There’s a mythical status and goal that almost every user of the Internet strives to reach, small business owners more so than most everyone else. That status is zero new emails in your inbox. You can probably count the number of times this has happened on one hand. While it would be nice to reach zero, you should instead be focusing on ensuring your inbox is allowing you to be productive.

Here are four tips on how you can gain control of your inbox, and become more productive with your email.

1. Schedule time to check email. Many managers rush to check their email as soon as a new one comes in, they have this feeling that they're going to miss something important. Barring a massive meltdown of your system, that’s not going to happen. Instead, all that happens is you break your concentration and end up wasting time. What you should do is schedule 3-4 times a day to check and reply to emails.
2. Filters. Your standard inbox is a dumping ground, all emails important and otherwise go to the same place. Through the use of filters, you can ensure similar emails are grouped together into folders that will make it easier for you to pick and choose which are most important. Creating a filter can be done in many email programs with the press of a button.
3. R&R. This stands for Read and Respond, which is what you should be doing with every email. When you look at your email, read through it and take necessary action. If it’s an email that someone else can reply to, forward it right away. If it’s an email that will take time to reply to, mark it as important, send an acknowledgement and take the necessary actions. Basically don’t collect emails you will forget about eventually.
4. Subject lines, use them. Time and time again, the subject line is neglected, or used improperly. How many emails have you gotten that have a subject that doesn’t make sense? Remember the purpose of the subject line is to inform the recipient what to expect in the body of the email. As such, subjects should be clear and informative and convey the main point of your message.

Through the efficient use of subject lines, the R&R method and filters you should find that you’re not only more productive due to less interruptions, but you will be able to quickly assess and act on the most important emails. With a good system, you should, in the long run, spend less time focusing on your email, and more time focusing on work. If you have any other questions about how to conquer your inbox, please contact us.

The main ethos of businesses these days is to make do with what you have, or minimize spending in the hopes of turning a profit. This can be tough for businesses who have to replace their technology. While it may be cheaper to buy customer based solutions, this can prove to be a negative practice that could actually harm your business in the long term.

Here are five reasons you, as small businesses owners, should aim to buy technological solutions and products that are specifically designed to meet your needs, not those of the masses.

1. Long-term time and money costs. In general, consumer grade technology is made using cheaper, less durable materials than that of the business equivalent. More often than not, consumer products will break down long before business grade. When they do, you’re stuck paying for the replacement parts or sending the unit in for repair. Beyond that you’ll also have to spend the valuable time dealing with the problem.
2. Greater ability to recover costs. Business technology does cost more, however, it’s made with better materials that increase product life. Beyond that it decreases the need for maintenance and will make it more appealing to buyers when you sell it, thus allowing you a higher chance of recovering costs.
3. More features. The problem with technology developed for the consumer market is that it’s often developed with features that will be the most useful to the majority. This could be a problem for companies as you’ll be paying for features you don’t need, while lacking ones that you do need. Many business devices also have features that can be tailored to meet a business's needs, or offer devices with increased functionality.
4. Warranty. The majority of consumer tech has a limited to non-existent warranty. Many laptops have one year limited warranties that, in truth, cover very little. Business hardware can have a standard three year factory warranty which guarantees the device won’t break for three years. Aside from that, many vendors will send someone to repair the device within the next day, if you buy business grade.
5. The best customer support. It’s a high probability that you’ve had a device break and had the wonderful opportunity of dealing with consumer technical service. This is not the case for the majority of business hardware and software developers. Many companies provide 24/7 support and have employees who understand that your technology is essential to operations, and will work to get your system back as fast as possible.

While in the short term, it may seem like a good idea to buy consumer technology, it’s a solution with long-term drawbacks. If you are looking for new technology but don’t know where to start, please contact us we can help.

Business Intelligence (BI) has become a major aspect of business, as such, companies large and small are adopting implementing BI projects. The problem is, this can cause concern regarding job safety among other things. These “myths” can quickly spiral out of control and demoralize a whole office or company. In order for this not to happen, you should be aware of the common myths related to BI.

Myth #1: BI will replace experienced judgment Managers and users often perceive that a BI solution may replace or override their knowledge and experience for business decisions that affect their area of responsibility. The reality is that BI empowers decision making and leverages experience by providing supporting detail often otherwise missing. Critical to the success of any BI implementation is a common vision of how BI is going to improve business decisions.

Debunk Myth#1 with clear expectations and assurances that the value your employees experience will only be augmented with better information.

Myth #2: Users prefer to figure it out rather than receive training Even the simplest BI tool takes time and practice to help users make the most of the solution. Companies that don’t invest in training often end up wondering why no one uses the tool. The entire organization from top to bottom should receive some level of formal training to get full value from the BI solution. Allowing users to focus time and attention on learning how to use the BI solution will help with user adoption and acceptance.

Avoid Myth #2 by scheduling formal training - away from their regular job - that provides users with hands-on training. (But don’t make them work overtime to “penalize” them for training.)

Myth #3: Once the implementation is done, it’s done A BI project is not over simply because the application has been deployed. BI is an evolution that supports the change and growth of an organization. Start with highly visible and easy-to-implement projects so that people build confidence in its value and in using it. The more complex projects should be scheduled for implementation after familiarity and confidence have been sufficiently built.

The whole point is to leverage the organization’s information assets to new levels of utility and value, so that decision-making across the entire organization, from top to bottom, and with the organization’s external partners, is more effective and productive. Revisiting the uses of BI on a regular basis will ensure that the organization is making the most of their investment.

Debunk Myth #3 by incorporating BI as a strategic component of all business planning activities.

Let’s talk about what BI solution is right for your business. Call us today.

Business owners often have multiple accounts with many different websites and Web services. There’s one element that links them all together, no matter their purpose: the password. A password is an owner’s sacred key that’s trusted to very few people. You expect that when you share your password with a website, it’s secure. This isn’t always the case and some of LinkedIn’s users’ passwords have recently leaked.

LinkedIn is a popular social media site that caters to professionals and helps them to network and find jobs. In the past few days, news stories have emerged about how members’ passwords were leaked online.

How passwords work The password you enter to access a website like LinkedIn acts as a handshake to confirm that the user trying to access the account is who they say they are. Remember the last time you signed up for a new account, and had to enter the password you’re going to use? The owner of the website stores that password in a, normally encrypted, file and tells the Web page to reference this file when you log in. If the passwords match, you’re allowed in. If not, you get the password error page.

What happened? A hacker discovered a way to exploit the calendar feature in the LinkedIn mobile app. Basically, when the calendar in LinkedIn was updated, the information, including your password is encrypted and sent to LinkedIn’s servers, which then update your profile with the information. The hacker developed a way to grab the encrypted password data for around 6.4 million users.

The hacker then published the encrypted passwords online for other people to decrypt. LinkedIn has released an update to the mobile apps to plug this leak, but the passwords are still online.

What does this mean for me? The chances of your account’s password being among the ones leaked is pretty small. However, if your password was posted, someone with programming and encryption knowledge could decipher it, and gain access to your account. If this happens, this poses a security risk as they will be able to access any and all data you have stored on that account. Beyond that, if you use the password for other accounts, they could gain access to them also.

How do I know if my password was compromised? LinkedIn knows of the leak and has taken steps to minimize the damage.

1. When you next try to log in to your LinkedIn account, you’ll get a message telling you the password no longer works.
2. LinkedIn has emailed users whose passwords have been leaked informing them to change their password. This email has no links in it, so if you get an email supposedly from LinkedIn with links to change your password, DON’T click on the link. There have been reports of such emails (with links) being sent out. These emails are phishing schemes which aim to steal your password.
3. LinkedIn will send you a follow-up email explaining more about what happened and why you were asked to change your password.

Alternatively, you can go to lastpass.com and test your password.

If you haven’t received an email, your password probably wasn’t leaked. We do suggest that, for security reasons, you change your LinkedIn password as soon as you can. You can do this by:

1. Going to LinkedIn’s website and logging in.
2. Hovering your mouse over your name in the top right corner of the window and selecting Settings from the drop down menu.
3. Clicking on Account located in the pane underneath your profile picture. If you don’t see Account click on the grey shield icon.
4. Selecting Change password and following the instructions.

If you feel that your accounts are unsecured, or would like to enhance your current security, please contact us. We may have a solution for you.

Microsoft enjoys a monopoly on Office suites for desktop computers, although where it’s lacking presence is in the smartphone and tablet markets. Because of this, many businesses are stuck without an office suite that allows them to open, create and edit documents on their Android tablets. App developers have realized this and have answered the call.

Here are four apps that have stepped up as alternatives for Microsoft Office on your Android Tablet.

Kingsoft Office - FREE Kingsoft Office allows you to open and edit Word and Excel files. You can only view PowerPoint and PDF files though. This app will also allow you to create Word and Excel documents. There are three versions of the app on the Google Play store, an English only version, an international version with support for 13 languages and a simplified Chinese version called WPS. If you can read simplified Chinese, go for the WPS version, as it has a few extra features. If not, go for the normal version.

Quickoffice Pro HD - USD 14.99 This app is quick, hence the name. With it you can use your tablet to create, edit and share Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDF files. You can also access and upload documents to major cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Beyond that, you can send files to other users via SMS, email, Bluetooth and social media. Note that there are two versions of this program on the Google Play store. The HD version is for tablets only.

Google Drive - FREE with 5GB storage Google Drive is Google’s cloud storage/collaboration tool. When it was released, Google Docs was rolled into this service. While this app can read Office documents, it does have problems with Office related formatting. If your company uses Google Apps, then Google Drive is the app you should be using. If you’re expecting a full featured document editor, it’s a better idea to look at the other options.

Documents To Go - FREE to USD 14.99 Documents To Go is a free app that allows you to view Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and Google Doc/Drive files. If you download the Full Version, you can create and edit Office files and PDFs. You’ll also be able to download and save Google Drive documents. There are two features that set this app apart. The first is that you can sync files from and to your Windows PC, and the second is that it has a layout that’s simple to use.

These four apps each offer something different, and between them they should meet your needs. If you need help choosing one that’s a perfect fit for you, please get in touch with us.

Computers are great tools that have drastically changed the way we interact with other people and with the environment around us. One piece of equipment that makes it easy for us to use computers is the mouse. A problem with mouse cursors is that they can be nearly impossible to see on larger screens - projectors, etc -, or if you are visually impaired. OS X users don't have to worry however, as they can make their mouse cursors bigger.

Here's how you can adjust the size of your mouse cursor on both OS X 10.7 - Lion - and earlier, and 10.8 - Mountain Lion. If you are unsure of what version of OS X you have, press the Apple icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen and select About This Mac. The version number will be above the Software update button.

OS X 10.7 and earlier Hanging your cursor's size on older versions of OS X is done through the Universal Access panel. You can access this by:

1. Open System Preferences by clicking on the Apple icon in the top right of the screen and selecting System Preferences.
2. Click on Universal Access followed by Mouse or Mouse & Trackpad.
3. Look for the slider bar labeled Cursor Size.

You can slide the blue tab left or right to either increase or decrease the size of the cursor. In OS X 10.6.8 and older, larger cursors will look blocky and pixelated, while 10.7 will show a clean lined pointer.

OS X 10.8 and later Changing the pointer on 10.8, and presumably in new versions to come, has been changed slightly, but the results will be the same as previous versions.

1. Open System Preferences by clicking on the Apple icon in the top right of the screen and selecting System Preferences.
2. Click on Accessibility. You can also hit Command + Option + F5 to bring up the Accessibility menu.
3. Select Display and look for the slider bar labeled Cursor Size.

You can slide the blue tab left of right to increase or decrease the size of the pointer.

The main reason this function exists is to help users who have trouble seeing the pointer. But, this is also convenient for businesses. For example, if you are giving a presentation that will require the audience to keep track of the pointer, you can make it bigger so your audience can see it easier. If you do choose to increase the size of your pointer, beware that if you take a screenshot, the cursor will show as it's normal size.

This is just one of the many features that make OS X a capable system for any business. If you would like to learn more about how it can fit into your business, let us know today.

One of the more common things all business owners and managers need to do is to share files and folders with colleagues and employees. Most will usually just use email, however this does have its limitations. There are numerous other ways to share important information, including utilizing a feature that is built into most operating systems.

If you use Apple's OS X in your company you can share files and folders by using the Public or Shared Folder. This folder can be found by:

1. Opening any file. In the left-hand side of the window scroll down to Places.
2. Clicking on the user account you log into your computer with. This is usually your account name with the house icon beside it.
3. Double-clicking on the Public or Shared Folder.

This folder is set up to share any files that are placed in it with other users on the same computer or network. Depending on the version of OS X you use, you may see a folder labeled Drop Box. This is a folder where you can drop files into for you to see and use, but is not related to Dropbox, the cloud storage program.

How to set up your Shared Folder Regardless of your version of OS X, you should have Shared Folder. You can configure which files and folders you want to share by:

1. Clicking the Apple icon at the top-left of the screen.
2. Selecting System Preferences followed by Sharing.
3. Ticking the box beside File Sharing.
4. Pressing the + under File Sharing and selecting the folder you would like to share, followed by Add.

You'll notice that when you click on the file you chose to share, you will see a black bar that says: Shared Folder across the top of the folder window.

You will also notice the window labeled Users identifies a number of different users, along with the privilege each has. These permissions, which you can apply, dictate what individual users can do with the shared files or folders. There are four different privileges you can assign:

• Read & Write - Users can open, edit, copy and delete files in the folder.
• Read Only - Users can open and copy files out of the folder.
• Write Only (Drop Box) - Users can copy files into the Drop Box folder but can't see what's in the folder. They can overwrite files if they drag and drop a file with the same name into this folder.
• No Access - Users cannot see or access any of the files or folders.

Should my company use this? Using the Shared Folder be a good way to share documents with users within the same network. However, there is little to nothing in the system to keep the files secure. If someone connects to your network, and you have allowed Everyone to see Read & Write they will be able to see, edit and possibly delete files.

It is also a good idea to be aware that the Shared Folder is set to share with anyone connected on the same network. This means that if you connect to another network that isn't in the office, the Shared Folder will be accessible to other users on the same network. This can create a bit of a security issue. To negate this, you should turn off file sharing from the System Preferences, Sharing option if you aren't using it, or are away from your main network.

At the very least you should ensure the sharing permissions are set in a way whereby files aren't accidentally shared. If you would like to learn more about other ways to share files with your colleagues, please contact us, we may have a solution for you.

Facebook is among the most popular websites in the world today. Some see it as a waste of time, others see it as their main communication tool, unrivaled by no other medium. One of the major reasons Facebook is so popular is because of the News Feed. Despite many changes to the overall platform, the News Feed has remained unchanged in almost two years, until recently that is.

Here's an overview of the new changes introduced in Facebook's News Feed overhaul.

Bigger, more engaging content The biggest, most obvious change is that the new News Feed is wider. That's because the menu bar that traditionally has taken up the left-hand side of the window has been more or less removed. It's now a hovering bar that can collapse to the left-side of the screen. If you've seen the recent Android and iPad/iPhone layout, where you can press a button to see your friends menu, it's similar to that.

Because of the new layout, the content shown on the feed is now larger. This means larger images, news stories, events and maps. To better take advantage of this, it is recommended that any images you upload to your profile be around 600X600 pixels - no smaller than 200X200 pixels.

There is another change that could pose useful: When a friend or local business appears on a user's wall, they will see the entire Timeline badge and location if they have allowed it.

New feeds To get the most out the new layout, Facebook has also introduced a number of new News Feeds to explore. Before we get into the new feeds, it would pay to talk about how Facebook has become smarter. Over time, as you comment on posts or share items, Facebook will start to show recommendations based on your past activity. For example if you are sharing news about cloud storage, you will begin to see suggestions around other cloud storage posts, articles or programs that could interest you.

This new layout comes with a few different feeds that can help filter the content you see. The announced feeds are:

• Music - Shows you posts related to the music you listen to. This likely won't be the most useful for the majority of companies out there.
• Photos - Displays only photos that have been uploaded by friends or pages you like. This could be important, especially if you have a visual based profile e.g., restaurants. Because of this new feed, it would be a good idea to ensure you are sharing high-quality images.
• Following - The latest news and information from Pages that you have liked. This feed could be quite interesting to companies, as it only shows Facebook Pages. What this means for most Page owners is that they had better be sharing good content, as they just became more visible.
• All Friends - Shows the traditional News Feed namely everything your friends and Pages you have liked are sharing and commenting on.
• Close Friends - This is a bit of a dangerous view for companies, as it will only show information posted by their friends. All business and ad-related content is not shown.

The same views across all platforms Finally, Facebook has noted that with this new layout, the News Feed will be the same across all devices. No more looking at a completely different News Feed on your phone or tablet. This is a good move, and should increase your company's exposure over time.

If you access Facebook on your mobile phone - Android or iPhone/iPad - you have likely seen the new changes, as the apps were updated in mid March and included the new mobile version of the News Feed. The company started rolling out the new layout on March 7 and has noted that the change will take place over a couple of months. Some lucky users may even have it now.

Looking forward to the new changes? Or, perhaps you are a little apprehensive? Why not contact us today to see how we can help you get the most out of any change Facebook introduces.

Data can be defined as a set of values that belong to a set of items. If you were to look at a series of numbers stored in a spreadsheet, without any labels, you would have a hard time guessing what it is. Only through analysis will it become useful to us. Because there is often so much data around us, it can be tough to actually analyze it and turn it into useful information. It doesn't have to be so hard though.

Here's a brief overview of five data analysis tools that you could use in your business.

BigML

One of the more common uses of data is to help a business manager make predictions. We all know predictions are among the hardest things to do. Enterprises hire staff and invest in systems solely with the aim of making predictions. If you're a small business, you likely don't need expensive software that is hard to use.

Enter BigML. How it works is you define and upload a set of data and format it. BigML will then take that data, help you to create a prediction model which you then can apply 'what-if' variables to and have it generate predictions. The site runs on credits; you pay for a set amount of credits and each part of the process - dataset, model and prediction - is worth a certain amount of credits. Prices start at around USD$6.50 for credits, which gives you 10MB of data, 5MB worth of models and 10K predictions based on this data.

Wolfram|Alpha's Facebook Reports

WolframAlpha is a search engine that collects data and uses algorithms to interpret it. One feature of this site is that you can develop reports, one of the more useful being Facebook Reports. You can access the report feature by clicking here. Alternatively, you can go to the WolframAlpha website and search for Facebook.

This report provides users with a glimpse into their Facebook Page's information. It provides you with information on who are the most active posters, how many shares/likes, etc. you get and other useful information in easy to read charts and graphs. The key here is that the report can show you how customers access your Page and where they come from. You could use this information to see what posts users liked and didn't like, and provide more engaging content.

The basic version of the report is free. More advanced controls and data analysis is available for USD$4.99 a month.

Many Eyes

Many Eyes is a data analysis and visualization tool developed by IBM Research. If you already have data sets then you can upload them to the website and use one of the many different visualization tools to create charts, graphs, etc.

A cool feature of this site is that it has the ability to analyze written documents. Say for example you are writing new content for your website, you can copy and paste the content and get a visual representation of the words you use, how you connect words, etc. If you have a set of keywords you would like to use for SEO and search purposes, you can manually compare them with the visualization. If you notice that an important keyword is missing, or not represented enough, you can go through and re-write the copy a bit.

Best of all, it's free.

Tableau Public

If you have an idea about Business Intelligence, or have worked with data on a regular basis and have sets that are structured, Tableau Public is probably the most powerful free analysis tool available for small businesses.

While powerful, it isn't the most user-friendly of options. To get the most out of this program you are going to need to know the basics behind data analysis. If you feel comfortable with the basics, you'll be creating dashboards, charts, interactive graphs, maps, etc. that look great and can be embedded on your blog or website. Oh yes, did we mention it's free?

Excel

Big data is all the rage these days, it's hard not to hear techies and data specialists talk about it. While it is an important part of many large businesses' data analysis practices, the truth is many small businesses don't need big data just yet. If you have simple data you need to analyze e.g., how many hours have your five employees worked this month? Why not stick with simple spreadsheets like Excel or Google Spreadsheet.

As long as you have data entered in a logical way, you can easily create graphs and charts that can help you visualize and analyze your data.

If you would like help establishing a system that can help you track and analyze your data, please contact us today, we may have a solution that works for you.

It used to be when someone mentioned “cloud” we’d think of the sky. Now we think of apps like Dropbox and Google Drive. The term has been used for a number of years now, and many business owners are well aware of it and most likely use one form of cloud technology. The only problem is many are unclear on the terminology associated with this topic.

Here are 10 of the most common cloud terms and what they mean.

• Cloud. Cloud is the general term applied to anything that uses the Internet to provide an end user (in most cases, you) a service. Your information is hosted on a company’s servers and is accessed via an Internet connection. A good way to think of it is it’s equivalent to ordering delivery from a restaurant. Say you want Thai food, but don’t have the ingredients, so you have someone else do all the work and bring it to you.
• Cloud OS (operating system). A cloud operating system is an OS delivered via the Internet. The OS isn’t physically on your system, it’s located in a company's servers and you use a physical computer to access it. Windows Azure is an example of a cloud OS.
• Cloud provider. A company that provides a cloud service, storage and servers, usually for a fee. Google is one of the most well known cloud providers.
• Cloud storage. A cloud service that allows users to store data in another location, away from their computer, and access it using the Internet.
• Disruptive technology. A technology that’s so different and innovative it changes the way things are done. The cloud is a disruptive technology as it’s changed the way business is being done.
• Data center. What IT companies call the building where cloud servers are housed.
• IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service. This is the term used to describe any virtualized service being offered to a user. This can include virtualized servers, maintenance and software.
• PaaS - Platform as a Service. This term is used to describe any computing platform being offered over the Internet, normally the OS and related software. Google Chrome OS is considered to be a PaaS.
• SaaS - Software as a Service. The term applied to a single piece of software that’s offered over the Internet. Users access the software using the Internet and don’t need to install it on their computer. Gmail is considered to be SaaS.
• Client. Despite what many believe, the client is not the person who buys a cloud service. It’s what a user uses to access the cloud service. Computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones are all clients.

While there are many different cloud services out there, these terms are generally applied to all of them. If you’d like to learn more about the cloud and how you can utilize it in your business, please contact us.