Why Use IT?

One of the common comments made these days is "but I already use IT, why should I need any advice"?

The use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is not so much about having technology as it is about using technology effectively. As you are reading this it is clear that you have access to the Internet, but what other technologies do you use? Do you have a database of clients or customers? Does this database connect you to the Internet and allow you to send emails and keep track of the contents of those emails? Can you follow through on invoices with the reminder letters automatically?

A wise man once used the phrase that in order to succeed in business you needed to work smarter, not harder. Using technology can make you work harder than you need and our role is to find ways for you to make modern technology work harder and smarter for your business.

When I was young and stayed up late to watch the moon landing (somewhat annoyed when they decided to go for their walk early..) like millions of others, I saw a future ahead of us where we would only work for 10 hours a week (while the computers did the rest). Life would become more relaxed and easier as the machines did all the work and we could enjoy our clean fresh and healthy life without stress or worry.

We now work longer hours per week on average, have less job security, much more paperwork and the retirement age is likely to go up to 70 not down to 55.

So what has happened since the 60’s?

We are without a doubt in a ‘computer dependent’ age, but in ways we could not foresee and can’t really control. Our car electronics, fridge freezer, television, telephone network, gas, electric and water supplies are all controlled by the microprocessor. The computer in the corner is merely part of the technology surrounding us.

Having developed piece by piece over the years, one of the challenges facing ICT departments today is in integrating all these different bits of equipment and software together. The big corporate companies saw the advantages of networking and information sharing and they could afford to plough the millions of pounds required into developing these areas into their internal business systems.

The small or medium business could not afford the time or cost of the integration process and it fell to the specialist software companies to write and develop the software needed by the small business user to develop packages that could be bought off-the-shelf and installed on their own systems without specialist knowledge.

There are now simple programs that should allow you to run your accounts, track customers and even build your own web site, as well as getting your different software systems to talk to each other without massive integration problems.

So how much do you actually use your software’s potential?

The first question we will ask a new client is "how much do you know about the software or hardware you use?" Working on system training for a large company, I found that most operators knew how to use about 50% of the functions available to them. As they trained new staff they passed on this knowledge but the newly trained operators could not remember everything they were taught and slowly but surely the amount of real knowledge about the software they used became more and more diluted.

The use of ICT and the role of companies such as ours is to help you find your way through the legions of software solutions that are available so that you can exploit the technology, not be harnessed to it. We aim to develop your knowledge with online training, and back this up with telephone and email support.

There really aren't any businesses in this day and age that operate without using technology, but our aim is to make you the master of the technology, not the other way around!