With many of us waking up to snowy scenes across the country today, it can mean a winter wonderland for some.  But the reality is frustration for others, with commuting through standing traffic a struggle, businesses frustrated trying to identify whether staff will make it in and client work backing up.

So we thought it would be a good chance to reflect on how technology can keep your business productive over these wintery days.

VoIP phone systems

VoIP phone systems are hosted in the cloud – which means no reliance on a ‘box on the wall’, the phone on your desk or your office phone lines.  You can take calls on a VoIP phone from your computer, a mobile app or from a traditional desk phone if you prefer.  And you can take calls anywhere – all you need is a basic internet connection.  Pro Drive partners with the very best cloud phone provider – RingCentral.

Cloud applications

Having your business applications in the cloud makes a huge difference to flexible working.  For example a cloud based CRM means your sales team can be instantly up and running as long as they have access to a computer – so you will not miss out on new business because of a snow day!  There are cloud based versions of most common business applications these days and the security of them is generally excellent.  Meaning there is no excuse not to move.

Remote Desktop / Citrix

For businesses who have not been able to move business apps to the cloud due to their complexity or perhaps for security reasons, they can still be accessed remotely using Remote Desktop or Citrix technologies. This enables you to provide a ‘portal’ for your staff to view a company ‘desktop’, with all their apps, from any computer or even tablets.  Best of all, it can be made exceptionally secure so in the increasingly complex world of GDPR there is nothing to worry about.

Laptops

A standard laptop is now almost the same cost as a desktop computer.  So unless you have a specific reason not to, why not issue all your staff with laptops?  That way you can be sure they always have a computer at home to work from.  A Pro Drive ‘top tip’ is to always provide a second power adaptor for them to leave at home just in case!

Other than a few cancelled site visits, Pro Drive will be providing a full service to its clients.  The office is unlikely to be open – but you will likely never know.  How do we do this? We employ a number of the technologies described above.  If you already have them, you are lucky (or unlucky if you were expecting a day off!).  If not, they are worth considering, not just to protect from adverse weather, they can also form an important part of reducing your risk from other disasters which could damage your business.

Call us today on 0330 124 3599 to find out more (we will be here to answer!)