The IT Time Bomb that Could Cost Your Business Money and Customers.
Chris Wright – An Entrepreneur’s Story
In this presentation, Chris Wright will discuss why he became an entrepreneur and some of the many mistakes that he made along the way. People are central to all businesses and endeavors in life. This seemingly obvious idea is rarely fully appreciated. Chris will also talk about the central role of energy in human history and how energy innovations in the 19th century, combined with the property rights revolution, enabled the rise of the modern world. Recent energy innovations are again reshaping the world. He will close by explaining why he does not like the expression “Giving Back” and will share his vision for how the next generation can help better the world.
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Personal Concierge or Big Brother?
Personal Concierge or Big Brother? Balancing the Possibilities of Big Data with the Need for Privacy
Thursday, September 15 at 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Farrell Hall, Broyhill Auditorium 1834 Wake Forest Road Winston-Salem, NC 27106
“Personal Concierge or Big Brother? Balancing the Possibilities of Big Data with the Need for Privacy” is a moderated panel discussion, sponsored by the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism in the Wake Forest School of Business. Its objective is to discuss the ethical dilemmas and implications for business uses of data, including but not limited to the landscape of consumer data, consumer privacy, and company policies for handling data.Guest panelists include Morgan Reed, Executive Director of ACT | The App Association, Alessandro Asquisti, Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and Lauren Rhue, Assistant Professor of IS and Analytics at Wake Forest University School of Business.
Four Considerations When Choosing Your Business Email Service
At the heart of all modern business communications lies email. No longer limited to sending messages back and forth, modern business email systems are expected to coordinate teams through contact and calendar sharing and by tracking projects and assigned tasks. With business email services expected to do so much, it is important that you select the right fit for your needs. To help you do that, here are four considerations when choosing your business email service.
➳ Feature Set
A business email service must do more than simply play postman for digital letters. Modern email services need to allow teams to collaborate at a higher level. Look for a rich feature set that allows your teams to share contacts and calendars easily. Task tracking and project notes are features that can allow teams to accomplish more within a single application.
Remember that too much of anything can be bad for you. Avoid services that try to accomplish too much. The excess features inevitably slow the service down and make it more difficult to use. Your business email service should be a tool to improve communication. If it’s too convoluted, no one will use it.
➳ Cost
Costs must be considered in every business decision, not just in selecting a business email service. As in most cases, the best email services are not going to come for free, but that doesn’t mean that a higher cost means a better service.
Email services are not immune from brand influence. The more well-known technology companies often come with the steepest price tags while offering no significant advantage over more competitively priced services. In addition, make sure you aren’t paying for the aforementioned excess features that hurt you in the end.
➳ Support
Calling tech support and reaching someone who knows barely enough English to read from a script has become a cliché in modern media. But clichés are clichés for a reason. The reality is large companies almost universally outsource their base tech support to overseas call centers, reserving their US-based centers for their largest customers.
But just because you aren’t large does not mean you have to settle for difficult tech support calls. Local business email providers offer in-house tech support, meaning you get to talk to someone within your own state. Local providers often offer on-site support as well, something you won’t see from the larger providers.
➳ Security
Cloud computing is all the rage, and for good reason. Using the cloud for data storage and processing can greatly improve speed for users. The cloud is designed to store your data behind a veil, or cloud, of anonymity that not even you can pierce. But that begs the question, how can you really be sure your data is safe if even you don’t know where it is?
Local business email service providers offer the unique situation of cloud computing with a known address. By going with a local provider, you can ensure the physical security of your data matches the digital security offered by the cloud.
Final Analysis
The feature set of a business email service should provide everything you need while avoiding unnecessary bloat. While top names command top pricing, there are many lower-cost services that have matching, or even better, feature sets. Local providers easily win on support and security due to their proximity to your business. Keep these considerations in mind as you select your business email service and you can’t go wrong.
If your business is in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina then contact The Signal Company today. We offer Kerio Connect, the leading email competitor to Microsoft Office. This low-cost business email solution is maintained and stored on our servers in Advance, NC, where it is monitored by video 24 hours a day, and your phone call will never be outsourced. Let us be your business email partner and improve your business communications. Call The Signal Co at (336) 390-1111 or send us an email
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