There was a plethora of phone releases in 2015, but not a lot of game-changers hit the market. That looks set to change in 2016, with major players like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and many others gearing up for major phone launches in the coming year. If it is time for a new phone, you might want to take the time to educate yourself on the pros and cons of each model before making a purchase. Here is a quick look at some of the new releases.

Apple iPhone 7

There have been plenty of rumors about what the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will feature, such as the elimination of the headphone jack, but not a whole lot more than that is known at the moment. These phones are expected to be thinner, and to feature common upgrades like a higher-resolution camera and a speedier processor. Everything else about the phone floating around at the moment is just hearsay. If Apple follows precedent, the iPhone 7 will be released in September.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung fans won’t have to wait all that long to get their hands on the new line of Galaxy phones, with the Galaxy S7 expected to hit stores in February. While the Galaxy S6 and, in particular, the Galaxy S6 Edge had supply issues that made it hard for consumers to get their hands on one, the International Business Times reports that, this time around, five million devices will be available at launch. New features for the Galaxy include a 4k display and a pressure-sensitive touch screen. A retina scanner could also be included, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Windows Surface Phone

The Windows Phone has not been widely embraced by consumers for either business or personal use; however, the Windows Surface tablet has been a massive success for the company. It should come as no surprise to learn that Windows has decided to ditch the Windows Phone, and instead release a Surface Phone incorporating many of the user-friendly features found on the tablet, including seamless Windows 10 integration and full versions of Microsoft Office applications. The release date is still very much up in the air, but reports suggest that it should be launched some time in the second half of 2016.

Google Nexus 6 2016

Seeing as 2016 is in the name, it would be surprising if Google’s new line of signature phones did not make its way onto the market at some point in the upcoming year. Gizmo China reports that Google will once again team up with Chinese manufacturer Huawei for the handset, which will run Android N, the latest Android operating system. The two worked together on the Nexus 6P, the last phone released by Google. But the new phone is anticipated to have Qualcomm’s recently released Snapdragon 820 chipset, as opposed to Huawei’s in-house chipset.

Figuring out which phone you need for yourself or your employees can be a headache-inducing task. Let our experts help explain the pros and cons of each new phone, and how it can help your business and its bottom line.

Online security has probably never been such a hotly debated subject as it was in 2015. From recent numerous high-profile attacks on Sony and others, to this year’s leaking of data stolen from the extramarital-affair-facilitating website Ashley Madison website, have pushed cyber security firmly into the spotlight. So what can we expect from 2016? Experts predict that this year will only see cyber crime increasing yet further. Here’s what you need to know.

If you think that only big corporations and prominent organizations are targeted by cyber criminals, you are making a deadly mistake. It might be tempting to sweep cyber crime under the carpet and assume that you are flying below the average hacker’s radar, but that simply isn’t true. In fact, it’s the polar opposite, since smaller enterprises are actually far more likely to be at risk than larger ones, owing to their typically less sturdy security postures.

So where does that leave you as a small or medium-sized business owner or manager? Does it mean you need to be taking your cyber security even more seriously? You can bet your bottom dollar it does, as industry experts predict that 2016 is only going to become more of a minefield when it comes to online crime.

The headline trend that IT security professionals pinpointed this year was that no longer were criminals hacking into websites purely to bolster their bank accounts. 2015 has seen the emergence of another strain of hackers, launching cyber attacks as part of a moral crusade. These people are not purely after money although in some cases this may also be a contributing factor – instead, their claimed motivation is revenge, or righting what they perceive as wrong. It is this diversification in the hacking community that has led security watchers to predict that, as we enter 2016, we are likely to see some different behavior from hackers.

Among the unpleasant predictions being made, a number of experts agree that hacks of a destructive nature will be on the rise. The fact that hackers are using attacks for retribution rather than simple monetary gain means that a wider cross-section of organizations may well find themselves being preyed upon, all the way from government agencies – traditionally ignored by hackers – to online retailers and other commercial websites.

Remember when Snapchat got hacked back in October 2014, and the hackers threatened to make public as many as 200,000 photos? Well, the bad news is that apps are going to continue to be targeted. In particular, those mobile apps that request access to your list of contacts, emails and messages can, in the wrong hands, be used to create the kind of portal that enables a cyber criminal to steal data or gain access to a company’s entire network. All this means that in 2016, hackers could be taking advantage of apps to do more than just steal your social media photos – they might have in mind the takedown of your entire company.

As a local business owner, social engineering – a means of tricking an individual into disclosing revealing or personal information about themselves or their company – is something you definitely need to be concerned about. You might pride yourself on being too savvy to fall for a cyber criminal’s tricks, but what about your employees? Can you be sure that each and every one of them exhibits the same amount of self control, cynicism, and wariness that you do? Not only that but, as we enter a new era of online threats, the criminals that use social engineering are growing in confidence and creativity. Dodgy emails from a bizarrely named sender containing a link to an unheard-of website are yesterday’s news. Modern social engineering is highly evolved and extremely cunning, and has the potential to convince even the most streetwise internet user.

How confident are you that your entire team of employees would be completely infallible in the face of a stealth attack from a seemingly innocent source? Could you trust them to restrain from divulging not only their personal details but also information pertaining to your company? Multiply the number of employees in your company by the number of phone apps they potentially use, and add to that the fact that any one of them could at any time be targeted by a social engineering scam, and the end result is a less-than-perfect security posture.

The sad fact is that there are people who want to do you harm – regardless of whether you hold confidential information about celebrity salaries, or are privy to a database full of cheating spouses. People, no matter how well meaning or vigilant, are the weakest link in any security chain, which means that ensuring your business’s safety necessitates educating your staff and ensuring that your network is impenetrable.

Professional training and a vulnerability assessment are two great places to start, so why not get in touch with us? We’ll make sure your business is as hack-proof as it can be.

As shown by recent high-profile hacking scandals – targeting everyone from Sony Entertainment to the extramarital-affair-facilitating website Ashley Madison – cyber crime shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. In fact, experts predict that 2016 is going to be an even busier year for cyber criminals, hackers and scammers. So what do you need to know in order to be able to keep your small or medium-sized business safe next year? Here we take a look at what could be in store.

If you think that only big corporations and prominent organizations are targeted by cyber criminals, you are making a deadly mistake. It might be tempting to sweep cyber crime under the carpet and assume that you are flying below the average hacker’s radar, but that simply isn’t true. In fact, it’s the polar opposite, since smaller enterprises are actually far more likely to be at risk than larger ones, owing to their typically less sturdy security postures.

So where does that leave you as a small or medium-sized business owner or manager? Does it mean you need to be taking your cyber security even more seriously? You can bet your bottom dollar it does, as industry experts predict that 2016 is only going to become more of a minefield when it comes to online crime.

The headline trend that IT security professionals pinpointed this year was that no longer were criminals hacking into websites purely to bolster their bank accounts. 2015 has seen the emergence of another strain of hackers, launching cyber attacks as part of a moral crusade. These people are not purely after money although in some cases this may also be a contributing factor – instead, their claimed motivation is revenge, or righting what they perceive as wrong. It is this diversification in the hacking community that has led security watchers to predict that, as we enter 2016, we are likely to see some different behavior from hackers.

Among the unpleasant predictions being made, a number of experts agree that hacks of a destructive nature will be on the rise. The fact that hackers are using attacks for retribution rather than simple monetary gain means that a wider cross-section of organizations may well find themselves being preyed upon, all the way from government agencies – traditionally ignored by hackers – to online retailers and other commercial websites.

Remember when Snapchat got hacked back in October 2014, and the hackers threatened to make public as many as 200,000 photos? Well, the bad news is that apps are going to continue to be targeted. In particular, those mobile apps that request access to your list of contacts, emails and messages can, in the wrong hands, be used to create the kind of portal that enables a cyber criminal to steal data or gain access to a company’s entire network. All this means that in 2016, hackers could be taking advantage of apps to do more than just steal your social media photos – they might have in mind the takedown of your entire company.

As a local business owner, social engineering – a means of tricking an individual into disclosing revealing or personal information about themselves or their company – is something you definitely need to be concerned about. You might pride yourself on being too savvy to fall for a cyber criminal’s tricks, but what about your employees? Can you be sure that each and every one of them exhibits the same amount of self control, cynicism, and wariness that you do? Not only that but, as we enter a new era of online threats, the criminals that use social engineering are growing in confidence and creativity. Dodgy emails from a bizarrely named sender containing a link to an unheard-of website are yesterday’s news. Modern social engineering is highly evolved and extremely cunning, and has the potential to convince even the most streetwise internet user.

How confident are you that your entire team of employees would be completely infallible in the face of a stealth attack from a seemingly innocent source? Could you trust them to restrain from divulging not only their personal details but also information pertaining to your company? Multiply the number of employees in your company by the number of phone apps they potentially use, and add to that the fact that any one of them could at any time be targeted by a social engineering scam, and the end result is a less-than-perfect security posture.

The sad fact is that there are people who want to do you harm – regardless of whether you hold confidential information about celebrity salaries, or are privy to a database full of cheating spouses. People, no matter how well meaning or vigilant, are the weakest link in any security chain, which means that ensuring your business’s safety necessitates educating your staff and ensuring that your network is impenetrable.

Professional training and a vulnerability assessment are two great places to start, so why not get in touch with us? We’ll make sure your business is as hack-proof as it can be.

As a small or medium-sized business owner or manager, it’s only to be expected that you want to keep your company safe from cyber attacks and hacking attempts. But how much do you really know about online safety? With massive corporations such as Sony falling victim to attack, cyber security has never been more in the public eye. And that makes it the ideal time to learn just what it is you need to be doing to keep your business secure in 2016.

If you think that only big corporations and prominent organizations are targeted by cyber criminals, you are making a deadly mistake. It might be tempting to sweep cyber crime under the carpet and assume that you are flying below the average hacker’s radar, but that simply isn’t true. In fact, it’s the polar opposite, since smaller enterprises are actually far more likely to be at risk than larger ones, owing to their typically less sturdy security postures.

So where does that leave you as a small or medium-sized business owner or manager? Does it mean you need to be taking your cyber security even more seriously? You can bet your bottom dollar it does, as industry experts predict that 2016 is only going to become more of a minefield when it comes to online crime.

The headline trend that IT security professionals pinpointed this year was that no longer were criminals hacking into websites purely to bolster their bank accounts. 2015 has seen the emergence of another strain of hackers, launching cyber attacks as part of a moral crusade. These people are not purely after money although in some cases this may also be a contributing factor – instead, their claimed motivation is revenge, or righting what they perceive as wrong. It is this diversification in the hacking community that has led security watchers to predict that, as we enter 2016, we are likely to see some different behavior from hackers.

Among the unpleasant predictions being made, a number of experts agree that hacks of a destructive nature will be on the rise. The fact that hackers are using attacks for retribution rather than simple monetary gain means that a wider cross-section of organizations may well find themselves being preyed upon, all the way from government agencies – traditionally ignored by hackers – to online retailers and other commercial websites.

Remember when Snapchat got hacked back in October 2014, and the hackers threatened to make public as many as 200,000 photos? Well, the bad news is that apps are going to continue to be targeted. In particular, those mobile apps that request access to your list of contacts, emails and messages can, in the wrong hands, be used to create the kind of portal that enables a cyber criminal to steal data or gain access to a company’s entire network. All this means that in 2016, hackers could be taking advantage of apps to do more than just steal your social media photos – they might have in mind the takedown of your entire company.

As a local business owner, social engineering – a means of tricking an individual into disclosing revealing or personal information about themselves or their company – is something you definitely need to be concerned about. You might pride yourself on being too savvy to fall for a cyber criminal’s tricks, but what about your employees? Can you be sure that each and every one of them exhibits the same amount of self control, cynicism, and wariness that you do? Not only that but, as we enter a new era of online threats, the criminals that use social engineering are growing in confidence and creativity. Dodgy emails from a bizarrely named sender containing a link to an unheard-of website are yesterday’s news. Modern social engineering is highly evolved and extremely cunning, and has the potential to convince even the most streetwise internet user.

How confident are you that your entire team of employees would be completely infallible in the face of a stealth attack from a seemingly innocent source? Could you trust them to restrain from divulging not only their personal details but also information pertaining to your company? Multiply the number of employees in your company by the number of phone apps they potentially use, and add to that the fact that any one of them could at any time be targeted by a social engineering scam, and the end result is a less-than-perfect security posture.

The sad fact is that there are people who want to do you harm – regardless of whether you hold confidential information about celebrity salaries, or are privy to a database full of cheating spouses. People, no matter how well meaning or vigilant, are the weakest link in any security chain, which means that ensuring your business’s safety necessitates educating your staff and ensuring that your network is impenetrable.

Professional training and a vulnerability assessment are two great places to start, so why not get in touch with us? We’ll make sure your business is as hack-proof as it can be.

Windows Phone has many useful features that appeal to business users, including the ability to make business presentations easier, increase productivity, and control devices remotely. But with over 600,000 apps in the Windows Phone Store, it can be hard to determine which ones deserve a place on your device. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of powerful business apps that you won’t want to be missing from your Windows Phone device.

Box

As the name implies, Box is an application that handles all of your file storage needs. The free version gives you 10GB free storage and supports over 100 file formats, including Word, Excel, PDF, PSD, and more. Box makes it easy for you to securely store, manage, and work with all of your files and documents whenever and wherever you are, whether it’s from your desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

GMaps+

While many smartphone users are familiar with the famous Google Maps application, it is not available on the Windows Phone platform. But GMaps+ is a great alternative, offering users a complete Google Maps experience with many additional features, including a revamped design, 3D maps and 3D compass mode, live traffic conditions, the ability to view directions through third-party apps such as Waze and Nokia Drive, and so much more.

LastPass

Do you have trouble trying to memorize all the passwords for your various online services and email accounts? Then LastPass can be a real lifesaver, with its ability to securely store access credentials on your Windows Phone. LastPass features multi-factor authentication, password generation, and password sync. The only password you have to remember is LastPass’s master password, because it will fill your account IDs and passwords for you.

CamScanner

The CamScanner app essentially transforms your Windows Phone into a portable scanner, allowing you to scan, store, sync, and collaborate on paper documents, bills, receipts, physical business cards, and more. Recognized as the industry’s most powerful document scanning and sharing app, CamScanner truly makes digitizing physical documents as easy as opening the app and taking a picture.

Time Stamp

Time Stamp is a powerful work time tracker app that has an intuitive user interface and is rich in functionality. It allows you to track your work time in just two taps on your Windows Phone device. Time Stamp’s detailed reports show your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly work time accrual. You can also use Time Stamp to track overtime work, record public holidays and leave days, and export data in Excel format.

Zoho Expense

For many companies, expense reporting and reimbursement processes come with many challenges, such as lost receipts, long processing times, and violations of expense policies. With Zoho Expense, you can easily automate business and travel expense management, dramatically reducing the time required to record receipts and prepare expense reports by digitizing your papers. Zoho Expense is ideal for sales reps, managers, and finance departments.

Want to learn how to implement Windows Phone into your business? Contact us today – we’re sure we can help.

Whether you’ve just bought a Windows Phone or already have one, choosing the right applications for your device is a very important decision to make. But with the sheer number of apps in the Windows Phone Store, finding a set of apps for your device can be an overwhelming experience. So instead of installing apps at random, check out our list below for the essential business apps you need for your Windows Phone.

Box

As the name implies, Box is an application that handles all of your file storage needs. The free version gives you 10GB free storage and supports over 100 file formats, including Word, Excel, PDF, PSD, and more. Box makes it easy for you to securely store, manage, and work with all of your files and documents whenever and wherever you are, whether it’s from your desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

GMaps+

While many smartphone users are familiar with the famous Google Maps application, it is not available on the Windows Phone platform. But GMaps+ is a great alternative, offering users a complete Google Maps experience with many additional features, including a revamped design, 3D maps and 3D compass mode, live traffic conditions, the ability to view directions through third-party apps such as Waze and Nokia Drive, and so much more.

LastPass

Do you have trouble trying to memorize all the passwords for your various online services and email accounts? Then LastPass can be a real lifesaver, with its ability to securely store access credentials on your Windows Phone. LastPass features multi-factor authentication, password generation, and password sync. The only password you have to remember is LastPass’s master password, because it will fill your account IDs and passwords for you.

CamScanner

The CamScanner app essentially transforms your Windows Phone into a portable scanner, allowing you to scan, store, sync, and collaborate on paper documents, bills, receipts, physical business cards, and more. Recognized as the industry’s most powerful document scanning and sharing app, CamScanner truly makes digitizing physical documents as easy as opening the app and taking a picture.

Time Stamp

Time Stamp is a powerful work time tracker app that has an intuitive user interface and is rich in functionality. It allows you to track your work time in just two taps on your Windows Phone device. Time Stamp’s detailed reports show your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly work time accrual. You can also use Time Stamp to track overtime work, record public holidays and leave days, and export data in Excel format.

Zoho Expense

For many companies, expense reporting and reimbursement processes come with many challenges, such as lost receipts, long processing times, and violations of expense policies. With Zoho Expense, you can easily automate business and travel expense management, dramatically reducing the time required to record receipts and prepare expense reports by digitizing your papers. Zoho Expense is ideal for sales reps, managers, and finance departments.

Want to learn how to implement Windows Phone into your business? Contact us today – we’re sure we can help.

There are over 600,000 Windows Phone applications that have been produced to date. Yes, many of these apps are of bad quality and outdated but, if you look through the Windows Phone Store carefully, you’ll find that it has everything you need for your day-to-day business activities. There are apps for you whether you’re looking to stay productive when you’re away from the office, schedule meetings with business contacts, or store files securely in the cloud. Here’s a list of our top recommended Windows Phones business apps.

Box

As the name implies, Box is an application that handles all of your file storage needs. The free version gives you 10GB free storage and supports over 100 file formats, including Word, Excel, PDF, PSD, and more. Box makes it easy for you to securely store, manage, and work with all of your files and documents whenever and wherever you are, whether it’s from your desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

GMaps+

While many smartphone users are familiar with the famous Google Maps application, it is not available on the Windows Phone platform. But GMaps+ is a great alternative, offering users a complete Google Maps experience with many additional features, including a revamped design, 3D maps and 3D compass mode, live traffic conditions, the ability to view directions through third-party apps such as Waze and Nokia Drive, and so much more.

LastPass

Do you have trouble trying to memorize all the passwords for your various online services and email accounts? Then LastPass can be a real lifesaver, with its ability to securely store access credentials on your Windows Phone. LastPass features multi-factor authentication, password generation, and password sync. The only password you have to remember is LastPass’s master password, because it will fill your account IDs and passwords for you.

CamScanner

The CamScanner app essentially transforms your Windows Phone into a portable scanner, allowing you to scan, store, sync, and collaborate on paper documents, bills, receipts, physical business cards, and more. Recognized as the industry’s most powerful document scanning and sharing app, CamScanner truly makes digitizing physical documents as easy as opening the app and taking a picture.

Time Stamp

Time Stamp is a powerful work time tracker app that has an intuitive user interface and is rich in functionality. It allows you to track your work time in just two taps on your Windows Phone device. Time Stamp’s detailed reports show your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly work time accrual. You can also use Time Stamp to track overtime work, record public holidays and leave days, and export data in Excel format.

Zoho Expense

For many companies, expense reporting and reimbursement processes come with many challenges, such as lost receipts, long processing times, and violations of expense policies. With Zoho Expense, you can easily automate business and travel expense management, dramatically reducing the time required to record receipts and prepare expense reports by digitizing your papers. Zoho Expense is ideal for sales reps, managers, and finance departments.

Want to learn how to implement Windows Phone into your business? Contact us today – we’re sure we can help.

Big data. You may have heard of it; after all it’s been putting in an appearance at boardroom meetings across the globe for some time now. But what actually is big data? And what does it mean when applied in a business environment? More importantly, what can it do and how can it help your organization to succeed? And getting down to the nitty-gritty, does the term big data actually mean anything – or is it just another empty industry buzz word? The good news is that it’s not, and using big data can actually help drive profit. Read on to learn more.

So, we’ve established that big data is causing a stir and creating a buzz in companies that are in the know. In fact, it’s become hip to bandy about the phrase whenever one is trying to impress their boss, senior management or fellow co-workers. But like any lingo or jargon that is currently cool, it really doesn’t count for a whole lot if it doesn’t mean anything, particularly in the workplace.

The good news is that, unlike some of the more hackneyed expressions thrown around by those colleagues that are so desperate to impress their seniors, big data does actually mean something. And, more to the point, it can help your business thrive. Big data can help you achieve that end result that everyone in business is chasing: profit.

This is why big data is trending so sharply at the moment – after all, every owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business wants to grow their bottom line. Times are hard in many industries: increasing competition from abroad, the threat of the internet to bricks-and-mortar stores, a difficult economic climate – the list goes on. But what if something as simple as using your business’s data could push you heads and shoulders above the competition, and help turn around that downwards or flatlining arrow on your sales chart and point it upwards in the direction of success?

But before we get to that; what actually is “big data”? Why is it big? Well, we may have said that using data to grow profit is simple but, in actual fact, it’s really not as easy as all that. Big data is used to refer to various sets of data that are so huge and so complex that the traditional methods of processing data are virtually useless. Database management tools and other processing applications become redundant and are just not up to the task of capturing, storing, searching for, sharing, transferring, analyzing, and visualizing data.

Instead of looking at separate small sets of data, big data – as the name implies – looks at larger sets that contain far more information. This enables anyone analyzing the results to cross-check the sets and pinpoint trends, both positive and negative, across the entire business. As a result, owners and managers can make more informed decisions that affect the company in a more beneficial way than is possible by merely looking at small, isolated sets of data.

Big data therefore plays a valuable role in strategy and planning, and also helps troubleshoot worrying or problematic trends that threaten the performance and profitability of the business. Put simply, using big data to assist in making decisions for your company is about being able to see the bigger picture (to use another tired corporate buzz phrase). Decisions made with all the facts at hand will naturally help increase revenue, as opposed to blindly feeling in the dark and making changes to one area or department that may negatively affect another.

There are a number of ways that you can use big data analytics to make better decisions and increase profit. Crucially, it allows you to see what really makes your customers tick. Nowadays many businesses offer different ways for their customers to communicate with them. From email to a website, to phone calls and human interaction, all of these present you with meaningful information about your clients’ behavior. Knowing what your customers rely on you for, how they interact with you, and where they may hesitate or stumble when using your services, provides a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be mined. However, a lot of this data is unstructured and therefore cannot be analyzed using traditional means. That’s where big data comes in: it can help you uncover the information you need to really understand your customers.

Of course it goes without saying that a deeper understating of your customers can help you grow your customer base, increase repeat business, heighten customer loyalty, and reduce bounce rates and the number of dissatisfied customers. But that’s not all – analyzing this data will allow you to develop new products or services, create stronger, more effective marketing campaigns, and create an all-round better experience for the people that matter most – the people you serve.

Want to learn more about big data, and find out how it can have a seriously positive impact on your business’s revenue? Talk to us today – we have the knowledge and experience to help you really get the most out of your company’s intel.

Pushing the envelope, thinking outside the box, keeping someone in the loop. All of these phrases, and countless more, have had their turn in the corporate spotlight. Thankfully now, in most working environments, they have been consigned to history. However, one buzzword is making the rounds at the moment and – unlike some of its predecessors – it actually means something: here we take a look at “big data.”

So, we’ve established that big data is causing a stir and creating a buzz in companies that are in the know. In fact, it’s become hip to bandy about the phrase whenever one is trying to impress their boss, senior management or fellow co-workers. But like any lingo or jargon that is currently cool, it really doesn’t count for a whole lot if it doesn’t mean anything, particularly in the workplace.

The good news is that, unlike some of the more hackneyed expressions thrown around by those colleagues that are so desperate to impress their seniors, big data does actually mean something. And, more to the point, it can help your business thrive. Big data can help you achieve that end result that everyone in business is chasing: profit.

This is why big data is trending so sharply at the moment – after all, every owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business wants to grow their bottom line. Times are hard in many industries: increasing competition from abroad, the threat of the internet to bricks-and-mortar stores, a difficult economic climate – the list goes on. But what if something as simple as using your business’s data could push you heads and shoulders above the competition, and help turn around that downwards or flatlining arrow on your sales chart and point it upwards in the direction of success?

But before we get to that; what actually is “big data”? Why is it big? Well, we may have said that using data to grow profit is simple but, in actual fact, it’s really not as easy as all that. Big data is used to refer to various sets of data that are so huge and so complex that the traditional methods of processing data are virtually useless. Database management tools and other processing applications become redundant and are just not up to the task of capturing, storing, searching for, sharing, transferring, analyzing, and visualizing data.

Instead of looking at separate small sets of data, big data – as the name implies – looks at larger sets that contain far more information. This enables anyone analyzing the results to cross-check the sets and pinpoint trends, both positive and negative, across the entire business. As a result, owners and managers can make more informed decisions that affect the company in a more beneficial way than is possible by merely looking at small, isolated sets of data.

Big data therefore plays a valuable role in strategy and planning, and also helps troubleshoot worrying or problematic trends that threaten the performance and profitability of the business. Put simply, using big data to assist in making decisions for your company is about being able to see the bigger picture (to use another tired corporate buzz phrase). Decisions made with all the facts at hand will naturally help increase revenue, as opposed to blindly feeling in the dark and making changes to one area or department that may negatively affect another.

There are a number of ways that you can use big data analytics to make better decisions and increase profit. Crucially, it allows you to see what really makes your customers tick. Nowadays many businesses offer different ways for their customers to communicate with them. From email to a website, to phone calls and human interaction, all of these present you with meaningful information about your clients’ behavior. Knowing what your customers rely on you for, how they interact with you, and where they may hesitate or stumble when using your services, provides a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be mined. However, a lot of this data is unstructured and therefore cannot be analyzed using traditional means. That’s where big data comes in: it can help you uncover the information you need to really understand your customers.

Of course it goes without saying that a deeper understating of your customers can help you grow your customer base, increase repeat business, heighten customer loyalty, and reduce bounce rates and the number of dissatisfied customers. But that’s not all – analyzing this data will allow you to develop new products or services, create stronger, more effective marketing campaigns, and create an all-round better experience for the people that matter most – the people you serve.

Want to learn more about big data, and find out how it can have a seriously positive impact on your business’s revenue? Talk to us today – we have the knowledge and experience to help you really get the most out of your company’s intel.

One of the biggest, buzziest phrases making the rounds in corporate circles at the moment is “big data”. But what does big data actually mean? What is it and, more importantly, what can it do for your business or organization? The good news is that it’s not just another tired old buzz word that actually has very little meaning (“pushing the envelope”, we’re looking at you!) Using big data within your company can actually help you increase profit. Let’s take a look at how.

So, we’ve established that big data is causing a stir and creating a buzz in companies that are in the know. In fact, it’s become hip to bandy about the phrase whenever one is trying to impress their boss, senior management or fellow co-workers. But like any lingo or jargon that is currently cool, it really doesn’t count for a whole lot if it doesn’t mean anything, particularly in the workplace.

The good news is that, unlike some of the more hackneyed expressions thrown around by those colleagues that are so desperate to impress their seniors, big data does actually mean something. And, more to the point, it can help your business thrive. Big data can help you achieve that end result that everyone in business is chasing: profit.

This is why big data is trending so sharply at the moment – after all, every owner or manager of a small or medium-sized business wants to grow their bottom line. Times are hard in many industries: increasing competition from abroad, the threat of the internet to bricks-and-mortar stores, a difficult economic climate – the list goes on. But what if something as simple as using your business’s data could push you heads and shoulders above the competition, and help turn around that downwards or flatlining arrow on your sales chart and point it upwards in the direction of success?

But before we get to that; what actually is “big data”? Why is it big? Well, we may have said that using data to grow profit is simple but, in actual fact, it’s really not as easy as all that. Big data is used to refer to various sets of data that are so huge and so complex that the traditional methods of processing data are virtually useless. Database management tools and other processing applications become redundant and are just not up to the task of capturing, storing, searching for, sharing, transferring, analyzing, and visualizing data.

Instead of looking at separate small sets of data, big data – as the name implies – looks at larger sets that contain far more information. This enables anyone analyzing the results to cross-check the sets and pinpoint trends, both positive and negative, across the entire business. As a result, owners and managers can make more informed decisions that affect the company in a more beneficial way than is possible by merely looking at small, isolated sets of data.

Big data therefore plays a valuable role in strategy and planning, and also helps troubleshoot worrying or problematic trends that threaten the performance and profitability of the business. Put simply, using big data to assist in making decisions for your company is about being able to see the bigger picture (to use another tired corporate buzz phrase). Decisions made with all the facts at hand will naturally help increase revenue, as opposed to blindly feeling in the dark and making changes to one area or department that may negatively affect another.

There are a number of ways that you can use big data analytics to make better decisions and increase profit. Crucially, it allows you to see what really makes your customers tick. Nowadays many businesses offer different ways for their customers to communicate with them. From email to a website, to phone calls and human interaction, all of these present you with meaningful information about your clients’ behavior. Knowing what your customers rely on you for, how they interact with you, and where they may hesitate or stumble when using your services, provides a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be mined. However, a lot of this data is unstructured and therefore cannot be analyzed using traditional means. That’s where big data comes in: it can help you uncover the information you need to really understand your customers.

Of course it goes without saying that a deeper understating of your customers can help you grow your customer base, increase repeat business, heighten customer loyalty, and reduce bounce rates and the number of dissatisfied customers. But that’s not all – analyzing this data will allow you to develop new products or services, create stronger, more effective marketing campaigns, and create an all-round better experience for the people that matter most – the people you serve.

Want to learn more about big data, and find out how it can have a seriously positive impact on your business’s revenue? Talk to us today – we have the knowledge and experience to help you really get the most out of your company’s intel.

Is there anything worse than an unproductive meeting? The feeling of those minutes and even hours slipping by you as you sit ‘brainstorming’ with co-workers, only to leave the room with a big fat nothing. The frustrating part is that, when run effectively, meetings can result in great ideas, and can add huge value to your company. But how do you make that shift from pointless meetings to productive ones? That’s where Do.com comes in. Here’s how to make the change in your organization.

We all know that an unproductive meeting is bad for business. Wasted minutes turn into wasted hours, and wasted hours turn into wasted days – and so on. Not using any of your team’s time effectively – whether they are the COO or the receptionist – is a big waste of money, simple as that. On the other hand, you know that meetings are essential for regrouping, hashing out new processes, gathering feedback, brainstorming marketing strategies, and simply touching base. But if, over the years, your company’s meeting culture has gone from energetic and idea-generating to stale, uninspiring, and – dare we say it – downright pointless, it can be hard to turn that around.

The good news is that there is a way to swing the pendulum back in the other direction, so that you can begin holding meetings that are productive and, crucially, that STAY productive. And that’s by using a software platform called Do.com. Do’s purpose is to help companies of all sizes start running more productive meetings, and it has already been adopted by well-known clients, including tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Do aims to help make meetings enjoyably productive, too – after all, whether we’re a high flyer at Microsoft or the owner of a local law firm or beauty salon, we all feel good when we are contributing something useful. So, if you’ve noticed that, every time a meeting is held in your workplace, a groaning line of worker ants clutching iPads and notepads heads begrudgingly towards the meeting room, this could be your chance to turn things around and re-energize your employees. If you do it properly, you’ll get some great ideas for moving your business forward at the same time. It’s a win-win situation!

So what does Do actually DO to make meetings more motivating and productive? For a start, it helps structure them more effectively, so that more time is spent getting to the point and less time is spent discussing weekend plans, or moaning about other departments or staff. Do gives you the tools to properly manage agendas, notes and actions, as well as allowing you to share files that are needed for discussion. It also features a timer, which turns red if you overrun, so that you can set limits as to the amount of time devoted to a topic – ideal for reigning in those debates that go round in circles but never actually end up getting anywhere.

The founder of Do, Jason Shah, has stated that his goals with the platform are to “bring three central themes to every meeting: structure, transparency, and automation.” To help facilitate this, Do is geared to bringing an agenda to meetings, thus putting the end to directionless and ill-prepared attendees. It allows the meeting organizer to easily import notes from previous meetings, and upload relevant files or documents. This is something that will save huge amounts of time in the average workplace, where meetings are generally accompanied by a shuffling of notes and people going to print out forgotten documents, or to email the group mid-meeting. That’s probably not the kind of thing that Steve Jobs tolerated with any degree of patience!

Do also prioritizes eliminating the “so what do I need to do again?” factor that so often follows meetings, by centralizing information pertaining to the subject, as well as highlighting follow-ups and outcomes. The software prompts the meeting organizer to assign discussed tasks to a specific person, who then receives an email and push notification outlining the task, as well as a link to a dedicated meeting page, where further information can be found.

With other features that aid prioritization of tasks, plus analytics that give managers an overview of how their team, department, and indeed the whole company are spending their time in meetings, it’s little wonder that Do’s client list boasts some pretty high-profile companies. As well as Apple et al, other adopters of the platform range from social media big-hitters Facebook and Twitter to other tech clients including Dropbox and Salesforce. Consumer platforms, such as Netflix, Spotify, Uber and Airbnb, are also onboard – as are Disney, Domino’s Pizza, the NBA, and certain sectors of the US government.

It’s probably safe to say that these clients like the way that Do.com can be integrated with other tools and software such as Office 365, Google Drive and Docs, and Evernote. In fact, Do even considers its competitors to include other cloud-based productivity platform providers like Google Apps, Evernote, Dropbox, and Trello. However, Do.com has the edge on all of those by virtue of its meeting-centric approach. You may use Google Docs to work on a task after a meeting, but Do.com walks you through the whole process, from agenda to follow-up and subsequent meetings.

Although adopted by major players such as Apple, Google and Disney, Do.com is for use by companies of any size – including yours! If you want to learn more about productivity, including how to install the tools and how to instill the culture within your company, give us a call today.

When run effectively and with an objective in mind, company, departmental, managerial or even one-on-one meetings can result in big ideas, great change, and heightened productivity for your team of employees. On the other hand, if your meeting room is constantly booked up with people shooting the breeze, arguing over procedures, or simply rambling on without direction, you are wasting time and money. Put an end to purposeless meetings with Do.com – here’s how.

We all know that an unproductive meeting is bad for business. Wasted minutes turn into wasted hours, and wasted hours turn into wasted days – and so on. Not using any of your team’s time effectively – whether they are the COO or the receptionist – is a big waste of money, simple as that. On the other hand, you know that meetings are essential for regrouping, hashing out new processes, gathering feedback, brainstorming marketing strategies, and simply touching base. But if, over the years, your company’s meeting culture has gone from energetic and idea-generating to stale, uninspiring, and – dare we say it – downright pointless, it can be hard to turn that around.

The good news is that there is a way to swing the pendulum back in the other direction, so that you can begin holding meetings that are productive and, crucially, that STAY productive. And that’s by using a software platform called Do.com. Do’s purpose is to help companies of all sizes start running more productive meetings, and it has already been adopted by well-known clients, including tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Do aims to help make meetings enjoyably productive, too – after all, whether we’re a high flyer at Microsoft or the owner of a local law firm or beauty salon, we all feel good when we are contributing something useful. So, if you’ve noticed that, every time a meeting is held in your workplace, a groaning line of worker ants clutching iPads and notepads heads begrudgingly towards the meeting room, this could be your chance to turn things around and re-energize your employees. If you do it properly, you’ll get some great ideas for moving your business forward at the same time. It’s a win-win situation!

So what does Do actually DO to make meetings more motivating and productive? For a start, it helps structure them more effectively, so that more time is spent getting to the point and less time is spent discussing weekend plans, or moaning about other departments or staff. Do gives you the tools to properly manage agendas, notes and actions, as well as allowing you to share files that are needed for discussion. It also features a timer, which turns red if you overrun, so that you can set limits as to the amount of time devoted to a topic – ideal for reigning in those debates that go round in circles but never actually end up getting anywhere.

The founder of Do, Jason Shah, has stated that his goals with the platform are to “bring three central themes to every meeting: structure, transparency, and automation.” To help facilitate this, Do is geared to bringing an agenda to meetings, thus putting the end to directionless and ill-prepared attendees. It allows the meeting organizer to easily import notes from previous meetings, and upload relevant files or documents. This is something that will save huge amounts of time in the average workplace, where meetings are generally accompanied by a shuffling of notes and people going to print out forgotten documents, or to email the group mid-meeting. That’s probably not the kind of thing that Steve Jobs tolerated with any degree of patience!

Do also prioritizes eliminating the “so what do I need to do again?” factor that so often follows meetings, by centralizing information pertaining to the subject, as well as highlighting follow-ups and outcomes. The software prompts the meeting organizer to assign discussed tasks to a specific person, who then receives an email and push notification outlining the task, as well as a link to a dedicated meeting page, where further information can be found.

With other features that aid prioritization of tasks, plus analytics that give managers an overview of how their team, department, and indeed the whole company are spending their time in meetings, it’s little wonder that Do’s client list boasts some pretty high-profile companies. As well as Apple et al, other adopters of the platform range from social media big-hitters Facebook and Twitter to other tech clients including Dropbox and Salesforce. Consumer platforms, such as Netflix, Spotify, Uber and Airbnb, are also onboard – as are Disney, Domino’s Pizza, the NBA, and certain sectors of the US government.

It’s probably safe to say that these clients like the way that Do.com can be integrated with other tools and software such as Office 365, Google Drive and Docs, and Evernote. In fact, Do even considers its competitors to include other cloud-based productivity platform providers like Google Apps, Evernote, Dropbox, and Trello. However, Do.com has the edge on all of those by virtue of its meeting-centric approach. You may use Google Docs to work on a task after a meeting, but Do.com walks you through the whole process, from agenda to follow-up and subsequent meetings.

Although adopted by major players such as Apple, Google and Disney, Do.com is for use by companies of any size – including yours! If you want to learn more about productivity, including how to install the tools and how to instill the culture within your company, give us a call today.