Seven things your network must have.
Small and medium businesses tend to use information technnology
for what they percieve as being absolute necessities. That's not
a bad approach but it can cause you to miss opportunities to
grow your business and save money Without a budget that will
support a chief technology office or experienced director of
I.T. how do you know what you really need? We're here to help!
1. A reliable backup of your data
While it may seem obvious to most of the small and medium
businesses we visit this is just not the case. Just having a
tape drive and backup software is not enough. You should test
your backup on at least a monthly basis. It doesn't need to be a
complete restore all of the time, just pick out a few files and
see if your I.T. staff can restore them. If you use outside
consultants it's worth the money to have them come in and test
your backup on a quarterly basis. It shouldn't take more than
two or three hours and you'll sleep better.
2. Sales automation software
Not only does it allow your sales people to stay on top of
potential leads, it helps you to stay on top of your sales
people. For the SMB market there are dozens of applications that
you can run locally on your network or you can use one of the
on-line providers like salesforce.com.
3. A decent web site
It really doesn't matter if your business cuts grass or makes
transmissions for tractors you should have a website. And don't
let the secatary's sixteen year old son do it, get it done
right. It doesn't have to be expensive. Sites like aliger.com
have hundreds of templates specific to just about any business.
They look great and they're easy to use.
4. Accouting software
Ok this is pretty much a no-brainer for any medium sized
business and most small busineses. But even the really small
businesses will benefit greatly from haveing an accounting
package. Quickbooks is the old standard and still one of the
best around. Your accountant will appreciate it too.
5. Computers less than three years old.
I know it may be running just fine but with the cost of new
computers well below $1000 and the speed increases over the last
few years you can't cost justify keeping around an old computer.
6. A document management process
This doesn't have to be a software application that costs
thousands of dollars. But you should have a standard process for
keeping critical or often used company documents in any easy to
access location on your computer or preferably file server. It's
one of the easiest ways there is to boost productivity and the
bottom line. How many times have you spend searching for that
old proposal to use as a template?
7. ERP Software
ERP is an acronym for Enterprise Resource Planning. What that
really means is anybodies guess. For our purposes we're going to
define it as software that is specific to your business and
helps you to create and deliver your product or service. The
reality of the situation is that it can be inventory management
software, or a spreadsheet that shows the number of units
shipped, or lawns cut. Be prepared to customize anything you buy
off the shelf because it can be an aggravating process. But when
you have it the amount of data available to you makes planning
for the future a whole lot easier.
Eric Gurr Senior Editor SMBresource http://www.smbresource.com
To reach Mr. Gurr egurr@intralinkinc.com