COVID-19 is, unfortunately, in full flow. Businesses across the UK are facing slowdowns, lockdowns and more besides. People are being forced to work from home as a result of social distancing measures, purely to make sure everyone stays fit and healthy. It’s a worthwhile cause, of course! But what does that mean for the social aspects of your business? As an IT Managed Service provider Suffolk businesses rely on, we know how crucial it is to keep in touch.
Businesses need to keep in touch with one another. Inter-client, customer, supplier and team relationships are so important! While isolating yourself is, obviously, the name of the game right now – there’s no excuse to shut yourself away from your team members, or to assume your clients don’t want to hear from you. If anything, there’s never been a more important time to socialise. And it’s worth remembering that we’re living in an age where technology is helping us get together over hundreds and thousands of miles. People can Skype one another or use software such as Zoom to conference. But what about when it comes to business conferencing? Is there a need for you to invest in another monthly subscription?
Save Money on Socialising
The fact is, investing in more technology and fancier software might well be a huge waste of money. Let’s not understate the fact that staying connected is crucial, of course. For your business to survive, and for your team to all be on the same page, you’re going to need to come up with a video comms solution which is going to support you through weeks of lockdown. You should also make sure you have a digital platform you can collaborate through to share documents and ideas.
Are You Using Office 365?
There’s a good chance you’re using some form of program or suite within Office 365 Business, and for good reason. It’s endlessly collaborative. It’s also a service you’ve probably already paid for for other uses such as Office, Onedrive or email.
Office 365 hosts a brilliant application called Teams. Microsoft Teams lets you collaborate directly with users directly within applications and programs you’d otherwise be using for daily tasks and work, such as Microsoft Word and Excel. You can group topics and uploads into specific channels and folders.
Similarly, you might want to consider Google Hangouts, much of which is free with Gsuite. This service runs via the web and, as you can imagine, you’ll be able to integrate Google products such as Gmail and Docs. You may also have a built in conferencing facility if you have a web based telephony system.
Are You Already Collaborating for Free?
Chances are, you might not know that you are. As a managed service provider, West View IT is more than aware of a few cost-saving solutions for fast-moving collaborations. If you’re isolating due to COVID-19 and are struggling to keep everyone working from the same position, it’s time to dig deep into software you’re already using, not your bank balance.
I have Office 365- How do I set up a simple meeting?
If you have office 365 Business the odds are you have Microsoft Teams. We have created a short video showing you how to host your own meeting on Teams.
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