HowTo - Business channel

How To make technology work for your business

8 Sep 2011 09:31:49

Chris and Fiona are here joined by Michael Wilson to talk about why small business owners should grasp the opportunities available to them via technology

How to make your business more environmentally friendly

5 May 2011 11:52:58

In this How To video, Paul Mutter, Manager of a national engineering company, Paul Rhodes, Business Development & Operations Manager at London and Kent Metals and business expert Dan Matthews, show you how you can profit from a change in direction.

How To Benefit From Virtualisation

13 Nov 2009 10:40:40

Nearly two-thirds of leading IT professionals believe their infrastructures are not flexible enough to meet the changing business priorities, according to research released. Of the 200 top IT professionals surveyed in Fujitsu’s new report entitled Dynamic Infrastructures and the Future of IT, 61% feel that their IT infrastructure will have to be more flexible in order to cope with present economic conditions.

How to Banish the Workplace Blues

19 Jul 2010 10:30:58

One in three young workers start the working week filled with dread. Whether it's the thought of having to work through lunch, sit through endless meetings, talk to the office bore or avoid the office letch, very few of us begin the week with a genuine spring in our step. But what would make you happier at work and banish that Monday morning misery?

Adopt flexible working practices

18 Feb 2009 14:50:56

With the freezing February weather holding the country in its icy grip, estimates of how much the snow and ice has cost British businesses runs into billions.

However a leading business consultant says firms that have enabled their staff to work flexibly rather than having to come into the office will not only survive this weather crisis but also more likely to survive the recession.

Peter Thomson, founder of the Future Work Forum and Director of Wisework is calling on firms not to abandon smarter working practices as the recession deepens. He says too many businesses see flexible, mobile working as simply an employee benefit and an easy target when reviewing business overheads.

In recent years many companies have adopted flexible working practices allowing staff to work when and where they can rather than insist they are chained to the office desk from nine to five. And with the snow and ice preventing thousands of employees from travelling, flexible working has allowed them to carry on working wherever they are.

A new study of more than 1,000 SMEs shows a clear link between enabling mobile working and business success. The research, commissioned by telecoms specialist Plantronics reveals that SMEs with fully ‘mobile’ workforces were 60% more likely to be forecasting growth in 2009 compared to businesses that do not enable their employees to work remotely. However, less than four out of ten small businesses say their own workforce is equipped to work where and when they can.

Thomson says there is a real risk to firms who steer away from flexible working in a downturn; “Smarter working practices can save costs as well as improve efficiency. Technology solutions can make fewer people more productive and the SMEs that are more agile are the ones most likely to survive the downturn”.

The full results of the landmark study have been compiled into a survival guide for business – (Downloadable here: http://www.be-a-super-sme.com/advice) The plan is comprised of a ten-point checklist for anyone running their own business and includes tips on where (and how) to focus investment in leaner economic times.

To view Peter Thomson challenging some of the many myths around flexible working and explaining why mobile working is not just good for employees but is increasingly critical for business watch our HowTo video.

For more information visit: http://www.be-a-super-sme.com/advice

How to choose your first server

11 Feb 2009 16:15:48

If you'd like to find out more about the advantages in investing in a server please go to www.dell.com/sb360 and click on networking for more tips and information.

Use Facebook for your Small Business

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

Wiggly Wigglers, a rural England-based natural gardening company, was awarded the Dell Global Small Business Excellence Award by Dell and its global partners for its innovation and leadership in socialsocial media. Using tools like Facebook, podcasting and blogging, Wiggly Wigglers:

Serves 90,000 customers worldwide and delivers its products across Europe;
Cut its advertising budget by 80 percent when the company turned to social media over traditional advertising;
Facebook fans currently stand at 898, with over 170 discussion topics;
Hosts podcasts from the "Wiggly sofa" reaching thousands of listeners per week, and
Built its catalogue based on Wiki ideas generated on its Facebook page by experts and customers.

How To Protect Your Data

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

IT budgets can be tight for small businesses, so many times data protection options may not make the cut. However, a business that chooses to operate without a safety net is taking a serious risk. Losing critical business data can be crippling for most business and for some a loss that they simply can't recover.

Plenty of options are available for local backup protection ranging in sizes and speeds, but without an off-site storage option your business' data may still be at risk.

If your business operates in more than one physical location your backup options may need to grow accordingly.

To find out more about protecting your business, please www.dell.co.uk/storagelearningcenter

How To Centralise Your Storage

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

Every business generates its own unique type of data and documents ranging from simple inventories and basic content information to the most detailed client strategies and production schedules. But regardless of data's particular flavour, all that information has to live somewhere.

How a business stores its data between computers can definitely impact the company's output, sometimes in unexpected ways. This is particularly true for centralised storage.

On top of those benefits, gathering your information in one place can actually save your business money on storage hardware. With each document only taking up space in one location, less hard drive area is used than if the same document was being stored on each individual user system.

To find out more about centralising your data storage please visit www.dell.co.uk/storagelearningcenter

How To Understand RSS Feeds

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

This video will show you how to create your own RSS feed, and how it will help you become a better marketer. We'll keep it as basic as possible and try to avoid technical jargon.

First of all, what is an RSS feed and how does it work? It's a way to syndicate and distribute information about your business and products, and it brings traffic and attention to your website. Think of it as a subscription, your readers get an alert every time you distribute a feed. So how do you start creating a feed? If you understand HTML you'll probably understand enough to cut and paste from another RSS file, and replace it with your own information. If you don't understand HTML follow the steps in this video.

How To Work Mobile - Get your business mobile

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

This jargon-free introduction to mobile working looks at the different challenges you and your business face to stay in touch with customers and colleagues when leaving the office to go on the road.

How To Work Mobile - Keep in touch with your business on the move

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

What's the quickest and simplest solution to keep across emails and calls when you're out and about meeting clients? This video shows you how to do it most efficiently, and cost-effectively.

How To Work Mobile - Work on the move

22 May 2009 20:16:55

Ever have to actually do the work while on the move? This video reveals how to get the right IT set-up so you can work and stay in contact with your office systems when on the road.

How To Work Mobile - Take a team on the road

26 Jan 2009 10:43:32

If you have to get an IT system set up, instantly, anywhere, anytime, with access for a small team to a network, emails and internet, then this video shows how to do just that.in a building site, of all places.