Contest: how has technology improved your business?
There’s no doubt that technology is changing the way companies do business. From a small 2-person office to a large organization with hundreds of employees, technology is helping businesses be more efficient, productive and mobile.
Consider the following examples of businesses using technology in innovative ways:
- Restaurants are using tablet computers so that servers can provide enhanced service to diners.
- Hotels are providing tablets in rooms and public areas so that guests can bypass check-in desks and order hotel services.
- Retail businesses are adopting wireless point-of-sale devices to make payment more convenient for customers.
- Businesses are equipping mobile teams with mobile broadband hubs so that they can set up a satellite office with high-speed connectivity wherever they go.
- Businesses are moving key communications services to the cloud to offload support requirements and reduce costs.
- Sales teams are adopting mobile CRM apps on their smartphones so that they can stay connected to vital customer data no matter where they go.
- Businesses are using wireless networks for backup connectivity, or even primary connectivity where wireline service availability or speed to deploy are factors.
- Companies are monitoring the exact location and maintenance needs of their fleet with GPS and telemetry solutions.
Rogers understands the needs of small and medium businesses. In fact, the entrepreneurial spirit is what started our company – it’s embedded in our culture. And we’re always trying to learn more about how businesses can benefit from smart uses of technology. To celebrate your successes with technology, we’re having our first contest for RedBoard Biz readers. Just tell us in the comments section of this post, in 100 words or less, how technology has changed your business for the better and you could win a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Good luck!
Follow us on our new Twitter account at @RogersBiz to stay up to date with Rogers business news, contests and events.
Miranda MacDonald is a regular contributor to RedBoard Biz
Contest closes at 12:00 noon ET on May 12, 2011. Open to residents of Canada who are 18 years or older, excluding residents of Quebec. To enter, tell us in 100 words or less, on the RedBoard Biz blog, how technology has changed your business for the better. Prize: one (1) Samsung Galaxy Tab valued at $624 to be won. One entry/person. Odds of winning depend on the quality of the post and the number of eligible entries. Mathematical skill-testing question to be correctly answered to win. No Purchase Necessary. Full rules here.
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With sms,mobile email,skype,skype mobile I can be in contact at all hours to help clients with tech issues.
Technology is important to my business!
Here is a little ditty to demonstrate that point:
With the Rogers Stick, no one calls in sick
With the Rocket Mobile Hotspot, my sales are off the chart
With Rogers Business Phone, I can run my company from home
With a BlackBerry Torch, I can take calls on my porch
With a Samsung Galaxy Tab, more customers I grab!
@BhuDeo
I think one of the things that has made a big difference is the ability to keep in touch with both my customers and suppliers all over the world – an not be “stuck” in the office. I am mobile with all my communications and orders. By email, phone, text – it all works seamlessly!
Being in a small business that is in the medical field, technology has helped speed up consults and diagnosing. Such as using digital x-rays, which can be quickly, examined and emailed to various specialists, that can take a look in real time, especially with smartphone mobile devices. I can’t count the number of times of being in a bind and using either tethering or using my smartphone to quickly check send or check an x-ray. Tethering has also been beneficial being able to remote in and check schedules with patients and to work remotely from home.
The biggest thing is that it keep us connected where ever we go, so we don’t need to sit around at the computer waiting for important emails, it also allows us to access needed files from anywhere without the need to lug around a laptop… With the way our business runs, we need to stay mobile, so lugging around a laptop isn’t always the best option, with smartphones and tablets, we have everything we need at out fingertips and with little to no extra cost to us.
The nature of my work is such that I need to be available for consultation, sometimes 24X7. Technology allows me to go about a (fairly) normal, active lifestyleyet still be available by cell, text, email, webex and VPN a very little cost. I use all extensively.
As a graphic designer, technology has made my life more efficient and easier. In the past, designers had to do a lot of paste ups. Revisions would be a pain. Now, there’s no more cutting, pasting, or delivering comps to different locations to be processed. Technology allow us to make simple changes easily, send them via email or ftp and communicate with our clients instantly.
Plus, when I meet with clients, it’s great to have a tablet to easily show work. I am able to effectively show work to prospective clients and help win new work.
It may be old school to say this in a tech discussion, but the internet itself has to get credit for a clear “turn-the-world upside down” paradigm shift. Today I use so many web based applications, services daily that I almost can’t see doing the business that I am, before 2001. It would be impossible.
I use email, search engine functions including Video, peer-to-peer services (MSN, Skype) cloud services (Dropbox) social networking (Linked in, Facebook, Twitter..) RSS readers, desktop applications like Hootsuite – hourly. My network extends across the world, timezone, languages and cultures and somehow it seems so natural. Job offers on Linked in? Not even concept just a few years ago, yet happens now to me regularly.
So that’s my vote: the internet. It opened business opportunities for me otherwise impossible in the offline world.
Don’t even get me started mobile.
Or Google.
Being in the real estate business technology allows me to stay connected with my clients and provide real time service. Email, instant messaging and having my faxes go straight to my email allow me to be mobile. On demand access to the Toronto mls with my smartphone and the ability to bring my business wherever I go. With tablets becoming more common, it will allow me to draft purchase agreements and present colorful listing presentations to potential clients. Technology has allowed me to be creative and to differentiate myself from my competitors.
Technology is the main axis on which businesses rely on these days. Gone are the days of “Ring Ring….leave a message after beep”. Consumers expect a prompt, quick and solid response to there inquiries. I personally cannot see myself doing business with a company that does not have a company email address.
If the business card states, direct line, consumers expect that the phone call will be answered or they should get a call back within 15 to 20 mins after leaving a message.
Thanks to portable internet capability on your mobile or tablets, consumers can be educated accurately and in faster times about products and services.
All these advancement in technology gives businesses boosts not just in increased revenue but also in managing costs, providing better services, increase in clients; generating more revenue and gaining a competitive edge over direct and indirect businesses.
Thanks to PVR technology I can record different business programs and discuss them with my clients when need be, my phone provides me direct contact with my clients new or established and thanks to internet, both home and mobile, I can update, forward or share the information pool with whomever deem necessary.
In conclusion, technology is one of the most important components other than service, marketing, availability, and fair competition.
I’m a Web Developer. I could probably stop there eh? :P
Throughout my entire life I’ve followed tech as it advances; being inspired by the innovation it brings and the accessibility it provides.
I work from wherever I am for clients from all around the world. My iPhone’s 3G connection provides my laptop with a safe and secure way to continue my work even on long Greyhound trips etc.
And now as the web, and more so our culture, move toward more personal and mobile internet enabled devices I find myself at the forefront of a new development era; and I’m just plain excited to see where we go from here.
i think technology has improved my business a lot.
i am always connected with my factory, office, employes via mobile,fax,email, etc.
Moreover it also helps me to check CCTV footage directly at home.
If a notice is to be circulated, i sent email to my employes id and they are pushed to their phone by push mail technology.
It also helps me to communicate and have a conference between my employees face to face from home using video calls.
My business wouldn’t EXIST without technology. i run a game development studio called Untold Entertainment Inc., specializing in games for kids, teens, tweens, and preschoolers.
In particular, i’ve found Twitter to be very useful, especially on my preferred client, Tweetdeck. Twitter has helped me grow my site traffic tenfold, and has enabled me to connect to customers and fellow developers like nothing else. It even helped me land a book deal! Twitter has a bad rap among the uninitiated, but it’s absolutely worth your time. It’s not about what people had for lunch any more!
Technology has enabled me to let my clients to handle the basics of my business for themselves, leaving me able to direct my attention to their really important problems. This saves them money & me time.
Our business wouldn’t exist without advances in technology. Sprouter connects entrepreneurs, and it’s led by a team of connected entrepreneurs. Tools like Smartphones, apps like Dropbox and Google apps, and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have allowed us to start, grow and market our business in a way that wouldn’t have been possible 10 years ago. Technology has allowed our business to become more successful, and allowed us to create a vibrant network of entrepreneurs around the world.
I LIVE on my iPhone, iPad & MacBook. They drive all 3 of my businesses and keep me connected to clients & coworkers. I produce digital media and podcasts, so my entire life is digital. The iPad especially has completed changed my workflow and how I manage my connections day-to-day.
In 100 words or less technology has changed my business for the better by making it exist, haha.
As a blogger and an online community manager if technology didn’t exist my entire lines of work/business wouldn’t exist.
Even the company I work for which specializes in QR code marketing campaigns wouldn’t exist as QR codes are technologically based.
Our website feeds us clients through organic search, who fill out a secured form with their credit card. Online invoices are automatically created, shipping labels are generated, and order status/information communicated by email. Monitoring can be done anywhere by tethering iPhones. Samples of work can be displayed on tablets to clients before payment, with receipts signed onscreen (& virtual terminal processing the payment).
Our business is digitization (backing up analog information to digital files), so technology is at the very heart of the operation! Quite simply, we couldn’t operate without technology – it is the catalyst of efficiency!
Fabulous entries everyone! Thanks for sharing your stories. Remember, the contest closes on May 12 and the winner will be announced here and via @RogersBiz on May 13.
As an MBA consultant the advent of new mobile and wireless technology have made itmuch easier for companies to connect and keep continuous data backup. In a recent project the recommendations included a set of new enterprise software that would be able to connect to mobile devices via a VPN to ensure instant access to records and files and provide a convenient data outlet. The relatively new appearance of tablets has given us the chance to recommend more options to better suit the customer. Wireless technologies are truly connecting everyone everywhere!
Invaluable device for staying connected to the business while mobile. Hotspot, syncing and cloud/exchange services making it that much more powerful.
It’s all about being constantly connected and having the available information at your finger tips when you want it and need it.
I don’t have to be at work to be connected. I love that even though I’m not connected with a blackberry I can log on from home and spend a couple of hours getting a head of the game.
Being able to connect with people at all times.
Technology has made getting news and updates out so quickly. Wheter its by text out email…news gets passed around quickly and efficiently at the office and our sales reps! And things keep improving so quickly, having to keep up has it’s advantages!
As an Android Developer, technology has helped improved my business by allowing us to reach a much wider customer base. As in older technologies it was very difficult to get our Apps out for various platforms but now it’s as easy as pie. We have also seen it much more quicker & more faster to develop our apps on the latest hardware offered.
My small business would not exist without technology. The advent of the internet, powerful computers, and cheap storage means I can work anywhere in the world selling my goods online, answering customer questions, and watching my inventory in real-time. That would be downright impossible 30 years ago. The next frontier is now shifting away from PCs and onto mobile devices and tablets. That will allow me to reach customers where ever they are and not just in a fixed location (i.e. their home or office).
I see the advantages of technology everyday. From the instant news/weather I receive every morning before work, to the ability to check/respond to emails on the bus, to the rich communication worldwide I take advantage of everyday at work, to the text messaging on the bus on the way home, to the watching of my PVR’ed shows when I get home. My business is my life and my life is good!
Technology allowed me to stay at home longer with my kids and be able to still communicate and fill orders for my small business, maintain proper records of all my customers and keep them updated with any issue/promotion I want to share with them.
Working in the cellular industry we use instant messaging, email, twitter and all other social networking venues to communicate all the latest news and promotions as well as show our clients how this tech will drastically improve their day to day lives. (FYI I sumbitted this via the url in twitter by using my Blackberry Bold – WINNING!)
We have used the iPad to exchange character creations, scenic designs, story plots and writing software scripts while creating video games. It is a lot easier to just pull out our iPad when we’re on the go. BJS
Like everyone else, technology has made communicating with clients so much easier. There are no missed phone calls, data is available at your fingertips, and emails are instant. There is a huge cost savings as a result of the time saved that you gain from using technology in your everyday operations. That said, operating a small business is really simple to do from home if you take advantage of all the wonderful technological inventions this wonderful world has to offer.
I can design a layout on a desktop, publish a rich-media version to a tablet, host that presentation remotely and have instant live access to changes on the fly from client right in the meeting. I may never print another sheet of paper again. Al Gore would be so proud.
I’m loving how it’s so much easier now to share revisions, files, photos, etc… with a much broader community via our technology. Blogs for newsletters, dropboxes for large file transfers, facebook for galleries, etc… Even opportunities to go ‘paperless’ as smartphones allow me to conduct business while on the road and and off-site events (i.e. registration lists etc…). Our recent chair delivered his speech from his iPad.
I’m even more convinced of its usefulness as online document collaborations and am looking for ways to capitalize on the abilities to do webinars to reach even more.
Our business is technology!
Technology innovated our business in so many ways. It has improved our business and allowed us to communicate with our customers all over the world, whether their at home or on the go! We are able to have employee’s from UK To Canada all collaborating in real-time. We use this technology for social media, Advertising, Pod casts, Video casts, Project Collaboration, Project Management, Marketing and expanding our company and our brand worldwide. We use computers, internet, webcams, mobile-hotspots, tablets and smartphones. Technology has enabled our business to expand globally beyond the normal reach of convention business practices. As Technology grows so does our business, hand -in- hand!
With today’s technology, I no longer have to rely on archaic remote access solutions to work away from the office. I can upload a file to Dropbox from my desktop at work, then tether my iPad to my iPhone on the bus and open that file to finish on the busride home. No more wasted time gazing out the window. Once I arrive home, that file automagically syncs with The cloud again and I’m ready to pick up where I left off from my home PC. Close up for the night and I can rely on the fact that the file will be waiting for me at work the next day to send to my boss for approval. Did I mention he gets it on his Playbook since he’s on training? The same project that used to be tied up for weeks is now finished in days thanks to technology.
Technology has helped me grow my business by allowing me the tools to get the information I need from any location, and react immediately. Particularly with the use of my apps and having cloud services, we can stay on top of business and communication globally without being stuck in an office locale.
Technology has made it easier for our business to stay on top of global news regardless of our locale. this has allowed us to expand our staff outside our original locale without losing communication. Our use of apps have also aided in keeping us on top of important information enabling us to react quickly.
Technological advances allow me time to run and grow my business while taking care of my 2 boys. I can take calls from customers while running through fields or send email while hanging upside down from monkey bars. I’ve been known to schedule appointments on slides and quote jobs from trees. Technology allows me to efficiently tend to all matters, personal and professional, because as a small business owner, the line between the two is often blurred. Oh, and technology lets me know when my wife will be home so I can rush back inside to clean up.
As a graduating dental student, I have seen my fair share of scared adults and crying kids that would make Wes Craven jealous. And much like his movies, it’s crazy scary how advanced technology in the medical field grows stronger every year. Digital radiology has produced even less penetrating rays, while digital impressions helps to eliminate the gag reflex in sensitive individuals. While school has taught me the benefits of flossing (once a night keeps your teeth all white), technology has shown me how it can provide even better health care in the years to come.
Being with Rogers as my carrier for these pass month has been exceptional. With Rogers data plan intergrated I can always count on a strong signal area where I can use Google map when I am lost in the city. With that being said, Rogers always get the latest and fastest phone for their customer and that’s is what I am sticking with Rogers moblie. Technology has change the way we interact with each other. Whether it’s Facebook or twitter , everyone is connected .
thankyou technology!
Having made the switch to Rogers data plan for mobile use, I can tell you without a doubt there will be no going back. Rogers is the best for reliability and connection issues are non-existant. We have an extensive list of clients within the downtown area and being mobile means needing connections and vpn access to many servers and clients. Rogers rocks!!
Being a programmer i have seen the companies i have worked at improve the pace of business thanks to technology. Information is being collected and processed as a speed that was unheard of before. No longer are you waiting on metrics for a long period, a few days now is enough to provide enough information on a product. This improves the product and the efficiency of a company. Technology has also improved information flow through an organization, and that improve the productivity of all employees and the company will remain competitive.
Working in Sales and CRM, there is nothing more important than being connected to your clients. In recent years with the push towards mobile data devices, it’s allowed me to stay in contact with my clients whether it be via Blackberry’s or Mobile rocket sticks when on-site with a client. Fittingly enough, technology advances and being connected 24/7 also brings freedom in that you’re no longer tethered to your desk!
Being a newbie realtor in the Greater Toronto Area, I am astonished and humbled by the level of service I can provide my clients out on the field with the aid of the latest technologies. With a handy Smartphone with a healthy 3G data plan I am able to access available listings and book appointments on the go, without having to lug around my laptop. My Smartphone’s built in GPS app is great, no need to print out directions or rely on a clumsy old GPS unit. New apps are being added everyday that continue to enhance my phones capability.
With the advent of databases and the programming language ‘SQL’, we have been able to migrate from a 70s era filing cabinet (complete with broken locks), to a fully searchable, encrypted database to store our inventory and customer data. Extended to the web, we can now remotely connect to our company servers from anywhere in the world and immediately keep track of which items are doing well, and which items need to be rotated out of the product mix. This would have been very difficult to do in the old days.
We use technology to stay in touch with our customers and keeping them engaged with our business. It is no longer enough to simply place an item for sale and then sit back. In today’s world the companies which embrace their brand’s ideals and interact with their customers are the one’s which succeed. For example, we use our company’s website to host a blog section. We use it to gain feedback on the use of our products, suggestions on how to make it better, and even concerns which we can immediately address. The concept is further extended by using the web to promote contests and give-aways to get people really excited about our products. Only web technology allows us to be this interactive and reactive to the demanding needs of the consumer.
i use technology in our business to organize and schedule events for employees. New cloud-based software allows us to cheaply link our employees with each other, no matter their location, and book meetings, training days, and summer BBQs. The events are sent to everyone within seconds and people’s time can be better tracked – both from an employee and management perspective. These calendar entries can be synced from the web to their personal devices (PCs, laptops, smartphones) to ensure they’re never out of the loop and miss our next Free Ice Cream day :)
The Knowledge of technology is a leapfrog for an efficient work, i’m considering the electronic equipment as a friend and also sharing the usage experience, the important lesson is the backup of my information in a safe place. the convergence between the newspaper industry , the telephone and television and computer are the greatest invention for a better and successful job and deals. hope to work in a paperless society one day.
Technology has been great for my company. It allows us to keep track of information so easily. It is absolutely essential for my job to have top of the line technology and computer information systems.