8 • IT, technology & communications
technology to boost productivity from colleagues working in diff erent locations. These apps can help business teams manage key workplace functions.
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FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULING LATER Plan a month’s worth of social media content on Later for automated posting. The app fl ags the best time to post, whilst the
Linkin.bio feature tracks analytics on Instagram to highlight which posts drive traffi c and which attract likes that convert into sales. From £14.95 per month for one set of social profi les;
later.com
Apps for businesses
Boosting productivity has never been easier. Words by Natasha Stokes
PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTING APPS/GETTY
FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASANA Virtually juggle projects on Asana, an intuitive program for organising workfl ows. Project managers can assign tasks, add deadlines and get status reports, while premium subscribers can set up rules to automate routine processes. Free for up to 15 users; from £9.49 per user per month for the Premium off ering;
asana.com
FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION SLACK Slack is becoming indispensable for building community in hybrid work. Channels for teams and projects create a virtual space where
Business Guide - brought to you by APL Media •Wednesday 15 February 2023
s companies settle into hybrid working, they rely more than ever on the right
employees can share updates, fi les, achievements and ideas, while doing away with time-costly emails. Paid subscribers can invite up to 50 members of a channel to join a virtual huddle via either an audio or video call. Free, or from £5.75 per user per month;
slack.com
FOR CREATIVE PLANNING MINDOMO Visualise ideas and plan projects on mind-mapping tool Mindomo. Employees can virtually gather for strategy meetings, with formatting options allowing for a range of engaging layouts, while a comments feature allows users to give instant feedback. Hyperlinks, attachments, text notes, images and video help beef up mind maps, with presenter mode showing them slide-by-slide. From £4.85 per month per user; free version with up to three mind maps;
mindomo.com
FOR VIDEO CONFERENCING ZOOM With a top-notch free version that allows 40-minute meetings for up to 100 attendees, Zoom suits businesses of all sizes. It’s easy to use, with screen share and virtual background features easing the process of meeting by video. Integration with tools like Slack and Salesforce make it easy to launch meetings with colleagues or clients. Free, or from £11.99 per host per month;
zoom.com
FOR PRODUCTIVITY MICROSOFT 365 FOR BUSINESS PREMIUM This comprehensive productivity suite packs in nearly all a business needs: powerful desktop and web apps for offi ce fi les, excellent security with customisable permissions, Teams video conferencing, 1TB of cloud storage, plus an appointment booking app for clients. £16.60 per user per month, with a one-month free trial;
microsoft.com
FOR BETTER ACCOUNTING QUICKBOOKS Small businesses can simplify bookkeeping with this smart app that tracks expenses and income, creates and sends invoices, and receives online payments. Higher-tier plans include VAT submission direct to HRMC, time tracking, fi nancial forecasts and features for dealing with bills, tracking inventory and measuring profi tability. From £14 a month;
quickbooks.intuit.com
FOR HR NEEDS RIPPLING Simplify the process of employee onboarding and payment with Rippling, a highly customisable app for managing workforces. A core module hosts employee data and document management, with bolt-on modules to handle payroll, benefi ts, training, satisfaction surveys and more. From £7 per month;
rippling.com
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Putting people and the planet fi rst
If that headline made you continue reading, then maybe your values and purposes are aligned with IT Naturally’s
Managed Service Provider, IT Naturally is eagerly awaiting news of its B Corp application, a certifi cation that will show the high standards it sets across a range of factors including its people and the planet. In 2022, the UN said the tech
industry’s carbon footprint was between 2% and 3% but research shows this is growing rapidly. So, the sector has a huge responsibility when it comes to sustainability. So how do you go about balancing
the need for your IT systems to just work while reducing its environmental impact?
THREE THINGS TO CONSIDER: 1. Optimise your storage; for example, don’t have countless backups in place of the same thing. IT Naturally recommends you apply the 3-2-1 rule of backup: three sets of data (production and two copies), two backup copies, and one backup copy in a geographically separate location (this could be in another cloud)
2. Optimise your cloud; migrate to a more sustainable provider, remove
apps and programmes you’re not using, to help the planet and reduce your costs
3. Reduce your e-waste; in 2019, 53.6 million tonnes was produced, a rise of 21% in fi ve years. If every one of us in the UK sent one less email a day, it’s reported we’d save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year — the equivalent of 81,152 fl ights to Madrid.
These steps are all part of the ‘IT Naturally Way’ an MSP that’s created a culture of effi ciency across its company alongside its human-centric attitude. Yes, of course, this managed
service provider has ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013, Cyber Essentials and all their practices for IT service management follow rigid ITIL processes but it’s the people and making the world a better place that drives the company forward. When it comes to people, everyone
comes fi rst. Customers receive the highest levels of service, which is consistently rewarded with a high NPS score of 90, when the industry average is 42.
The company’s team get a vast
array of benefi ts, including an unlimited training budget for everyone and time each week to learn through LinkedIn Learning. That’s the IT Naturally way.
For more information
Visit:
ITNaturally.com T: 01733 964 963
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