Ever since the great recession, the term “accidental entrepreneur” has become one of the most widely used in the business market. Make no mistake; the financial crisis heralded the end of the traditional labour market as we knew it, as a growing number of people turned to sole trading and small business ownership to shape their careers.
This trend has continued during the last decade, with more than 216,000 new startups registered in Greater London alone last year, at an increased rate of 6.45%.
Still, whilst launching a new business may be increasingly popular amongst entrepreneurs, this remains a challenging and potentially costly pastime. It’s also likely that firms will need to rely on various types of technology when they start out, depending on what markets they operate in. Here are some universal examples:
High Speed Internet Access
Aside from computers and email, high-speed Internet access is one of the most important technological weapons in any business’s armoury in the digital age.
After all, this can provide a huge boost to the productivity and the efficiency of your business, especially with a growing percentage of marketing, sales and administration tasks completed online.
The issue facing small businesses is that Internet speeds and service providers are being upgraded all the time, creating a scenario where even the best hardware quickly becomes outdated. Similarly, your bandwidth is likely to be consumed at a faster rate as your venture grows, so it’s important to keep on top of this as an entrepreneur.
So, it’s important to regularly compare the market to identify the best and most cost-effective deal, whilst also prioritising services that offer reliable and consistent support. You should also use service providers like MCS Test to continually review the performance of your wireless solutions, and seek out upgrades whenever necessary.
Cloud Computing
In days gone by, even small businesses ran on IT servers, on-site software and cumbersome hardware, but this is no longer the case.
In fact, the traditional method of operation poses considerable risks in terms of efficiency and security, with the majority of modern-day startups now leveraging Cloud computing to underpin a more progressive model.
This not only minimise the cost of running a brand new business, but it also improves efficiency and provides the flexibility for it scale in the future.
Tools such as Microsoft Office 365 offer a relevant case in point, as they move to simplify work processes and underpin collaborative projects within the business. You can also secure your business’s data more efficiently through the Cloud, whilst accessing this from anywhere out of the office.
A Data Security Suite
On a similar note, it’s absolutely imperative that your business’s data is secured and backed-up in real-time.
This requires your startup to invest in a viable data security suite, and one that’s constantly being reviewed and upgraded for maximum efficiency.
This suite should include various measures, whilst your local network and each of its computers should have a firewall installed. You should also install what’s known as a full security suite, which can provide adequate protection against malware, email phishing and email viruses.
We’ve already spoken about backing up your data in the Cloud, but it’s worth creating a disaster contingency plan in the worst case scenario. This will introduce an additional layer of security into your business, and potentially minimise the damage in instances where your data is breached or lost.
To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.