Steve Thomas - IT Consultant

iPad_May22_AIn a clear attempt to rekindle its waning iPad sales, Apple has launched a new marketing campaign to attract more potential buyers. Apple has revealed that its iPad sales are declining, from 16.4 million units last year to 12.6 million units in this year. And so a new ad campaign titled “everything changes with iPad” has been launched to explore how an iPad can fit into and enrich the life of each of us. Here’s a quick rundown of the tech giant’s new strategy.

Why iPad sales are declining

The iPad’s initial sales growth has been in steady decline over the past few years, and there are many reasons behind it. For one thing, tablets aren’t like smartphones. More consumers are opting to buy bigger-screened iPhones, such as the iPhone 6 Plus. In addition, consumers usually hold on to a smartphone for a certain period of time, and then upgrade to a new model that promises better performance and new features. Tablets, on the other hand, have a much longer replacement cycle, with fewer advances in each new model release. They are usually passed between family members, reducing the need for new purchases.

“Everything changes with iPad”

Determined to turn things around with this new slogan, Apple has presented the new ad in a 90-second video displayed on its official website. The film shows adults and children using the iPad to assist with a variety of tasks – from cooking to picking up new hobbies, traveling, redecorating, learning, and communicating with loved ones.

Apple went a step further to promote its ad campaign by creating a dedicated marketing micro-site, and pooling in popular iPad apps like Green Kitchen, MailChimp, Google Maps, and Pinterest. These pitch pages provided solid reasons for us to consider buying an iPad – the argument being that it can change the way we do things every day. To cap it all, they have included a “Why iPad?” section, outlining the key features of an iPad and providing more justification for consumers to purchase one.

A deeper look into the iPad micro-site

Let’s take a closer look at Apple’s dedicated micro-site. It highlights the capabilities of an iPad to make the user’s life easier in many ways.

  • Cooking - If you need inspiration for out-of-the-box recipes, the iPad’s Green Kitchen provides you with creative ideas from some of the best chefs. Cooking is made easier with iPad apps that are able to show you a detailed recipe of your choosing, or instructions to make the most of the ingredients you have at hand.
  • Learning - Children can benefit and learn from interactive games that engage them through sight, sound and touch. Whether it’s visual puzzles, basic programming, stargazing, or academic lessons – the iPad has them all.
  • Small business - The iPad offers an array of productivity apps, allowing you to do business anywhere, anytime. From managing business appointments to tracking projects and making online payments, the iPad has opened new possibilities for business owners.
  • Traveling - The iPad could be a traveler’s new best friend, with its ability to book hotels and flights, display routes without the need for an Internet connection, and provide entertainment with its music and movie apps.
  • Redecorating - House decoration has never been easier. With the iPad, you can create an accurate floor plan without a tape measure. You can find fresh ideas from Pinterest to lighten up your rooms. DIY projects are also a breeze with the iPad’s step-by-step guides.

Apple is expecting an increase in revenue following the launch of this new iPad commercial. If you want to learn how to best implement the iPad into your office, give us a call today and we can help.

InternetSocRepMngmnt_May22_CThe Internet isn’t merely developing – it’s growing and expanding rapidly. For businesses, this means ample opportunity to extend their reach to a wider audience. When it comes to buying products and services, most people turn to the Internet for advice on the best providers. And naturally, companies that have established and maintained a great online reputation are well ahead of their competitors. This is why it is more important than ever for businesses to monitor what is said about them online. Here are some benefits you can derive from paying attention to your online reputation.

Trust and credibility

Trust and credibility are two important factors and could either make or break your business’s online reputation. If you can over-deliver on your customers’ expectations, there’s a good chance they will spread the word about their experience – and that’s great for your business. Take the time to earn your clients’ trust, and you’ll be rewarded with a strong brand image that will attract more potential clients for years to come.

Increased sales

Customers are more likely than ever to research brands, products, and services online before they make the decision to purchase. Make sure you have social media accounts ready, and ask your existing customers to follow you. Post regularly about your products, along with other valuable content related to the nature of your business to grab your customers’ attention. Personal interaction with customers is a great strategy to boost sales, so don’t let their comments go unanswered – see that you respond in a timely manner to every one of them to show that you value their business.

Online insights

Today, it’s very common to see negative feedback on a business’s social media pages. If things aren’t addressed properly, a negative comment or review could be the start of your business’s downfall, since they spread like wildfire online. By establishing an online presence you will gain a valuable insight into what your clients and competitors are saying about you and, if it’s something bad, you can step in and rectify the issue before it goes viral.

Show your best side

Potential customers are online right now, researching your company before doing business with you. Some of them don’t know you well enough to make immediate decisions, and so will judge your business on the basis of the information that is available to them. Whatever the products or services you provide for customers, once the feedback appears online, it sticks. This is a chance to present your company in a good light to attract more customers, which converts into increased revenue.

Always remember that it can only take a few seconds to destroy a brand’s online reputation that took years to build. Contact us today for advice on how to build an online reputation for your business.

InternetSocRepMngmnt_May22_BHow often do you use your favorite search engine to check on a company’s products, services, and feedback before dealing with them? That’s exactly what most people do these days – they research a company and see what others have to say. The same thing applies to your business. If you have a bad online reputation, you’re going to feel it hit your bottom line hard. Managing and maintaining your online reputation is therefore as important as having one in the first place. Let’s take a look at the reasons your business needs a positive online reputation.

Trust and credibility

Trust and credibility are two important factors and could either make or break your business’s online reputation. If you can over-deliver on your customers’ expectations, there’s a good chance they will spread the word about their experience – and that’s great for your business. Take the time to earn your clients’ trust, and you’ll be rewarded with a strong brand image that will attract more potential clients for years to come.

Increased sales

Customers are more likely than ever to research brands, products, and services online before they make the decision to purchase. Make sure you have social media accounts ready, and ask your existing customers to follow you. Post regularly about your products, along with other valuable content related to the nature of your business to grab your customers’ attention. Personal interaction with customers is a great strategy to boost sales, so don’t let their comments go unanswered – see that you respond in a timely manner to every one of them to show that you value their business.

Online insights

Today, it’s very common to see negative feedback on a business’s social media pages. If things aren’t addressed properly, a negative comment or review could be the start of your business’s downfall, since they spread like wildfire online. By establishing an online presence you will gain a valuable insight into what your clients and competitors are saying about you and, if it’s something bad, you can step in and rectify the issue before it goes viral.

Show your best side

Potential customers are online right now, researching your company before doing business with you. Some of them don’t know you well enough to make immediate decisions, and so will judge your business on the basis of the information that is available to them. Whatever the products or services you provide for customers, once the feedback appears online, it sticks. This is a chance to present your company in a good light to attract more customers, which converts into increased revenue.

Always remember that it can only take a few seconds to destroy a brand’s online reputation that took years to build. Contact us today for advice on how to build an online reputation for your business.

InternetSocRepMngmnt_May22_ASocial media has grown to a great extent in the last decade, revolutionizing the Internet through its ability to connect people and open new business opportunities. Many companies are now aware of the importance of establishing an online presence, and so have created business accounts on various social media platforms. As a business owner, you know that having a good online reputation is essential for business growth, whereas a bad online reputation could bring your business to its knees. Here are some reasons it’s important to have a positive online reputation.

Trust and credibility

Trust and credibility are two important factors and could either make or break your business’s online reputation. If you can over-deliver on your customers’ expectations, there’s a good chance they will spread the word about their experience – and that’s great for your business. Take the time to earn your clients’ trust, and you’ll be rewarded with a strong brand image that will attract more potential clients for years to come.

Increased sales

Customers are more likely than ever to research brands, products, and services online before they make the decision to purchase. Make sure you have social media accounts ready, and ask your existing customers to follow you. Post regularly about your products, along with other valuable content related to the nature of your business to grab your customers’ attention. Personal interaction with customers is a great strategy to boost sales, so don’t let their comments go unanswered – see that you respond in a timely manner to every one of them to show that you value their business.

Online insights

Today, it’s very common to see negative feedback on a business’s social media pages. If things aren’t addressed properly, a negative comment or review could be the start of your business’s downfall, since they spread like wildfire online. By establishing an online presence you will gain a valuable insight into what your clients and competitors are saying about you and, if it’s something bad, you can step in and rectify the issue before it goes viral.

Show your best side

Potential customers are online right now, researching your company before doing business with you. Some of them don’t know you well enough to make immediate decisions, and so will judge your business on the basis of the information that is available to them. Whatever the products or services you provide for customers, once the feedback appears online, it sticks. This is a chance to present your company in a good light to attract more customers, which converts into increased revenue.

Always remember that it can only take a few seconds to destroy a brand’s online reputation that took years to build. Contact us today for advice on how to build an online reputation for your business.

164_Office_AIts release is still months away, but there’s reason to get excited about Office 2016. The latest version of Microsoft’s classic application package is adding new features designed specifically for today’s modern workforce, who are more mobile and collaborative than any generation before. Here are four of these head-turning features that are changing the way we use Office applications.

Cloud focus for Outlook attachments

Microsoft knows that sharing attachments amongst co-workers and teams can be a hassle. With many collaborators still sharing documents and files the old fashioned way – attaching it to an email and then sending to others – it’s easy for users to get confused and send an incorrect or outdated version.

To solve this problem, Microsoft is gently nudging us to use the cloud. Now when you add an attachment to an email, you’re now asked if you’d also like to share a link to a file on your OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint account.

Showcasing easy ways to use Office better

If you’re like most people, you probably aren’t using Office to its full potential. And who can blame you? Between Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more, there are literally hundreds of features and tools you can use – if only you had the time to discover them all.

To help you get the most out of Office, Microsoft has now added a Tell Me box in the top center of your program title bar. This tool gives you an easy way to get questions answered. For example, if you want to project your desktop screen to a second monitor or create a graph in Excel, simply type your question into the Tell Me box and Microsoft will find the answers that most closely fit your search criteria.

Sway

Look out PowerPoint, here comes Sway – the new, hipper Office application that makes creating fluid, stylish presentations easy. With Sway, you can now gather content from various sources across the web, and then easily organize it into a presentation that can be viewed on a smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device.

What makes Sway more exciting than PowerPoint is in the process of gathering content: simply drag files, photos or video from YouTube, OneDrive and various social networks into the app. Once you have your content, you can easily organize it and adjust your design to create a unique look and feel for your presentation.

Better Data Protection

With Office 2016, Microsoft has raised the bar for data security. Now administrators can set and enable Data Loss Protection policies for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Unlike in older versions of Office, administrators now have a range of security options at their disposal. For example, they can prevent data from being copied and pasted outside of Office 2016 applications, restrict files from being sent to certain individuals, and implement file-level encryption for Word, Excel and Outlook.

Want to learn more about Microsoft Office 2016? Have questions about other Office products? Give us a call.

164_Office_BWith Google Apps and Office 365 revolutionizing the way people work, you may feel that Microsoft Office is quickly becoming a dated product that will soon be packed away to the back of the closet. But with the 2016 version set to launch in autumn of this year, Microsoft is looking to change your mind. Now they’re adapting their classic Office package for today’s modern workforce. Here are four of the new features that are reinventing the way you look at your Office applications.

Cloud focus for Outlook attachments

Microsoft knows that sharing attachments amongst co-workers and teams can be a hassle. With many collaborators still sharing documents and files the old fashioned way – attaching it to an email and then sending to others – it’s easy for users to get confused and send an incorrect or outdated version.

To solve this problem, Microsoft is gently nudging us to use the cloud. Now when you add an attachment to an email, you’re now asked if you’d also like to share a link to a file on your OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint account.

Showcasing easy ways to use Office better

If you’re like most people, you probably aren’t using Office to its full potential. And who can blame you? Between Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more, there are literally hundreds of features and tools you can use – if only you had the time to discover them all.

To help you get the most out of Office, Microsoft has now added a Tell Me box in the top center of your program title bar. This tool gives you an easy way to get questions answered. For example, if you want to project your desktop screen to a second monitor or create a graph in Excel, simply type your question into the Tell Me box and Microsoft will find the answers that most closely fit your search criteria.

Sway

Look out PowerPoint, here comes Sway – the new, hipper Office application that makes creating fluid, stylish presentations easy. With Sway, you can now gather content from various sources across the web, and then easily organize it into a presentation that can be viewed on a smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device.

What makes Sway more exciting than PowerPoint is in the process of gathering content: simply drag files, photos or video from YouTube, OneDrive and various social networks into the app. Once you have your content, you can easily organize it and adjust your design to create a unique look and feel for your presentation.

Better Data Protection

With Office 2016, Microsoft has raised the bar for data security. Now administrators can set and enable Data Loss Protection policies for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Unlike in older versions of Office, administrators now have a range of security options at their disposal. For example, they can prevent data from being copied and pasted outside of Office 2016 applications, restrict files from being sent to certain individuals, and implement file-level encryption for Word, Excel and Outlook.

Want to learn more about Microsoft Office 2016? Have questions about other Office products? Give us a call.

164_Office_CIf you’ve already jumped on the Google Apps or Office 365 bandwagon, you may feel that the classic Microsoft Office package installed locally on your desktop is a bit dated. With Office 2016 set to launch in autumn of this year, Microsoft is making some changes to adapt one of their best selling products to the modern workforce. Here are four of the most exciting features.

Cloud focus for Outlook attachments

Microsoft knows that sharing attachments amongst co-workers and teams can be a hassle. With many collaborators still sharing documents and files the old fashioned way – attaching it to an email and then sending to others – it’s easy for users to get confused and send an incorrect or outdated version.

To solve this problem, Microsoft is gently nudging us to use the cloud. Now when you add an attachment to an email, you’re now asked if you’d also like to share a link to a file on your OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint account.

Showcasing easy ways to use Office better

If you’re like most people, you probably aren’t using Office to its full potential. And who can blame you? Between Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more, there are literally hundreds of features and tools you can use – if only you had the time to discover them all.

To help you get the most out of Office, Microsoft has now added a Tell Me box in the top center of your program title bar. This tool gives you an easy way to get questions answered. For example, if you want to project your desktop screen to a second monitor or create a graph in Excel, simply type your question into the Tell Me box and Microsoft will find the answers that most closely fit your search criteria.

Sway

Look out PowerPoint, here comes Sway – the new, hipper Office application that makes creating fluid, stylish presentations easy. With Sway, you can now gather content from various sources across the web, and then easily organize it into a presentation that can be viewed on a smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device.

What makes Sway more exciting than PowerPoint is in the process of gathering content: simply drag files, photos or video from YouTube, OneDrive and various social networks into the app. Once you have your content, you can easily organize it and adjust your design to create a unique look and feel for your presentation.

Better Data Protection

With Office 2016, Microsoft has raised the bar for data security. Now administrators can set and enable Data Loss Protection policies for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Unlike in older versions of Office, administrators now have a range of security options at their disposal. For example, they can prevent data from being copied and pasted outside of Office 2016 applications, restrict files from being sent to certain individuals, and implement file-level encryption for Word, Excel and Outlook.

Want to learn more about Microsoft Office 2016? Have questions about other Office products? Give us a call.

164_Prod_CAn unfocused staff is a recipe for a lack of productivity. And with distractions like social media, broken equipment and technology, and employees who’d rather spend their day chatting than doing their job, it may seem impossible to get your team to produce the results you desire. So what’s a business owner to do? Here are four tips that are sure to get your staff more focused and productive.

Set clear goals

In order for your employees to produce results and reach their productivity potential, they need to know what is expected of them. At some organizations, it may be perfectly acceptable to spend one hour surfing the Internet everyday and seven hours working; or it may be considered normal to count a lunch break towards the eight hours worked. The truth is that more and more employees are bouncing between jobs from company to company, and each organization has a different set of standards and expectations. If it’s not communicated to your employees what yours are, you can be certain that they’ll make up their own.

Additionally, your employees need to know what results you expect them to produce. Maybe that means they need to sell a certain volume of products each month, or maybe it means they need to consistently score a four-star customer satisfaction rating. Whatever it is, your employees need to be aware of your expectations and have some sort of goal to shoot for. This gives you a way to see the results each employee is producing. Then you can try to find a solution to increase the productivity of your lower performing staff.

Be personable with your employees

Have you ever had a boss that rarely interacted with employees and that everyone feared? Maybe he stayed locked away in his office most days or ignored staff members as he quickly strode through the office never cracking a smile. Do you think employees want to produce results for a boss like this? They might, but it may be out of fear of losing their job rather than genuinely wanting to help that boss and the company at large.

Interact with your employees. And not only about work. Ask them how their weekend was. Find common interests to talk about. Take the time to get to know them. It’s easy for employees to not produce results or care about their job if the business owner is unapproachable and distant. On the contrary, if the owner is personable and friendly with staff, it is harder for an employee to slack off and not commit to the company’s growth. It’s natural for employees to work harder for a person they know, rather than one who’s “all business” and persistently unavailable.

Listen to your employees’ feedback

To go along with being personable, take the time to gather and listen to your employees’ feedback. If you show that you value their opinions, they’ll feel part of the team and organization. When this happens, they’ll be more committed to your goals and will want to see the company succeed as much as you do.

Of course that doesn’t mean you need to take every bit of employee feedback and run with it – it simply means keeping an open mind. Your team will respect you more and work harder for you as a result.

Provide reliable equipment

This is a no brainer. But if an employee doesn’t have the reliable equipment and tools to complete their job, their productivity levels will plummet. A broken computer, crashed server or faulty Internet connection will have your staff twiddling their thumbs and playing with their phones in no time. If it’s your technology that’s the culprit in this situation, Managed Services represent an exceptional solution to prevent your IT from ever breaking down in the first place. What does that mean for your staff? Less downtime, more productivity and more results.

Interested in discovering more ways to boost employee productivity? Want to learn how Managed Services can ensure the reliability of your IT and prevent downtime? Contact us.

164_Prod_BAre you struggling to find ways to make your employees more productive? Do they seem distracted by Facebook and not committed to their job or your company? In today’s social media saturated world, it may seem difficult to keep your employees focused. So what can you do? Here are four ideas to get staff on your side and have them producing results.

Set clear goals

In order for your employees to produce results and reach their productivity potential, they need to know what is expected of them. At some organizations, it may be perfectly acceptable to spend one hour surfing the Internet everyday and seven hours working; or it may be considered normal to count a lunch break towards the eight hours worked. The truth is that more and more employees are bouncing between jobs from company to company, and each organization has a different set of standards and expectations. If it’s not communicated to your employees what yours are, you can be certain that they’ll make up their own.

Additionally, your employees need to know what results you expect them to produce. Maybe that means they need to sell a certain volume of products each month, or maybe it means they need to consistently score a four-star customer satisfaction rating. Whatever it is, your employees need to be aware of your expectations and have some sort of goal to shoot for. This gives you a way to see the results each employee is producing. Then you can try to find a solution to increase the productivity of your lower performing staff.

Be personable with your employees

Have you ever had a boss that rarely interacted with employees and that everyone feared? Maybe he stayed locked away in his office most days or ignored staff members as he quickly strode through the office never cracking a smile. Do you think employees want to produce results for a boss like this? They might, but it may be out of fear of losing their job rather than genuinely wanting to help that boss and the company at large.

Interact with your employees. And not only about work. Ask them how their weekend was. Find common interests to talk about. Take the time to get to know them. It’s easy for employees to not produce results or care about their job if the business owner is unapproachable and distant. On the contrary, if the owner is personable and friendly with staff, it is harder for an employee to slack off and not commit to the company’s growth. It’s natural for employees to work harder for a person they know, rather than one who’s “all business” and persistently unavailable.

Listen to your employees’ feedback

To go along with being personable, take the time to gather and listen to your employees’ feedback. If you show that you value their opinions, they’ll feel part of the team and organization. When this happens, they’ll be more committed to your goals and will want to see the company succeed as much as you do.

Of course that doesn’t mean you need to take every bit of employee feedback and run with it – it simply means keeping an open mind. Your team will respect you more and work harder for you as a result.

Provide reliable equipment

This is a no brainer. But if an employee doesn’t have the reliable equipment and tools to complete their job, their productivity levels will plummet. A broken computer, crashed server or faulty Internet connection will have your staff twiddling their thumbs and playing with their phones in no time. If it’s your technology that’s the culprit in this situation, Managed Services represent an exceptional solution to prevent your IT from ever breaking down in the first place. What does that mean for your staff? Less downtime, more productivity and more results.

Interested in discovering more ways to boost employee productivity? Want to learn how Managed Services can ensure the reliability of your IT and prevent downtime? Contact us.

164_Prod_AWith social media distractions, difficult-to-monitor remote employees, and increasing numbers of staff working on personal tasks at the office, achieving maximum team productivity can seem virtually impossible. So what can the business owner do? Here are a few tips that are sure to have your staff more focused and producing results.

Set clear goals

In order for your employees to produce results and reach their productivity potential, they need to know what is expected of them. At some organizations, it may be perfectly acceptable to spend one hour surfing the Internet everyday and seven hours working; or it may be considered normal to count a lunch break towards the eight hours worked. The truth is that more and more employees are bouncing between jobs from company to company, and each organization has a different set of standards and expectations. If it’s not communicated to your employees what yours are, you can be certain that they’ll make up their own.

Additionally, your employees need to know what results you expect them to produce. Maybe that means they need to sell a certain volume of products each month, or maybe it means they need to consistently score a four-star customer satisfaction rating. Whatever it is, your employees need to be aware of your expectations and have some sort of goal to shoot for. This gives you a way to see the results each employee is producing. Then you can try to find a solution to increase the productivity of your lower performing staff.

Be personable with your employees

Have you ever had a boss that rarely interacted with employees and that everyone feared? Maybe he stayed locked away in his office most days or ignored staff members as he quickly strode through the office never cracking a smile. Do you think employees want to produce results for a boss like this? They might, but it may be out of fear of losing their job rather than genuinely wanting to help that boss and the company at large.

Interact with your employees. And not only about work. Ask them how their weekend was. Find common interests to talk about. Take the time to get to know them. It’s easy for employees to not produce results or care about their job if the business owner is unapproachable and distant. On the contrary, if the owner is personable and friendly with staff, it is harder for an employee to slack off and not commit to the company’s growth. It’s natural for employees to work harder for a person they know, rather than one who’s “all business” and persistently unavailable.

Listen to your employees’ feedback

To go along with being personable, take the time to gather and listen to your employees’ feedback. If you show that you value their opinions, they’ll feel part of the team and organization. When this happens, they’ll be more committed to your goals and will want to see the company succeed as much as you do.

Of course that doesn’t mean you need to take every bit of employee feedback and run with it – it simply means keeping an open mind. Your team will respect you more and work harder for you as a result.

Provide reliable equipment

This is a no brainer. But if an employee doesn’t have the reliable equipment and tools to complete their job, their productivity levels will plummet. A broken computer, crashed server or faulty Internet connection will have your staff twiddling their thumbs and playing with their phones in no time. If it’s your technology that’s the culprit in this situation, Managed Services represent an exceptional solution to prevent your IT from ever breaking down in the first place. What does that mean for your staff? Less downtime, more productivity and more results.

Interested in discovering more ways to boost employee productivity? Want to learn how Managed Services can ensure the reliability of your IT and prevent downtime? Contact us.

Healthcare&EMRGeneral_May18_AMany people in developing countries have limited access to high quality healthcare services. This is due to the fact that healthcare workers in remote areas have difficulty in identifying patients, who may have no birth certificate or passport, and whose medical records have previously been written on paper. This is where SimPrint come in – to provide healthcare staff easier access to the medical records for patients in the developing world.

Designed by a team of British postgraduate researchers, SimPrint is a miniature fingerprint scanner synced with a healthcare worker’s smartphone via an application that identifies a patient’s records.

How it works

SimPrint’s core function is to retrieve patients’ medical records via a quick, on-the-spot fingerprint scan. The device doesn’t actually hold the records itself – it merely connects with them via mobile apps, syncing information between the user’s smartphone and the server. The SimPrint system downloads and keeps a patient’s data in local storage on the phone, which means that healthcare workers can update medical records offline, even in areas with limited mobile connectivity.

The researchers have also been keen to protect user security and privacy. That’s why they make sure SimPrint never transfers raw fingerprint images, and employs powerful data encryption when information is transmitted between the phone and server, in order to prevent potential data breaches.

The features

  • Hardware - SimPrint’s hardware design consists of a double-layered circuit board, fingerprint sensor, and Bluetooth 2.0 module.
  • Connectivity - SimPrint can connect to any Bluetooth 2.0 compatible phone via a wireless network.
  • Compatibility - SimPrint can seamlessly integrate with nearly any smartphone device.
  • Security - SimPrint uses the same level of encryption found in online banking and financial systems.
  • Price - The SimPrint device costs $40 per piece, a price that healthcare organizations can afford.

Challenges

New healthcare devices are often faced with usability challenges, and SimPrint developers are currently working on improving the fingerprint recognition of infants, who have fewer unique identifiers on their fingerprints, and laborers whose rough hands could make getting a print difficult.

The British postgraduates received funding from the Gates foundation, established by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to improve global healthcare. Although SimPrint is in its early stages of testing, it is a promising and valuable tool in healthcare outreach in the developing world.

Looking to implement new technologies in your healthcare business? Drop us a line today and see how we can help.

164_Fbook_CAre you at wits’ end, jaded by one too many failed Facebook marketing campaigns? The path to business stardom on the mother of all social media networks can be a long and arduous journey. Many never make it to the promised land of 10,000+ likes and company posts gone viral. The problem is often the lack of a strategy – so we’ve pulled together a few tactics to bring hope to your social media marketing. But first ask yourself this.

Do you really have a Facebook audience?

It’s time to face the cold hard facts. Does your business actually have a Facebook audience? In today’s over-saturated social media market, a customer base on Facebook is not a given.

Think about it. Why do people go on Facebook? It’s usually to interact with friends and family, or for other social purposes. If your business is a software company that targets a B2B audience of technical engineers, your company will likely not benefit from a Facebook presence. On the other hand, if you sell posters of Justin Bieber or cute and cuddly teddy bears, then a customer base likely eagerly awaits.

Learn which content performs best in your niche

Want to know how to discover the content that has been performing best in your niche over the past year? Of course you do! And there’s actually an easy way to do it with a tool called BuzzSumo. Here you can type in a keyword and see what articles and content are getting the most shares on Facebook, as well as other social networks. Once you have this information, you can then start posting content covering similar topics. This will help your business stand out and gain traffic.

Write short, eye-catching headlines

Headlines are just as important on Facebook as they are on other platforms and media outlets. For your best shot at one of your posts going viral, keep your headlines to between 5 and 15 words.

As for headline content, remember it’s not about selling you and your business but about the value you provide for your customer. Remove the words “I” and “we”, and replace them with “you” as much as possible.

Use Visuals

It’s easy to forget about this obvious truth, but posts with visuals almost always outperform non-visual content. A picture not only speaks a thousand words; it also has the potential to get you a thousand shares.

If you’re getting lots of traffic on Facebook, pay for ads

Ads on Facebook work in essentially the same way as Google AdWords. So if you see that a keyword is performing well for you on the platform, it’s worth investing some money to test the ad service out. Because Facebook ads are much less targeted, they don’t typically convert into sales as well as their Google counterparts. However, they are certainly a lot less expensive – chiming in at as little as $1 a day. With a small investment, you’re likely to gain some visitors to and conversions on your business website.

Want to learn more about Facebook marketing or other ways to use technology to grow your business? Send us a message today.