The secret to organizing yourself is to make sure that you have the proper programs and files for your PC, laptop or mobile device.
Communication
This may not concern you much if you’re only in the office, but if you are in marketing, sales, or any other department where you have to go out in the field, then communication applications or programs are very, very important to how you do business.
The business standard for communication is still e-mail, thanks to the fact that your office’s home server or e-mail service provider can keep logs of all messages, having a perfect paper trail for business conversations and other important information sent online.
Real-time Messaging
These days, instant or real-time messaging is part of our lives – most particularly in the way we use social media. For businesses, however, this can also mean video conferences and scheduled conversations with clients. On the plus side, you can shorten turnaround time for approvals, be it internally or with clients. On the other hand, this also means that you can’t escape work unless you totally shut down your online business presence.
PBX and VoIP services
It used to be that PBX phone systems were al the rage in corporate structures. Your local number was your information gateway. These days, the PBX system can be virtual, by using VoIP technology. This way, you can hook up your online messages and even landline crossovers to your local number. Even better, your local number can be transferred to your PC, your phone, or even your mobile device – it depends on how versatile your communication setup is.
Fax and Landlines
Even in this day and age, there is still a need for fax messages, as you sometimes need s solid piece of paper for some documents. Landlines, too, shouldn’t be ignored. Even if many people think of them as last-generation backup systems, with the integration of landlines and fax services into VoIP business phone services, you can literally send an e-mail as a fax message, or receive a fax as an e-mail message. You can also cross over from using a voice message online to call someone’s landline up. These are all old-hat tricks now, and they can help the old communication networks adapt to the new times.
Security
Many people don’t think about information and data security issues until they are the ones who get hit by leaks. Standard desktop and laptop operating systems have security settings, so even if you leave them on and go away from your desk, they can go into a secured password mode automatically after some time, or you can put them in secure mode using a few button presses. It’s the same for your mobile device.
Storage
The final thing to think about is data or information storage. You first have to figure out if you do need cloud-based memory, considering that your company may have rules about how data should be managed, particularly those which are sensitive in nature. Second, you may have to think about how you access it. It’s a case of where security and storage concerns dovetail into each other. Is it a good idea to keep important information in a USB drive? Or is it safer to have it over a secure connection to a online cloud storage service? Sometimes, the answer may even be that you shouldn’t access company information once you’re outside the premises, unless it’s for a client presentation or meeting.