Cut costs with IT investment

Reach new markets with ebusiness

You might have a website, but do you have a plan to use your site and e-mail to break into new markets? An effective online strategy will see you conducting business transactions in real time, improving communications with customers and suppliers, and reducing overheads by moving more of your sales to the lower-cost online channel. Developing and following through on your online strategy is an area where specialist expertise can help. Ask your internet service provider or a web design company to help you. Your strategy should encompass a compelling website, reliable back-end systems, web hosting that can withstand high loads and robust security, including secured e-payments for your website.

Develop a mobile working strategy for your workforce

Most SMEs who use the internet now do so via a broadband connection. But are you making the most of it? Deploying a mobile working strategy is a simple way to improve productivity and drive efficiencies by making working practices much more flexible. Employees can access the company network remotely with laptops or smartphones using wireless broadband technologies such as Wi-Fi hotspots. This means time is not lost when employees are out attending meetings, and important action points can be acted upon in real time. Do take care, however, to partner with a reliable, experienced wireless broadband provider -- they can advise you on your mobile working strategy and whether you could benefit from protecting remote connections with a virtual private network (VPN).

Prioritise security, inside and out

The growth in online security threats and the losses endured by Irish firms has been tremendous, but robust protection is possible. If you don't have your own dedicated internal IT department, consider working with a skilled partner who can provide customised antivirus, anti-spam and other IT security services to protect your network and help prevent lost productivity and financial loss due to security incidents. In eircom we can assist you with the implementation of this and you can be sure these basic defences are in place:

• Up-to-date antivirus software
• Firewall on the company network
• Regularly updated security patches for your Microsoft and other essential software.

Discover the easy way to recover from computer failure

Technology can make a strategic difference to your business when it comes to preparing for and recovering from IT incidents like computer failure or an on-site disaster. Forget manual tape back-up -- online back-up services can back-up data much more efficiently and cost-effectively, automatically move it to an off-site facility, archive it and restore it quickly, all over broadband. Best of all, online back-up providers such as eircom can monitor the back-up process at all times, and can instantly detect and remedy problems at any stage in the back-up or recovery process. This ensures any downtime is minimised and dips in productivity are avoided.

Speak to your Account Manager to learn more about eircom online software.

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