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New Year, New Technology
By Dale Walls
Here we are again, stepping into another new year with new drivers and initiatives to increase revenue and decrease our costs of doing business. We’ve all set our resolutions to work harder, produce results faster, and be ready when our customers need us. The following are some things to look for this year to help you hit your marks.
Microsoft releases it next desktop operating system (OS) this year with the launch of Microsoft Windows Vista. This feature rich operating system has some great new enhancements in Performance, Technology Integration, Mobility, and of course Security.
For business, there will be 3 editions of the Vista OS: Small Business Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition. The Small Business Edition is for those business users without IT Staff in need of more supporting features and ease of use of their desktop. The Professional Edition will be more aligned for the feature intense users of Windows XP Professional today and provide a reliable OS for businesses of all sizes. And finally, the Enterprise Edition will be geared for businesses with a larger system count in need of advanced legacy application support and ease of deployment in multilingual environments.
Of all editions, you should expect improved security and built-in diagnostics, the increased ability to use your PC on the go with ease, and finally more ways to quickly share and collaborate with others anytime, anywhere. The bottom line here is to look forward to the most powerful and feature rich client operating system released by Microsoft to date.
Microsoft is also looking to ease your frustrations with its Office products with promises that the next version to be released this year will be simpler to use making you more successful. The new version, code named Office “12” will include a new user interface (UI) designed to make it easier for users to take advantage of the advanced features built into the platform. This results-oriented approach is guaranteed to assist you in producing higher quality materials faster and more efficiently.
Look for more information and news on the new version of Microsoft Office throughout the first half of this year.
Probably one of your top business resolutions for this New Year was to improve your communications with customers and staff alike to provide better deliver of your products or services. Microsoft’s new Dynamics CRM version 3.0 product was released in December of 2005 was well worth the wait. Microsoft CRM 3.0 is designed to provide customer workflow management customized to your business processes. Integrated with Microsoft Office, this tool allows for ease of implementation, increased productivity, and improved customer management. Now you can accurately collect and share information on accounts, leads, service scheduling, workflow, and reports on your daily activities throughout your business.
Microsoft CRM 3.0 is available in two versions. The CRM Professional version is geared for larger enterprises using multiple servers. The CRM Small Business Edition is designed to accommodate a maximum of 50 simultaneous users and provides a more simple to use system. Both versions provide a feature rich platform to manage sales, customer service, and marketing activities.
Last but not least, this year you’re going to see more advanced options to support those of us always on the go. Probably one of the better technologies that you’re going to find to benefit your business is the rise in usage of Tablet PCs. These laptop alternatives are ideal for professionals in sales or those who are just always on the go. Tablets provide a lighter, more efficient means of using their computer systems. Tablet PCs allow a user to quickly pull out their ‘mobile office’ and leverage the use of handwriting information directly to their computer system rather than having to type out information. This information could easily be converted to text. Sales professionals often use the technology to allow customers to sign documents and close the deal electronically right on the spot. Then in turn that document could be quickly emailed back to the office for processing.
Another new mobile option you’ll find increasing in demand is integration with wireless carriers. Laptops and mobiles systems are now being manufactured with integrated modems that connect to wireless carriers such as Verizon. This allows for quick connections to the Internet or back to the office without additional cards inserted into the system. Even more beneficial is that we’re not speaking of dial-up access; we’re looking at a connection using Broadband speeds.
Look for these technologies and more to improve your daily operations by reducing costs and lost time making your business faster and more competitive this year.
Dale Walls is President of Corsica Technologies, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner & Small Business providing complete IT Solutions for businesses, government, and home computing in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Feel free to contact Dale at 443.262.9290, or by email at dale@corsicatech.com.
