Is the Internet of Things Growing Too Fast for Everyone’s Good?
The Internet of Things is no longer a pipe dream that could become a major influencer in the technology market. It is now a reality, and as such, you need to take measures to ensure that it doesn’t become a major issue for your business. How big is the Internet of Things, truly, and how does this influence your business? Is there even any hope that you can protect yourself from it? Read on to find out.
Why the Internet of Things is Here to Stay
There are a lot of connected devices nowadays, but not all of them have a very practical purpose. Some of the more practical uses of connected technology range from security systems to thermostats, but other technologies can’t necessarily be justified so easily. Why would a blender need to connect to the Internet? There are many more that are being added every day, which is why a lot of companies are concerned about this rise in connected technology.
Why the Internet of Things is Here to Stay
There are a lot of connected devices nowadays, but not all of them have a very practical purpose. Some of the more practical uses of connected technology range from security systems to thermostats, but other technologies can’t necessarily be justified so easily. Why would a blender need to connect to the Internet? There are many more that are being added every day, which is why a lot of companies are concerned about this rise in connected technology.
The Internet of Things accounts for connected devices that have some sort of connective features. It’s not out of the question for these devices to find themselves on your business’ network, with or without your permission. Therefore, it’s critical that you have a plan in place to control how their activity influences your company. If you don’t, you could be risking your business’ integrity.
Of course, it helps to know where the Internet of things will be heading in the near future–particularly if you want to prepare adequately for it. Let’s take a look at what trends the IoT will bring in the future, and how you can prepare yourself for them.
The Internet of Things will be Commercialized
There has been a new initiative to further commercialize Internet of Things data in European countries. As reported by Forbes, the European Commission is going to follow in the footsteps of the United States by commercializing data collected with Internet of Things devices. In fact, 45% of data analytics decision makers already use this kind of IoT data, whereas only about 35 percent of French and 38% of companies in France and Germany do so.
Demand for Wearables will Dwindle, but Marketers will Benefit
Even though 12 million smartwatches will likely be sold by the end of 2018, the folks over at Forrester predict that wearables will remain a niche with limited practical uses. Even if they are relatively popular for their user-friendly interfaces, there will be limited vertical growth in more professional settings. For an example of just how user-friendly and convenient this technology can be, look to Amazon’s Alexa.
IoT will be Included in Design and Integration Planning
Prior trends showcased that Internet of Things devices could be used to collect and disseminate information. While this is still true today, there will be a greater focus on designing around these capabilities. Devices will still collect data in much the same way, but there will a greater emphasis placed on the software used behind the scenes that processes it and turns it into something that can glean insights. A similar approach should also be done for your infrastructure so that you don’t have to worry so much about managing individual devices.
How is your business preparing for the Internet of Things in 2018? Catalyst Technology Group can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (317) 705-0333.
Troubleshooting a Patchy Internet Connection
Most businesses utilize the Internet in some fashion, and a slow connection can be a major annoyance and inconvenience. Thankfully, there are several ways that you can improve or troubleshoot your connection in the event that it’s suffering. Here are some of the ways you can make sure your Internet connection remains as consistent as possible.
Check for Router Problems
If your office uses a wireless connection to access the Internet, you might be having a problem with your router. Using the same router for years and years is a great way to make sure that your business falls behind the times. You want to be taking advantage of only the most advanced Internet standards available. Therefore, the best way to make sure that your business’ Internet connection stays up to date is by upgrading to a new router periodically.
If your router is relatively up to date, the issue could lie in the location of the router. Most offices will be too large for a single router to handle. Other offices might have walls or other obstructions weakening it. You can try elevating the router to see if this helps with the interference.
Interference from Appliances and Devices
Older routers operate at the 2.4GHz frequency. Microwaves also operate on this frequency, as well as various other appliances that you might have around the office or break area. The more devices like this that you have, the more interference will be out there that could affect your Internet connection. The best way to avoid your business’ Internet connection being tied up with extra devices is by implementing a router that functions on multiple frequencies.
Outdated Services from Your ISP
If your Internet hasn’t been up to snuff, perhaps the problem is your Internet Service Provider (ISP). If your business has undergone plenty of growth recently, your bandwidth might not be enough to satisfy the needs of your current business situation. Give them a call to see if they can do anything to help your connectivity issues.
If you’re having technology problems, you know who to call. Catalyst Technology Group can help with just about any and all issues related to your business’ technology. To learn more, reach out to us at (317) 705-0333.
Tip of the Week: Your Productivity Doesn’t Depend on the Internet
It is an expectation for the modern business to rely on the Internet in order to complete its daily function. As a result, anytime there is an Internet outage, many employees may find themselves lacking purpose or direction. However, a lack of Internet doesn’t have to mean a lack of productivity. For this week’s tip, we’ll review some ways your staff can be productive without an Internet connection.
Keeping Things Organized
Office clutter happens. It is the natural side effect of a team being focused on getting task after task completed. If the files on your local network need some reorganization, or the workspace itself needs a little TLC, an Internet outage provides an ideal time to tidy things up a bit.
A tidy workspace will benefit the organization as a whole, as well as each employee. After all, the fewer distractions that an employee has on their desk, the easier it is for them to stay focused (and the easier it is for someone else to find a resource should that employee be away from the office that day).
Furthermore, it is much easier for one to find things in an organized closet or cabinet than one that has everything thrown in and piled up without any rhyme or reason, which translates to saved time. Using the time that the Internet is down to go through your storage and organize it will allow you to achieve an important task without sacrificing another.
If you can still access your internal network’s data storage, an Internet outage also presents the opportunity to reorganize this storage space as well. Using folders to organize the files on your desktop into a logical system of categorization will also help you to find them later when they can be used to achieve something.
Team Building
While technology has enabled businesses and their employees to experience greater connectivity than ever before, this has also contributed to the seemingly opposite effect of creating some barriers between team members as well. After all, it is much harder to build the interpersonal relationship that develops into the synergism that you want and expect from your team when most of their communication takes place through a screen. Additionally, this synergism will often have a positive benefit when collaboration is part of your team’s responsibilities. Therefore, it only makes sense to encourage the development of these interpersonal relationships when the Internet doesn’t allow for typical workplace duties to be completed.
As they wait for their Internet access to come back, your team can hold meetings that don’t need the Internet in order to be run. These meetings could even be relatively simple brainstorming sessions where new ideas can be shared freely. Alternatively, you might encourage your teams to reach out to departments they don’t often do business with in order to get to know the other people who work alongside them.
This can benefit management as much as it benefits the workforce. If you and the rest of your management team reach out to employees with the intent of getting to know each other better, you can better shape your management style. By doing so, you encourage your employees to be more engaged and communicative, and you can personalize your approach to each employee for the highest impact.
Mobile Devices
While there are times that an improperly used mobile device can be a detriment to office focus and productivity, there are also times that these devices, leveraged properly, can be your best bet if you want productivity to be preserved. Mobile devices provide the chance that, if your business’ Internet should fail, your employees could continue their work. With the right proactive planning, your workforce could continue their tasks through the use of their own mobile data, with reimbursement dictated by a Bring Your Own Device strategy, or on a device that your company provides. If you’d like help in developing any of these measures, Catalyst Technology Group can provide that assistance.
In the meantime, what do you do to help stay productive when the Internet fails? Share some of your ideas with us in the comments!
Voice over Internet Protocol Is a Cost-Effective Telephone Solution for Almost Any Business
Running a business isn’t getting any cheaper–in fact, it’s only getting more expensive. This drives businesses to save as much as possible on operations and business-critical applications. One of the best ways to cut out unnecessary costs is to implement software solutions that spread-out costs over a span of time. You too can take advantage of the cloud to gain access to critical communication solutions.
One of the most important parts of communication is a phone solution, and that’s where Voice over Internet Protocol comes into play. VoIP can help you reduce the costs of communications for your organization in many ways, including hardware costs, fee structures, and mobility.
Hardware Costs
Hosted VoIP can be a great way to take full advantage of your phone solution without all of the troubles associated with it. Telephone lines can be a pain to install during the implementation process, but more than this, it can be expensive. You can use your business’s Internet connection to bypass all of this work, adding new users on demand without running new wires or rearranging your office.
A hosted VoIP system also takes advantage of completely removing the PBX hardware required by most traditional telephone providers. In fact, the PBX system itself can cost as much as several thousand dollars per user. Even a small PBX rollout could become a considerable investment compared to the rather modest expense of a hosted VoIP solution.
Fee Structures
The largest expense for a telephone system is how many minutes are spent while communicating. Consider how much cost your business accumulates in long distance calling every month. Even though most of your calls will be made to local organizations, it’s likely that any long distance minutes accumulated will be a major expense. Just think–if you got rid of this, you would be able to actually make some headway in reducing the overall costs of your telephone system. Hosted VoIP offers a way to accomplish this.
On the other hand, your Internet service is pr actically mandatory to keep business running, and it doesn’t cost all that much compared to traditional telephone services. You can just purchase the service speed that you need and eliminate unnecessary costs. VoIP service rates are also quite competitive compared to traditional telephony. Add in the value of having someone else manage and maintain the system, as well as a monthly payment per user, and you have a spectacular addition that offers your organization scalability and flexibility.
Mobility
Perhaps the most important part of VoIP is the ability to add mobility to your phone system. Traditionally, your landline is unable to move from desk-to-desk without considerable trouble. On the other hand, VoIP offers mobile applications that you can find in the Android and Apple app stores. These mobile solutions allow your employees to pick and choose how they stay in touch with the office. These applications can also be run over Wi-Fi, and can take advantage of a virtual private network (VPN) so that they can be as useful as possible for saving your organization capital.
If you are itching to try out a new mobile solution, we recommend considering VoIP. To learn more, reach out to Catalyst Technology Group at (317) 705-0333.
It’s Time to Write a Eulogy for the Internet as We Know It
The Internet is prone to change. We all know this and have experienced it firsthand. Even though we may understand this reality, it can still be rather shocking when we’re confronted with it. The latest statistics show us how the current changes of the Internet have huge implications about how we’ll all interact with the web moving forward, which may spell doom for doing “online business as usual.”
A recent report by Forrester reveals that we are spending 85 percent of our time on our mobile phones using apps, and only 15 percent in the browser. Pair this with another major trend that saw a tipping point in 2014 when more people began accessing the Internet through mobile apps than desktop computers, and you really begin to see clearly just how the web is truly changing.
By changing, we mean that people are spending far less time on their desktops (and dramatically more so on their mobile devices) perusing the Internet by going from website to website, and far more of their time online using mobile apps. Does this mean you, as a business owner, should therefore shift all of your online efforts to mobile apps?
Not necessarily, seeing as another finding from Forrester’s study shows that people are spending 85 percent of their time on their mobile device utilizing only five apps, which includes obvious apps such as Facebook and Google.
As net neutrality continues to be threatened by legislation influenced by special interests, the trend shown by these statistics threaten the same freedoms we enjoy online, only from a different angle. That angle: the business interests of a handful of companies that own these popular mobile platforms will end up dominating and controlling the online conversation. Business2Community describes it like this: “This reality on the commercial web is now being revealed as we are witnessing the rise of a duopoly. Google and Facebook. Today 90 percent of all advertising growth on digital is coming from these two companies.”
Now, don’t get us wrong, as long as there’s an Internet you’ll still be able to publish your message (whether it be personal or professional) in the same ways that were popular 10 years ago before the iPhone hit the scene (like using websites, forums, email, etc.). It’s just that, good luck getting anybody to actually listen to your message without the help of Facebook and Google to drive traffic to your site. Furthermore, online content that’s not tailored for mobile will continue to lose influence as the Internet continues to evolve in the ways that it is.
While the vast majority of us are powerless to stop such changes, all those who value the open Web have every right to mourn what the web’s becomining. An appropriate eulogy can be found in the words of Tim Berners-Lee’s (the inventor of the World Wide Web) 1995 utopian vision of how the Internet can change the world for good. Berners-Lee described his vision of the web as “an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities, and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries.”
While the web is more accessible and “open” today than ever before, one must put an asterisk at the end of this 1995 statement that communicates, “at the terms of Google and Facebook.”
From a business standpoint, the ongoing changes of the Internet presents a challenge that’s inherent with the use of any technology–the challenge to keep up with and anticipate trends, and to adapt your business model accordingly. Technology can change suddenly and you owe it to the continuity of your business to be in the know. Thankfully, you’ve got the technology experts at Catalyst Technology Group to navigate this changing world of technology for you.