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Throughout this site, you will find the term ‘One System’ used to describe your internal operating systems. We have coined this phrase, as it aptly describes the technology infrastructure of a business performing at optimum efficiency and, therefore optimum profitability.
We show you how to put in place a structure that will safeguard your business, place you in ultimate control and give you peace of mind about all your systems.
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This is the goal you should be looking to achieve as an integrated workplace will deliver up repeated, sustainable profits as long as the rules are applied which ensure the smooth running of all systems. This will all be covered later in the site.
In a typical business scenario equipment (hardware or software) is interconnected via a network or LAN (local area network). If it isn’t already in most cases it can be. However, it is the integration between these disparate elements which is the key to generating the maximum profit. We refer to this as 'One System' and this is the art of creating a solution which operates at an optimum level.
How many of the following systems do you have in place already?
- Local Area Network
- Server
- Personal computers
- PDAs
- Mobile phones
- Blackberry
- Fax
- Scanner
- Software - accounts
- Software - e-mail
- Software - database
- Software - word processing
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As your business has evolved it is likely that you have introduced new equipment as you needed it. However, it is equally possible that the salesperson who supplied your company with one product had no involvement with the product bought previously. Therefore, there was no drive on behalf of the salesperson to ensure that each product integrated with the one before.
Obviously software applications running on a server on your local area network servicing the personal computers and laptops were intended to work together. However, it is fair to say that these items are passive. In other words, they are not perceived to help the company make money.
A little later in the site, we will establish which elements of the technology infrastructure can and should be integrated. In addition, we will investigate other products that can complement and enhance your existing infrastructure.
Who is the Mechanic? One particular factor that is regularly overlooked is the importance of utilising the resources and services of qualified software engineers. Having someone in-house is the ideal solution (also refer to the section on Technology Teams).
It is essential that all aspects of the business are kept running at peak performance. The most important area of this revolves around your internal systems and making sure that your network is running properly. As mentioned, it is similar to having a car mechanic on-board. You must have someone who can continually adjust and adapt your internal systems to the most favourable method of working. For example, depending on the size of your business keeping up-to-date with anti-virus software and ensuring that your systems are running as efficiently as possible can be a full-time job.
There are of course various approaches to dealing with this. The simplest and most cost effective is to contract out this job function. If you haven’t already you may want to consider looking for a local computer company that is familiar with all of your software. If you have any bespoke software this may be a little difficult, but in general terms software support companies can manage 95% of typical operating systems such as Microsoft Server and Microsoft Small Business Server.
If you are a young company it is imperative that you address this in a logical fashion. Computer support companies will have typical operational templates that set out exactly how your infrastructure should be planned and should be able to guide you in aspects such as automated backup, anti-virus and anti-spyware. These are low cost elements relating to your network, however, the impact of not addressing these matters in the early days can be devastating if you encounter a problem.
Spending time initially will not only save time in the long run it may even save your company!