How Richmond companies are working remotely

Your Richmond business needs to be ready to work remote today.

Below is a list of technology solutions to help your employees continue servicing customers. These technologies will help your company:

• Answer customer phone calls anywhere
• Access company data on any device
• Video conference with customers
• eSignatures for legal documents
• Print and scan wirelessly

While Microsoft Office 365 is recognized as the leader in cloud solutions, it might not be the right solution for your company. Therefore, I’ve taken time to list business-class, secure and convenient alternatives.

PHONE SYSTEMS. Traditional business phone systems with local carrier connections (Verizon, Comcast, etc.) have been on the decline for almost 10 years. They’ve been replaced by cloud hosted Voice Over IP systems that require no maintenance, answer customer calls anywhere and they cost less.

• Nextiva is known for great customer service
• Ring Central was first to market
• Comcast Voice Edge arrived in Richmond five years ago
• Microsoft Office 365 Teams has recently added domestic and international plans

FILE SHARING. Cloud services are fast replacing file servers. Ninety-percent of companies do not need servers or can reduce their number of servers. Even most lines of business solutions have moved from a stand-alone server to the cloud. File servers are more expensive and less secure, while cloud services better protect your company from Ransomware encryption attacks.

• Microsoft Office 365 SharePoint and OneDrive are the leaders for companies having at least five employees to thousands of employees
• DropBox started as a consumer solution and grew into a business solution
• Box, similar to DropBox, started purely as a business solution
• Google Drive works best for micro-businesses having one to three employees

VIDEO CONFERENCING. The most convenient way to have long distance, face to face meetings with peers or customers.

• Zoom has become the leader
• Microsoft Office 365 Teams works great for employee teams and customer interaction
• WebEx and GoToMeeting tend to be used in large enterprise companies

E-SIGNATURES. Signing documents electronically speeds up deal closings by eliminating face to face scheduling conflicts.

• DocuSign is the market leader
• Adobe was the first to market

REMOTE CONTROL. The original way to control your office computer from any of device. You can even print documents to your home printer.

• GoToMyPC was first to market
• TeamViewer lets you control industrial systems
• LogMeIn is the biggest company
• VPN Software for your business-class firewall connects directly to Windows computers

MULTIFUNCTIONS. Printer/Scanner/Fax for your home office connect wirelessly for your computers, phones and tablets. Look for units that use toner, versus inkjet cartridges for superior color printing.

• HP is the market leader
• Canon is inexpensive and reliable
• Brother works great in the home office

Talk to your IT support about keeping your company working during this public health crisis. Or setup a 15 minute phone call with me to learn about your options.