potential of collaboration tools on the iPhone to make it a better fit for the business space.
• Mac for business – Graphic designers have been loyal to Macs in the workplace forever, but now they are making slow inroads into the business side. Apple is hoping to further this trend by increasing connections and processes between Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

How to Transition to Apple for Your Small Business

Choosing the Right Apple Products – Different job requirements can often dictate the best system for use; for example, a creative department may desire to use a Mac running Mac OS X versus a PC running Windows because of increased functionality. If you aren’t sure how to integrate Apple products into your small business, Solvere can help. We can take a look at your business needs and recommend which devices and platforms will have the greatest benefit for your company. We’ll go over the options with you and help you choose what’s best for you and your employees—from computers to iPhones and iPads and even Apple Pay. Having an Apple IT support professional behind you allows you to offer your employees Apple products and devices that run the Mac OSX. You can increase productivity without risking productivity loss during transition because our Apple tech support professionals will be there with you every step of the way.

Setup & Configuration – Apple IT support from Solvere One will set up all your Apple products so they are ready for you and your employees to use without losing valuable company time. We will also make sure your new products work perfectly within your existing system. We aim to make your transition as stress-free and as least detrimental to your productivity as possible.

Training – Apple products can be great for your business—when your team knows how to use them to their full potential. To make sure you get the most out of your Apple products, call our Apple IT support professionals to train your employees. They’ll learn tips and tricks to effectively use their products to increase their productivity and grow your business.

Get DC-Area Apple IT Support

If you’re ready to make the transition to Apple, contact Solvere One for Apple IT support today. Solvere One provides white-glove 24/7/365 Apple IT support to businesses in the Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC area. With us, you can lower your IT costs while growing your business with Apple products.

Facebook at Work is designed to make communication and collaboration with your coworkers easier. Your work account doesn’t have any crossover to your personal account, and it even looks different than traditional Facebook; it’s white instead of blue.

Can this new version of Facebook really make your company more productive? Or will it be just as much of a distraction as regular Facebook?

What We Know About Facebook at Work So Far

Since it’s still in testing phase, we don’t know how successfully companies are integrating Facebook at Work into their systems. But we do know what the platform is said to offer:

• A news feed that prioritizes posts from colleagues with whom you interact the most
• The ability to make “Groups” for teams of people
• Individual and group chat features
• The ability to invite users to company events
• Photo and video sharing
• Document sharing
• No ads or tracking of corporate data (as of now)

What Could Go Wrong?

Privacy is the big concern with Facebook at Work among tech watchers. Facebook is routinely criticized for its privacy snafus and communication with users regarding privacy, so it’s no surprise that people would be wary of using a Facebook platform to share corporate information, no matter what the developers promise.

We’ll definitely be watching to see what happens when Facebook at Work officially launches.

Are you looking for ways to increase productivity at your business? Call Solvere One at (202) 905-2722 for customized solutions.

Explore the Solvere One blog and learn more!

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The term “web-scale IT” has been batted around among tech insiders in the recent aughts. It was put into official parlance in May of last year by information technology research juggernaut Gartner, who named it as one of the top IT trends for 2015.

So what is this concept and what does it mean for business IT? Web-scale IT is “all of the things happening at large cloud services firms such as Google, Amazon, Rackspace, Netflix, Facebook, etc., that enables them to achieve extreme levels of service delivery as compared to many of their enterprise counterparts,” says Gartner’s vice president of research, Cameron Haight. He goes on to lay out the six elements of web-scale IT:

1. Industrial data centers
2. Web-oriented architectures
3. Programmable management
4. Agile processes
5. Collaborative organization style
6. Learning culture

How Small to Mid-Size Businesses Can Benefit from Web-Scale IT

For smaller businesses competing with corporate entities, embracing web-scale IT can help them be more agile and proactive. For instance, cloud computing can help a company be more available to its clients and provide more useful and flexible services. The cloud lays the foundation for a system that allows employees to communicate, collaborate, and serve customers across multiple platforms.

Haight explains how smaller companies can use some of the elements of web-scale IT to their benefit. “Through a mixture of cloud services and in-house equipment that is right for their organization, a Web-scale approach can turn IT into a tangible competitive advantage for smaller companies in the way it has for internet giants. Web-scale techniques are applicable to organizations of many sizes, and can be adapted to support a wide range of business outcomes.”

Cloud computing can be a game changer in retail. Imagine doing what Apple does in its stores—completing customer transactions via mobile device so that no one has to wait in line. Web-scale IT is making that possible even for small businesses.

When you can respond faster to customer needs, you can start taking advantage of opportunities to grow your business in ways you may have thought impossible before.

Small Biz Web-Scale IT Starts with the Cloud

If your company isn’t on board with cloud computing, you may be missing out on the chance to use web-scale IT to broaden your business horizons. To learn more about the cloud for small business, contact Solvere One.