I’ve seen it time and time again. Businesses get complacent with their existing procedures and methods of accomplishing tasks and often miss out on the tremendous advantages that technology is making. The technology that can cut their work in half often confuses them and they dismiss it.
The hard truth of the matter is that most of the time, there is software out there that can reduce the time of everyday tasks for businesses.
How businesses can break free of complacency
Don’t be afraid to try new things
The first and critical leap for discovering new technologies is not to be afraid to try them in the first place! Many companies setup a test box to see if an application can provide some value to the business. Worse comes to worse, you simply wasted a tiny bit of time investigating an application. In the best case, your investment in investigate the new application could save tons of time everyday. If time is an issue, hire a consulting firm to come in a try the application for you.
Look for opportunities to automate tasks
Just because your company has been putting together a monthly newsletter through the regular mail for over 10 years doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to automate the task. For example, to help automate the task of sending newsletters to customers, try using an online e-mail newsletter to automate the task of creating and mailing the newsletters. Not only does it save time and money, but it also reduces the chance that there will be any errors! Automating monotonous tasks will save businesses tons of money and your secretaries who put together the newsletters will thank you!
Get the team involved
Have a monthly meeting with employees and discuss the most inefficient things your business does. It probably won’t be something you will want to hear, but it’s important to know so that you can address them. More often than not, there is a software solution that can help alleviate the burden of the task or even completely automate it!
There are many things that make a bad password. Knowing what components of a password that provide the strongest protection is key.
#1 – Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts.
Using the same password for different accounts is like having the same key for your house, your car, your safe and your bank accounts. Once hackers get ahold of your account password, they will try all your accounts to try and retrieve your sensitive information. Also for system administrators, they will try the same thing with multiple servers on your network. Have a different password for each account.
#2 – Write your passwords down
Traditional security practices tell you that users should not write your passwords down. However, writing passwords down often result in passwords that are difficult to remember and are typically stronger. Passwords that can be easily remembered are more likely to be weaker. Make certain that the hard copy of the password is in a physically secure place so that your list itself cannot be compromised. Never store your list on a computer.
#3 – Know what makes a good password
Having a good password means that it is very difficult to successfully guess it. A good password will posses the following qualities:
- Have at least 6 letters or numbers
- Have at least one letter, number and special character (!, #, %, @, etc…)
- Not an actual word in a dictionary
#4 – Never log into websites through links sent through email
If you receive a link from popular online sites such as eBay or other online banks, don’t click it! It could link to a potentially dangerous site that is designed to steal you password. Always type in the address of a website directly into your browser so you know that the site is legitimate.
#5 – Change your password regularly
The best thing that can be done to protect an account is to change it regularly. Common schemes include appending a number to the end of a special sequence. For example, docat44 can be incremented to docat55. The important thing is that you pick a password that you will use diligently.
Additional reading on password security
Microsoft – 5 tips for top-notch password security
Microsoft – School is in: 7 computer security tips for students
Yahoo! Security Center – Choosing Your Password
In a recent post on ComputerWorld, the IRS finished redesigning their website in what is a triumph over the traditional grind for government. Forms are often buried deep inside sections that are difficult to find or even inaccessible. All that has changed with the introduction of the new IRS website. By conducting usability studies, the web designers were able to create an incredibly useful website that allow users to be able to find what they were looking for quickly. One example includes the addition of a section entitled “Most Requested Forms and Publications” that allows visitors to quickly find IRS tax forms. It’s a great start and other branches of government can learn a lot from them.
Where can I learn more about designing usability?
The art of usability is a difficult art to master because of the complicated methods used to measure and design usability. A great resource to get started is a website by Jacob Nielsen, a foremost expert in the field of usability design. His website, useit.com, provides extensive information about the field of usability and how it can enhance user’s experiences.
A great book to read and learn more about designing usability into websites is called Designing Usability by Jacob Nielsen. It’s a fantastic book that walks a user through all of the considerations that a web designer must take into consideration when designing a website.
In an recent article on ComputerWorld, Google was disclosed to have close to 40% of the US Search volume, giving it a major advantage over the nearest competitor Yahoo! With websites now becoming a crucial part of many businesses worldwide, good search engine placement on Google is crucial for a company’s continued success.
What webmasters can do to improve their Google ranking
The number one thing a webmaster can do to improve their Google search engine ranking is to get links to their website. The core piece of Google’s search technology is it’s amazing index of links. A website that has many links to it will rank very well in Google’s search engine. This is because webpages that have many links usually have good relevant information and Google will reward them by ranking them higher than sites with lesser links.
Great Places to Get Links
When it comes to designing a website to represent your business, a cheaper designer is not always better. A website is an extension of an organization and should represent it in its entirety. It should be easy to use for users, functional and create a great interactive experience, and it should market itself to viewers to return to your bottom line. To help businesses understand this investment, try thinking of websites as another form of advertising. It simply should earn its value back over time much like radio, print and television and contribute to the bottom line.
The Myth
Many businesses believe that websites are a simple one-time investment that will rake in huge profits overnight. This major misconception leads to a path a terrible road of deceit and predatory online businesses who promise overnight business success for $500.
The Truth
A good investment in a web site is the result of many years of research and development. It comes from understanding your customer and their needs. Building a successful website takes a time and requires a significant investment. Over time, websites gain an extremely powerful advantage that will leave competitors scratching to catch up. A strong business web presence creates value for your existing customers, captures new customers and helps your business stay in front of your customers. Eventually, the website will reach a point where customers can answer their own questions, order their own products and increase their satisfaction with your company. One client of Onepax glowed about their website, “Our customers love our website! By the time they call us they already know what they want, how much it will cost and when they will have it! I’ll take those calls any day!â€
But many times, people are asking the question, “But I thought the Internet boom long past? Doesn’t everyone already have a great website?†The truth: They are dead wrong. Almost every industry can benefit from a website in ways such as reducing the cost of customer service, increasing monthly sales to providing tools for employees, the future is seemingly endless. The key to harnessing the web is by recruiting experienced web developers who can orchestrate business goals and technology into a beautiful symphony.
An Analogy
Good and bad web designers can be compared to housing contractors like roofers, electricians or plumbers. When you hire a contractor, you want them to do their job quickly, efficiently and correctly. I recently witnessed a construction site that hired the cheapest roofer they could find. The contractor showed up late, didn’t have all the materials they needed to repair the roof and even caused some major damage to their roof. The owner of the house had to pay almost two times the original cost for an experience roofer to come in and roof the house. The experienced roofer had to come to the building and remove
the damage caused by the bad roofer.
The same principal applies to good and bad web design. When it comes to your business and your customers, they deserve the very best. But in the business setting, cheap contractors are damaging your reputation, your customer relationship and even your bottom line. How much does will a business loose before they hire professionals? Businesses shouldn’t skimp when it comes to web sites since it could be the first impression your customer has. It provides a channel of advertising for businesses that can draw in customers for pennies compared to traditional marketing methods. The following table drives home a great reason why you should consider investing in a website for your business in addition to traditional marketing for your business.
| Printed Advertising |
Radio Advertising |
Internet Advertising |
| $5-$15/customer |
$3-$7/customer |
$0.15-$3.0/customer |
January 24, 2006 
