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Chromebook

Chromebook vs Windows 10 Laptop: Which Is Right For You?

Ever stopped to wonder about the difference between Google’s Chromebooks and Microsoft’s Windows 10?

You may not know it, but Chromebooks may be what you need depending on what your situation is. There are many factors you need to consider when comparing the two operating systems. 

To lessen your headache in deciding the best between the two, look no further. Here’s a guide comparing their features from the user interface to their value. Read on to learn the difference between Chromebook vs Windows 10. 

Chromebook vs Windows 10 

Are you interested to know where it all started? Before we move on to comparing Chromebooks vs Windows 10, let’s take a short detour to learn about their history. 

Chromebook 

The Chromebook is a tablet or laptop running Chrome OS as an operating system. This type of laptop uses the Google Chrome browser to perform a variety of tasks. Most applications and data you have in your Chromebook are in the cloud rather than the laptop. 

Chromebooks were first released in 2011, with Acer Inc and Samsung selling the first ones. The Chromebooks line is the most successful Linux laptop computer ever launched. Recent launches can now run Linux and Android apps. 

Windows 10 

Windows 10 is a popular operating system with an impressive 77% market usage share worldwide. It got released to the general public in 2015 and surpassed Windows 7 as the most popular version by May 2020. Microsoft sells Windows licenses, which you can load on laptops and desktops. 

Microsoft’s wide-open approach has let Windows conquer over its competition for the past few decades. Windows boasts that they have the largest library of traditional software. This is because of Microsoft Window’s longevity and global availability. 

It can run through plenty of brands such as Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, and so on. With so many big brands tied to this OS, it’s no wonder why it’s the most popular OS today.

Interface

The latest version of Chrome OS shows a Start-like button in the bottom-left corner. When you press it, the launcher shows your most opened apps with a Google search bar. Whether you have touch support or not, scrolling down can give you Google Now info cards. 

You can see information like suggested articles, local weather, and calendar updates. Chromebooks also have support for the Play Store for Android apps. The taskbar of the desktop typically shows active apps and shortcuts for Google apps. 

Some essential Google apps include Drive, Docs, YouTube. You can find the basic settings, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, at the bottom right. Chrome OS is a web-first operating system, which means all the apps need the Chrome browser to run. 

Windows 10 has a more well-polished and seamless operating system compared to its predecessors. You can find the start menu and basic settings in the same area in Chromebooks. The Start button reveals your most use programs and recently installed software on the left side. 

The right side of the start menu shows your pinned apps, and some apps may have animations. The taskbar includes a Cortana search bar with small icons next to it, showing active apps. On the bottom left, you can find the notifications icon with the action center. 

Both the Chromebooks and Windows 10 can handle multitasking. You can place the apps side-by-side up to four windows. They also have touch-friendly models and those that can have tablet mode. 

Performance

Chromebooks use modest processors for their system. One of the low-end Chromebooks is Samsung’s Chromebook 3 that runs with a Celeron processor with only 4GB RAM. At the higher end, Google’s Pixelbook runs with a Core i5 processor with 16GB RAM. 

Google Pixelbook can cost up to $1,399 for only 256GB storage and a 4K screen. These are great specs, but Windows can surpass these specs for a lower price with ease. If you’re looking for better and proper performance, Chromebooks may not be the one for you. 

Windows 10 laptops have more of a variety of processors from NVIDIA and AMD. Their systems can use the latest Core i9 processor for the best graphics for gaming. High-end laptops can go up to 64GB RAM for heavy intensive tasks like editing and gaming. 

Apps and Programs

Chromebooks offers an ever-growing library of apps and programs which Windows 10 may not be able to run. This includes Android apps and the Google Play Store.

They’ve even perfected device syncing and data integration between mobile devices and Chromebooks. This makes it easier for users to switch or cast apps between each device. However, you may be out of luck if you want to run apps for heavy-intensive tasks like Photoshop or Premiere. 

Windows 10 offers all the basic programs you need on a laptop. This includes Office suite, Netflix, Spotify, Photoshop, and so on. Many Windows 10 laptops can handle gaming, business, and heavy tasks like multimedia editing. 

Security 

Windows has always been a target for hackers looking to place viruses, botnets, and malware in your laptop. This is where Windows Defender comes in and protects your device. You also have a secure-boot feature where your laptop checks itself for certificates of authenticity before booting. 

This means that it minimizes all risks of getting loads of infected software. Google controls the Chromebook ecosystem, which means it has tight security and constant updates. Chromebooks checks and applies security updates while placing sandboxing media and web filters.

Productivity 

Chromebooks have plenty of Google based apps where you can work, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides. You can also run Microsoft’s apps, but only the web-only versions that are available through OneDrive. Most apps in Chromebook have to run with an Internet connection, but only Google Drive can work offline. 

Windows 10 is the standard for getting work done. Many businesses would rather use Windows 10 since plenty of business apps are only compatible with Windows. Microsoft also has its own Office Suite, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. 

It’s not hard to use Chrome apps in Windows. You can use Google Drive, OpenOffice, and most third-party software programs for working. 

Portability 

Chromebooks are smaller in design. They are thinner and lighter, but that doesn’t mean the price is the same. The typical Chromebook weighs only a few pounds less than Windows 10. 

Laptops with Windows 10 have a wide variety of sizes and weights. This means that you have a lot to choose from when it comes to Windows 10 laptops. However, Windows 10 laptops are heavier due to the bigger screens and components. 

Value and Selection

The price is one of the most important factors you need to consider when choosing between Chromebook vs Windows 10. Chromebooks take the lead for cheaper laptops, which can go as low as $100. The most expensive Chromebook is $1,650 Google’s Pixelbook. 

However, Windows 10 also offers the same prices going as low as $120. At the higher end laptops, you can get monster deals for gaming or business laptops for as high as $4000. These laptops can rival high-performing desktops, especially in horsepower. 

There are also incentives from Google and Microsoft for promotional goodies. Google is currently offering plenty of stuff worth a hundred dollars for customers who buy the new Chromebook. You can also get 100GB of Google Drive Storage, free movies on Google Play, and 90 days of Google Play Music. 

Microsoft varies in their promotional goods, but they are consistent with Office 365. You can get a free one-year subscription to Office 365 and get 500GB of storage space on OneDrive. 

Booting Speed 

One of the biggest advantages of using Chromebooks is the start-up. They’re an excellent choice for a stop and go computing since it starts up within a few seconds. Windows 10 takes about 10 to 15 seconds to wake from sleep mode and start-up. 

Hardware Options 

The market for Chromebooks are smaller, but they are growing at a steady pace. About 30 different brands now sell Chromebooks, including Asus, HP, Acer, and many more. The display range of Chromebooks can go from 11 inches to 15 inches. 

Only a few models have touch capabilities. As stated above, Chromebooks have the advantage of being more portable. Some business Chromebooks are also popping up in the market, like Acer Chromebook 14. 

Windows 10 has more variety, with screen sizes ranging from 11 inches to 21 inches. About eight major brands create Windows laptops along with Intel and AMD chips. You can get a lot of storage space from Windows 10 laptops from 2GB going as high up as terabyte levels. 

Windows 10 laptops have plenty of designs with more colors than Chromebooks. They also offer more laptops for gamers, businesses, tablets, and 2-in-1s. 

Which Laptop Is Right For You?

Now you know some major differences between the two operating systems. So, are you going to choose Chromebooks, or Windows 10? It all comes down to personal needs, budget, and preference.  Do you want to learn more besides the differences between Chromebook vs Windows 10? There are also tons of benefits to choosing either one of these laptops. Check out more of our guides to learn more, and make a better, more informed decision when it’s time to buy!

download

5 Best Online Video Downloaders in 2020

Do you love watching online videos? Are you a regular internet user? Do you want to download videos found on the web? If you are searching for answers to the above queries, then you are reading the correct blog! Here, you will get to know the five best online video downloaders in 2020.

To download all kinds of videos on the internet, you must know all the downloading softwares and test it on your windows. Then you can easily download all kinds of videos that you want at any cost.

Moreover, there are generally two kinds of video downloader software available on the internet, i.e., free and paid. You can use any as per your wish. You won’t believe there are hundreds of software that are only used for downloading online videos.

You just have to copy and paste the URL on these downloading software programs, and you will get your required video.

5 Best Online Video Downloaders in 2020

The purpose of the online video downloaders is already described above. Now, you have to decide whether you want to visit the free sites or paid sites to download videos.

The below mentioned are the best online video downloaders in 2020 that will make your task easier,

1. AVC (Any Video Converter):

AVC (Any Video Downloader) is one of the top online video downloaders at present that is absolutely free to use. Every feature of this downloader is available via its main interface.

This program can burn Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDS. This software is packed with a built-in video editor. Moreover, the benefits of downloading videos on this site are that it provides fast converting speed and amazing video quality.

Moreover, you can convert a video to a wide range of formats. Isn’t it easy? You can download any video in just a few clicks. But keep in mind that this free video downloader has limitations.

2. aTube Catcher:

aTube Catcher is a top online video downloader available on the internet that covers all the bases. This software has the ability to download videos in batches. It has integrated sound and screen recording that you will love for sure.

Moreover, this video downloader comes with an automatic program updater and you can download several videos at the same time. You can also convert youtube to mp3 the download videos into other formats if you want to.

I have already used this software in the past and really love the features that it provides to its users. It almost supports every kind of video URL of other websites. You can download this video downloading software now and use it at any time you wish to.

3. JDownloader

JDownloader is one of the quickest ways to download online videos from a wide range of sites. One of the benefits of using this website is that you can download normal files from several websites for absolutely free of cost.

Moreover, it has a remote management feature that helps files to continue downloading even if you are away from your desktop. It also monitors the clipboard to detect the downloading files automatically.

It has a multi-thread downloading technology that helps to download your videos at a faster speed. This is another advantage of downloading videos from this site. But keep in mind that it consumes more system resources than usual.

You can download as many videos as you want because it has no limitations. It offers several video quality formats that you can choose from before downloading a video.

3. ClipGrab

ClipGrab is a fast, free, and multi-platform video downloader as well as a converter. This online video downloader features a well-organized and clean user interface. You can also download several videos at the same time, and this is one of the top benefits of this software.

After pasting the video URL in the box, ClipGrab will automatically detect links from your clipboard. It has no complex features. You can also select the video quality from this list, and there are several features that this site consists of.

Hence, you can use this site as a converter to download videos in multiple formats. It supports almost all major video websites.

4. oDownloader

oDownloader is a top video downloader platform and converter where you can download any media type and in every format. The offers excellent functionality to its users, and no sign-up is required before downloading your favorite videos.

This site has a better user experience, and it is very convenient to use. This online video downloader is free of cost and also safe and secure. This site has a fast downloading speed, and this makes odownloader a top website to download every kind of video.

You can download Youtube videos, website videos, Facebook videos, and many more by just pasting the URL on the odownloader website. After getting your video, you can watch it offline when you don’t have an internet connection.

5. 4K Video Downloader:

4K Video Downloader is one of the most popular and used online video downloaders in 2020. This software has smart mode features that help you to download videos automatically.

The feature of this downloader is very convenient and easy to use. You can download multiple videos in a batch. You can also download the entire playlists or channels if you wish to.

This software is compatible with all the well-known video sources. Also, it supports 3D, HD, 8K, 4K, and 360-degree videos. The parameters that this software offers is adjustable and consists of an ads-free service. This software operates very quickly, and it is simple to use.

You will be amazed by knowing that there are no cons of this website that can be detected at present. So, you must use this online video downloader if you want to download the web videos of your choice.

The Bottom Line

Go through the features of each online video downloader and then decide which is convenient for you to use. The above-listed softwares are the top five online video downloaders in 2020 that you must know.

The Development Process for Bespoke Software

If you’re interested in investing in some bespoke software for your business’ website, you may wish to know how the development process works.

In essence there are three steps (hough each of these can be divided into more), which lead from your initial consultation to the launching and evolution of your very own software. This software can take many forms – perhaps you wish to have a quick check-in feature implemented on your recruitment pages, or tiered user levels that dictate access to internal management – but all are tailored to your needs.

Essentials of Software Design – Feedback and Communication

To begin understanding the process, one must first recognize the essentials of using software designers to produce your very own bespoke product. These are constant feedback and constructive communication.

It is common knowledge that communication in the workplace is essential to meeting targets, retaining good working relationships and improving understanding between colleagues and departments. It is also key when outsourcing projects such as software development, as you need to guarantee you get the exact product that you require.

During this communication, you must give feedback. If something is not quite right with the software, then you must say – just as the designers will provide feedback on the requirements you are asking for.

This constant back and forth between yourself and your software developer is absolutely essential to building a positive partnership that works together for a quality end result.

1.   Requirements and Planning

Now that you understand the essentials, it is time to walk through the development process itself. First up, it is the Requirements and Planning stage.

Software developers such as Bluelinemedia.co.uk work tirelessly to understand exactly what it is that you need. This is done through consultations, proposals and written requirements so that the developer knows what you require, and you know what you will receive.

These proposals are then turned into plans and concepts that are presented to you and tinkered with to produce a starting point.

2.   Development and Testing

After the plans have been settled on, the developer will begin to produce the software using a combination of pre-existing frameworks and bespoke developments, discussing with you any changes along the way.

In a similar way to how you may have soft-launched your own business or website, the software will be tested at every stage before being finalized.

3.   Launch and Evolution

When your bespoke software is ready, the developer will train you on the new system and support you every step of the way. As with any aspect of business, it is not uncommon for the occasional bump in the road to appear when launching new software, so any reliable developer will be on stand-by to resolve issues and fix bugs.

Finally, this software will not be set in stone. Your business is sure to change, as are your goals, and your bespoke software should change to suit that evolution. As you can see, the process is truly rather simple. Finding an experienced and professional bespoke software developer is therefore a highly recommended step for any business looking to reach the next level.

workplace

The Best Practices for Effective Communication in the Workplace

If you want to run a profitable business, your internal communication needs to be on point. You might have great products and services, the biggest marketing budget, the best talent, and so on, but if your employees don’t effectively communicate with each other, everything else will come crumbling down.

Without effective workplace communication, the information won’t be relayed on time and accurately. Relationships won’t flourish. Trust won’t be established. The entire work environment will feel like a cold and unwelcoming one for your employees.

The good news: there are various practices you can put into action to ensure internal communication is a strong point of your business. Here are a few key elements to keep in mind.

Avoid an overly formal environment

Who wants to work in an overly formal, uptight work environment? Well unless you ask people that are all business, you’re unlikely to receive any favorable responses to that question.

In this and age, employees want a work environment that is vibrant and welcoming. Due to this, attempt to produce a dynamic workplace that is fun for your staff members. Not only can it spark their creativity, but it’ll almost certainly boost their morale and productivity.

Use the right tools

Communication in the workplace can be handledin many different ways. While email and meetings were standard not too long ago, these communication methods have been joined by the likes of video calls, cloud technology, and group text chats.

Cloud technology, for instance, is a great way for an entire team to collaborate on a project together in real-time – regardless if they are in the office or on the other side of the country. Video messaging is also effective for remote workers – as much of the world has found out recently.

Be clear in your messaging

Information is important when communicating with your employees. Nevertheless, you want to avoid falling into a hole of sending too much at any one time. Information overload will only cause important messages to be overlooked or even ignored completely.

To avoid this, be clear and concise when communicating with your workforce.

Plan for the future

As touched upon earlier, the current COVID-19 pandemic has caused internal communication to make significant changes like focusing on video calls. Yet these changes are continuing to emerge and evolve. For instance, in a recent guide highlighting communication best practices, industry experts Simpplr has listed ten emerging tactics that are helping companies cope with the challenges thrown into the mix by the pandemic.

Of course, new challenges – and solutions – will continue to crop up in the future. This is why it’s important to avoid resting with what you have and to upgrade your internal communication when necessary.

Listen to your employees

To truly understand your internal communication strategies, there’s no better provider of feedback than your employees. They are using the systems and protocols that you have in place, so they know what works and what doesn’t. Reach out for feedback from your staff, watch out for correlating comments, and use this to improve your communication offerings.

hard drive

How to make sure your company is GDPR-compliant

Even if you’re a small company, it’s highly likely that you’ll receive and process lots of sensitive data from people every day. Whether that’s financial information or something as simple as their name and email address, it’s important you treat each piece of information with care. If you misuse it or let someone else access it without permission, you could face a big fine. Here are some ways to make sure your company is GDPR-complaint.

Own your information

The most important thing when it comes to collecting data is to make sure that only your company has access to that data. While some of the tools you use online to collect data will provide with you with all of the information, it could just be one of several copies. You could find that many popular tools will also keep a copy of all of the information you collect for themselves.

For example, when you set up an Eventbrite WordPress site for people to book a place on an event, the ticket provider will keep the information your customers enter. This could be everything from names, addresses and email address. If you’re holding a paid event, this could also involve billing information, one of the most sensitive types of information anybody can share with your company. Instead of letting a company like this keep the information your customers provide, choose a provider who won’t keep a copy of the information. For example, Event Espresso is fully GDPR-compliant out of the box. It lets you easily export and then most importantly erase any personal data you collect from attendees.

Protect your information

Once you’ve safely collected your information, it’s important to make sure only you have access to it. Make sure you store any sensitive information securely. If it’s saved onto any physical device, make sure it is password protected and that it can’t be physically stolen from your building. Try to keep it under lock and key when not in use. Make sure any device you access the information has a high level of Internet security. Regularly check your virus software and firewall to make sure it’s up to date and protecting your device from any cyber criminals who may want to access your information. Failure to do this could result in a big fine for your company.

Only hold onto the information you have permission to hold

As well as obtaining the information from your customer, it’s also important to obtain their permission to hold onto that information. For example, you might want to hold onto their email address to be able to send them a regular newsletter or other marketing materials. If they’ve given this to you during a transaction so you can send them confirmation of a purchase, this doesn’t mean that you can use it for any other purpose. If you include a tick box at the bottom of the form, asking them to agree to allow you to contact them with further marketing materials and they tick yes, then you can keep that information.

hard drive

How Do Hard Drives Fail?

Everybody with a computer uses a hard drive and there are tens of thousands of choices available for people who are looking to safely store their information on these little pieces of tech. Unfortunately, though, failures happen – instances that can lead to the loss of precious business or personal data. But how do such major issues happen?

How Common is Hard Drive Failure?

A company called Backblaze analyses the failure rates of 73,653 hard drives every year. In some, they recorded no failures, but in others, such as the WDC-sold hard drives, the failure rate was a massive 3.88%. That means there’s a tremendous variance in the frequency of hard drive failures – with some (like the ST1500DL003) having incredible failure rates of 90.2%.

These rates don’t accurately reflect the average consumer experience as they were drives used in datacenters, but hard drive failures can have dramatic effects on the lives of everyday people. 24×7 IT Solutions documents a health products company who were unfortunate enough to have 2 hard drives fail on them at once, costing them $40,000 and 9 days of no computer network!

Mechanical Failure

Hard drives are the hardware that is governed by the laws of mechanics. This means that wear and tear or hard impact can cause mechanical issues in areas like the read/write head or motors. This is especially likely with older disks and when a mechanical failure has occurred, the hard drive will either not boot up at all, make weird noises (a sure-fire sign you need to back-up fast) or freeze and crash regularly. Much mechanical damage is irreversible so backing up regularly is the best way to prevent against this.

Electrical Failure

Electrical failure is terrifying because it can happen when there’s a surge of power voltage (something you won’t be able to control). If you’re using your desktop computer and a lightning strike or a power line is being damaged, the electronic circuitry can be damaged, and you might not be able to recover your data.

System Failure aka Logical Failure

Your hard drive can fail not due to any physical issue, but instead due to data being corrupt or even from viruses and malware. This works by prohibiting the logical pathways that your computer needs to function correctly – whether that’s being able to access data or just starting up. Even something as simple as deleting system 32 can lead to a logical failure that stops you from being able to use your computer.

Bad Sectors

Hard drives work by reading magnetic data. Magnetism, however, is not failproof and if the magnetic alignment is damaged, leading to misalignment, the whole rotating platter that your hard drive needs to work will become impossible to access. A bad sector is an area of data that’s damaged due to this misalignment, but it can also happen in solid-state drives too just from natural ware. When bad sectors get bigger, memory capacity will decrease, and data corruption can occur, leading to a logical failure. If your computer is frequently lagging, showing some files as inaccessible or giving you CRC errors, your bad sectors might be getting out of control.

IT service

Tech Can Help You Beat the Competition: Here’s How

When you are in business, whether you work for someone else or you have started your own company, you are always going to need to stay ahead of the competition wherever possible. In doing this, you can ensure you receive more notice, make more sales, and ultimately make more profits. Even if you think you are doing something unique, it is still a good idea to keep an eye on what else might be out there; new businesses are starting up all the time, and one might be your direct competition. If you don’t know they are there, they could easily speed past you.

Using technology in the right way can enhance your ability to be seen over and above any competitors. As long as you know who that competition is, how they work, and what they do, you can implement various tech strategies to help you beat them. Read on to find out more.

Outsourced IT Services

One of the best ways to get ahead of the competition is to look – and be – more professional than they are. Even if you are selling the same items, a clean, easy to navigate website is always going to be more impressive than a cluttered, difficult-to-navigate one, for example. The same is true for any tech you use; if it always works, isn’t frustrating, and makes life – and purchasing – easier for the customer, you are going to look like a much better prospect than anyone else.

In order to maintain a good level of customer service through your IT, you should outsource the work to a specialist company like Iconic IT. When you do this, you can be sure that everything will be taken care of, and you don’t need to think about it. You will be much less likely to experience downtime, and your customers will have the experience they want and need.

Social Media

Social media for business use is growing all the time, and platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and implementing various business strategies to help companies use it more successfully. It is unusual these days to find a business that doesn’t have at least one social media account, and they will often have two or three depending on the nature of the business.

By using social media well in your business, you can easily outshine your competition. You will find more customers as more people will see you (especially if you choose to boost any posts), and you will also be able to engage well with those customers. It is this engagement that is so crucial in getting ahead; answering queries, helping customers, and even just having a fun conversation will all show you to be a good business to buy from.

SEO

SEO (search engine optimization) is a specialist area, and again may be something you choose to outsource. Getting your SEO right means you can rise to the top of the search engine rankings, and of course, those links at the top of results (at least on the first page) are more likely to be clicked than any others. SEO can be complicated, as there are a number of different strategies that can be used to create the right balance and be exactly what Google is looking for within its algorithms. If you can do better SEO work than your competitors, you will be ranked higher, and on top of that, your website’s content will be interesting, informative, and useful.

pandemic workplace

The Post-Pandemic Workplace

By now, many of us have become accustomed to the changes in our daily lives enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. From masks and social distancing to kids attending school on-line to many of us working from home to new ways to shop for everything, the challenges have been widespread and have met with both mixed reactions and results. Some of these changes will stick, some experts believe. So, what could you expect post-pandemic with regards to your employment?

Changes Have Already Happened

If you’re employed in the public sector, say in healthcare or the service industry, you haven’t had many changes to your job now. Just more equipment with masks, face shields, gloves and sanitizers becoming commonplace for you. Private sector employees, on the other hand, have been sprung from their cubicle farms to brave the waters of working from home. Eyal Gutentag, marketing manager, mentions that some have thrived; self-starters and introverts top his list. People with children remote learning from home, extroverts and those who battle procrastination or disruptions are some of those who have struggled. Gutentag also believes that telecommuting is here to stay since two important things have happened on both sides of the employment relationship. First, he says, employees have learned to be productive and valuable as telecommuters. Second, companies have learned how much they can save by not maintaining office space.

Some Changes Will Stay

Other marketing experts have suggested that some of the changes we’ve seen that will stay include the 9 to 5 workday becoming obsolete, business travel changes, offices as conference centers and not places where people work five days a week, the middle management tier could be gone forever, the workplace could become more equitable for women and most meetings could be replaced by Instant Messaging and e-mail.

What changes have you experienced, work-wise? Which of these do you hope will stay?

tech update

Important Tech Upgrades for Your Business

Technology has always moved at such a rapid rate that it is very easy for your business to get left behind. Over the past few years, in particular, companies have been fighting to keep a foothold in a world that is changing at a swiftfrequency. With so many potential tech upgrades out there, it can be difficult to know what to focus on first. Well, here is a guide of important tech upgrades that you can make for your business, to make things simpler.

Invest in Security

The criminals of the future are focusing on the online world more and more, which is why your business needs to invest in the appropriate security systems to keep up with these changes. Improving your IT systems by using a company like Integrated Computer Services is a great starting point. Still, you need to carry out IT risk assessments regularly as cybercriminals become more sophisticated. Ultimately, it is something of a cat and mouse game, but one that you need to be willing to play.

Utilize Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has been something of a revolution over the past few years, allowing you to safely back up your files and have access to them anywhere in the world. The size and sophistication of your business will impact the complexity of the system that you require, but many are available for free or very little upfront investment. These systems can help you to free up space in your office as you no longer require bulky hardware.

Redesign Your Website

If you have not redesigned your website in a year, it is likely that it already looks clunky and out of date. What’s more,the website that you created all those years agomight not be optimized for mobile phones, which is an increasingly common way that people are accessing the internet. When you have your website redesigned, consider the content management system that you use. You will need to be able to update the site with regular fresh content to keep people coming back time and time again.

Focus on SEO

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point, but you need to ensure that your site is optimized for search engines. As such an important way that people discover new businesses, you cannot afford to slip down the rankings too far. Bear in mind that SEO requires an ongoing effective strategy and cannot be managed in one single go. This is why many companies search for specific SEO agencies to provide them with this service. Though there are plenty of other tech upgrades that your business could make, these are just a few of the main points that can prove to be extremely useful in bringing your company up to speed with the modern world. It has already been stated that technology moves at a such a rapid rate that you can easily get left behind if you are not on top of the changes as they occur.

business update

How to Update Your Business’ Tech Stack in 2020

Technology is indeed driving efficiency across the business world. But it’s also true that this happens in a hundred different shades: some companies use technology more efficiently than others, and this has a reverberating impact across all of your departments, boosting or reducing productivity. In this short piece, we’re going to look at what an effective and optimized tech stack looks like in 2020 – using the best software and hardware that money can buy to fund your productivity revolution with tech.

The Right Hardware

You’ll always begin your tech stack revolution with the hardware question. There are two main areas that you ought tothink through when updating your tech stack, and these are:

  • Memory – are you storing your files in a physical network, or should you update to save all of your files onto the cloud?
  • Productivity – are your computers, laptops and tablets the best brand and fit to help your employees run the programs that they use every day?

By answering these questions, you’ll know whether you need to update your hardware. It’s likely if your creative team are running the likes of Adobe software that you’ll need fast processing speeds to avoid freezes and crashes. You need to invest in the hardware to support high-quality tech like this in your firm.

The Best Software

The revolution in software is ongoing and is likely to continue at an exponential rate for some time. Just as you’ve onboarded with the next best thing in the software world, something else comes along that trumps it – but, again, only for a month or so. When you’re shopping for software, you’re looking for:

  • Cloud-based software that you can link, through APIs, to the rest of your firm and the other programs you use. This is called interoperability.
  • Software that solves specific problems in your firm – ones that automate laborious or boring tasks are some of the most cost-effective, for instance.
  • Software packages that offer a centralized management system, cutting out the noise and enabling you to focus on one central server and memory unit.

All of these priorities should help you to maintain and boost your tech stack this year and long into the future.

Engage with Automation

As hinted at above, the tech world is moving extremely fast – so fast that what you didn’t think was possible last year is likely to have been developed this year. From chatbots to automated order processing, you can relieve your staff of their most boring and laborious jobs with ease through engagement with automation.

Nowhere is this more evident and useful than about your HR software. Finding great HR software tools has never been easier – and now, with the help of specialized companies that build and tender their devices, you can automate much of the HR process, helping your staff to receive their pay on time, their benefits at once, and their onboarding information smoothly and succinctly. Automation is the future of work – and is something you should engage in for the good of your firm. Use the three main domains of business tech outlined above to refocus on updating your tech stack in 2020.