JT's Small Business Toolkit: Taking your business and services digital
JT Group Limited
@JT_Business
Now more than ever, companies can reap numerous rewards from digitisation, including cutting costs, boosting customer engagement, making smarter data-driven decisions, and develop new revenue streams from online audiences. A successful transition to digital involves leveraging the best digital tools to transform your business.
and services into a digital environment, offering insights into the most important elements and tools to help along the way. What is the very first tool you need to get sorted? The right broadband. Wi-Fi connection fuels a digital business, and is a critical tool for staying connected and available for customers 24/7. We explore more on the following page.
Digitisation can be a long, complex transition for companies of all sizes, so choosing the right tools will help facilitate a smooth shift. To help you get started, this guide will explore the fundamentals of taking your business
JT Group Limited
@JT_Business
www.jtglobal.com/business
Susan Sproston Head of Business Sales
The power of Hyperfast Fibre Broadband JT's Fibre for Business service (Professional Broadband) includes additional features unavailable in domestic (or residential) broadband packages. This is to equip organisations with the level of bandwidth they require to deliver and market their services. JT Fibre for Business offers hyperfast speeds of up to 1Gb/s. As a result, uploading media (videos, audio), large business files and using data-heavy software packages is handled quickly and seamlessly. Our JT Fibre for Business service offers organisations numerous benefits, including fixed IP addresses and low contention ratios (as low as 10:1) that ensure businesses have the high-speed connectivity which is so important for maintaining efficient, smooth workflows. Wondering what a contention ratio or a Fixed IP is? We’ll cover that in just a moment (right).
10:1
Contention ratios: Why do they matter to your business?
Contention ratio refers to the number of users sharing the same broadband line — in the case of a 10:1 ratio, 9 other offices or properties are reliant on your connection, too. 10:1 is a low contention ratio, with residential packages being much higher (anything from 20:1, to 40:1 or more). With a high contention ratio, many people share one broadband line, creating greater potential for your connection to slow down, particularly during high usage times — daytimes for offices.
Fixed IP address: Why does it matter for your business? An IP (Internet Protocol) address is the unique number assigned to your device when you go online. A dynamic IP address changes each time you go online, even through the same devices. However, fixed IP addresses remain identical. The main advantage of a fixed IP address is that your business can host its own website rather than relying on an external service, and set-up a dedicated email server for better control of communications. Fixed IP addresses are also more stable. Kirstie Flour Patisserie
Drew Locke's Coffee
What other services are critical when digitising your business? Digitising your company involves a combination of different tools and services, no matter how big or small your business may be. Additional resources will be required when scaling, too. Here are the most important services to consider during the process of digitising your business:
Flexible telephony As businesses the world over embrace digitisation and remote working, switching to cloud-based storage and platforms enables most employees to do their job (or, at least, parts of it) wherever they are, as long as they have an internet connection. This includes customer support agents interacting with dozens of people each day or chasing up delivery companies to locate missing packages. Investing in a solid, stable phone set-up enables remote and in-house workers to communicate quickly, clearly, and with multiple people at the same time. Conversations between clients, colleagues, stakeholders, marketers, and other key parties must be facilitated using the best technologies available. Nothing can disrupt the flow of conversation like a sudden disconnection.
JT Group Limited
@JT_Business
JT’s Cloud PBX is an IPbased telephony service designed for organisations on all scales, empowering workers to operate at their most productive at home or in the office. This is accessible via mobile devices, and laptops with a Fixed IP address. It includes such essential features as audio conferencing, audio recording (for training or legal purposes), voicemail, Outlook integration, and more.
Find out more >
www.jtglobal.com/business
The right tech to maximise productivity Whether working from home or the office, the right hardware is critical to make the most of your digitisation. JT can help you and your team source anything from monitors, PCs, laptops, tablets, smart and other office equipment. Contact us on business.solutions@jtglobal.com for more information.
Digital collaboration: Maintain flexibility and overcome the challenges of remote work. Digitising your business creates an opportunity to offer employees the flexibility to work from home some or all of the time. Digital communication tools enable workforces to collaborate as they always have, no matter how many miles may separate employees. Leveraging collaboration tools helps businesses maintain a strong company culture, even when entire teams work remotely. A clear, strong culture is important for uniting employees towards accomplishing shared goals, recognising the value of their work, and making them feel part of something special. Cisco Webex Teams is a cloud-based service empowering teams to work together in real-time, facilitating meetings, calls, and messaging for total convenience.
If your teams are using their personal devices to enable more flexibility and home working there are potential security risks to consider here, too. Establish policies to specify what employees can and can’t do when accessing business tools or data remotely.
This includes the adaptors required to connect your laptop to a monitor for a dualscreen set-up. This is much more convenient and comfortable if you miss using two monitors at the office. Check your device manuals or manufacturers’ websites for more information on which adaptors you need (HDMI, VGA, etc.). This useful guide demonstrates how to set-up additional monitors in Windows.
Find out more >
Connecting email accounts and calendars, syncs meetings automatically, saving time and preventing appointments from being forgotten, thanks to reminders. Either equip employees with work-only smartphones and tablets, or encourage them to install the proper apps they require to stay productive wherever they are.
Try these useful Outlook training videos >
You can find more security tips when working remotely in our cybersecurity guide.
Find out more >
Video calls that get everyone talking
Here are a few tips:
Video conferencing is a core element of running a business, particularly when working with remote teams. But equipping yourself with the tech (laptop, smartphone) and tools (Webex Teams) for video calls is just the first step. The next is knowing how to make video calls properly.
Mitel MiTeam Meetings are offering licences on a free 6-month trial*
1
Check your hardware before hosting or joining a call
Is your camera uncovered, are you presentable, and is anything potentially sensitive removed from the view of others?
2
Mute your side of the conversation when you’re not talking
This prevents background noise interfering with others’ concentration.
3
Try to avoid distractions
Such as apps or websites running in other tabs.
4 Take video calls seriously
Contact our Business Solutions Team to find out more >
Even informal chats with colleagues you know well — don’t be late, and value the time of others.
5
Make sure that everyone on the call has had their chance to speak
You’ll always have one person in a meeting who’s more dominant, but when you take that call online, it can be even harder to rebalance air time and hear from everyone.
All information regarding free trials accurate at date of publication.
*
You can find more advice on safe, secure, effective video calling in our cybersecurity guide.
Find out more >
JT Group Limited
@JT_Business
www.jtglobal.com/business
Defining the cloud and IaaS Using the cloud involves using software and services via the internet rather than keeping files, programs and other data on your own physical server, computer or mobile device. It’s that simple.
JT offers multiple cloud services for businesses From startups on tight budgets to international companies looking to digitise.
Contact our Business Solutions Team to find out more >
Cloud IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) gives your business access to cloud-based storage and networking, eliminating the need for on-site data centres or storage. Security is included, too. Cloud backup keeps data backed up and ready to restore in the event of a disaster such as a fire or flood. If you’ve ever worked in an office that had a physical server you connected to, then you’ll appreciate how valuable cloud-based working can be. No more server crashes, no more moving important documents onto your desktop before you head out for a meeting — it’s all available at the click of a button.
Effective security measures to safeguard your business Strong cybersecurity is paramount when digitising your business. You have to take steps to keep your systems and your data secured at all times.
Essentially, a firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network, and will be the 1st line of defence to protect you from cyber-attack.
JT offer Cybersecurity Services to businesses of all sizes, including Managed Firewalls, DDoS Attack Protection, Secure Data Centres, and Dedicated Business Continuity Suites.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are when hackers use a global network of compromised devices to flood your network, causing your services to shut down.
Keep your business online. Find out more about JT's Cybersecurity Services >
Are you wondering, ‘What’s the difference between Next Generation and Traditional Firewalls?’ — Watch this short video, where we’ll breakdown the major differences.
Watch here
Taking your services online: website building basics Whether you’re focused on setting up an online shop or establishing an online presence to generate more leads, you’ll need a website.
Domain names
Website builders
Registering a Jersey (.JE) and Guernsey (.GG) domain is fairly simple, and shows audiences that you’re based locally. For a .JE domain, search for a registrar on ChannelIsles.net, or you can trust companies to handle this for you. For a .GG domain, you can try Channel Island Hosting to get you online safely.
Need help? Find a local expert. Digital Jersey and Digital Greenhouse are fantastic resources for finding local businesses offering web development and related services.
Digital Jersey >
JT Group Limited
Digital Greenhouse >
@JT_Business
For building the website yourself, you may want to try a user-friendly, popular platform such as WordPress. There’s no need for in-depth coding knowledge or formal training in web design required: you can upload documents, videos, images, and other media easily using the streamlined interface. WordPress gives you complete control over your business website too, whether you want to use one of the many templates available or customise your site’s design in detail. Alternatively, you can hire teams to handle this for you. It may be more costly than building and managing the site yourself, but outsourcing the task leaves you free to focus on running your business.
Get started here >
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Tips for building an online presence and expanding your audience Not sure which of the social networks is right for you, or how to get started? You can find help on setting up company social media pages in this article from Medium.
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Social media cannot be undervalued as a way to grow your online visibility. Being active on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is fantastic for communicating with your existing customers and raising brand awareness. Be sure to post regularly, and encourage followers to engage with your content. Respond to complaints or questions as soon as possible, and tailor content to suit your target audience. This hinges on in-depth customer research though, so if you haven’t gathered data on your ideal buyer, make that a priority. Want to start selling online? A Facebook shop lets you show and sell products to people on Facebook.
Find out more >
Digitising your business may appear to be an overwhelming challenge, but follow the tips in this guide to make the process much easier on yourself, your team, and your customers. Companies of all sizes have access to pioneering hardware and software tools, each of which make digitisation simpler in their own way — taking advantage of the right ones is fundamental to a successful transition. For help and advice taking your business digital speak to our friendly Business Solutions Team: T E W
Jersey +44 (0) 1534 882 345 Guernsey +44 (0) 1481 882 345 business.solutions@jtglobal.com www.jtglobal.com/business
JT Group Limited
@JT_Business