YOUR BUSINESS SUMMER 2018 - 227

Software

but blends well with other Microsoft
productivity tools, such as Evernote.
If you want to use your company
name in your email address, Gmail
and Outlook charge for this. Yahoo
Small Business has a website building
tool that includes an email address
that matches your domain name,
with prices starting from £2 month.

Web browser

As one of the most used pieces of
software in any business, your browser
needs to be fast, intuitive and safe.
Google Chrome is still a reliable
choice and best in class, but may run
poorly on older machines owing to the
amount of memory (RAM) it uses.
If your computers run Windows
10, you may want to consider using
Microsoft Edge, which is designed
to function in harmony with the
company's current operating system.
The relatively unknown Opera,
meanwhile, is fast proving itself to be
more than the underdog of the browser
market. It seems to relish whatever
limitation you throw at it, with options
to reduce battery usage of laptops and
improve performance by routing your
traﬃc through its own servers. If you
don't have suﬃcient bandwidth for
your needs, this is the browser for you.

Stay connected

The eﬃciency of many of these
software options is reliant on your
internet connection. "The role of
connectivity in business has never
been more pronounced," says Thomas
Mangin from Exa Networks. "A
company's internet connection is much
more than a utility needed to perform
basic tasks - it's now the backbone
of operations and communication.
"We've seen internet traﬃc rise
exponentially over the past ﬁve
years. To accommodate this, Exa
has introduced 100Gbps links across
its core network. This increased
capability is mirrored in the dedicated
connections provided to businesses.
Exa's DarkLight provides 300Mbps
all the way to 10Gbps speeds and
can futureproof a company against
technological developments."

The importance of
management systems
Putting in place the correct business-wide policies and
controls is another way to ensure your company is doing
everything it can to ensure growth and efficiency, as Carl
Rogers from Lloyd's Register explains
A management system uses
a process-based approach for
organisations to implement
policies, processes and
procedures to achieve business
goals and objectives. Through
employee awareness and
management leadership it can
create a culture that encourages
commitment to review, modify
and improve existing processes.
This increases the overall
performance of the organisation.

The benefits

Reduction in costs Implementing
policies, processes and controls
that are continually reviewed and
improved encourages a more
efficient use of an organisation's
resources, reducing costs and
improving return on investment.

procedures and activities,
increasing the value to the
customer and other stakeholders.

SME management systems

Setting up a new business can
be tough and figuring out how to
achieve your goals and objectives
on a tiny budget is extremely
challenging. Implementing a
management system can help
new businesses formulate policies
and processes to meet goals and
objectives, whatever their budget.
Using a process-based
approach, a management system
sets out to monitor, review and
implement improvements. It
is continually improving and
this in turn means that the
performance of the business is
continually improving also.

Mitigation of risk A management
system provides a structured
and measured approach to
detecting and mitigating issues
that are most likely to effect
an organisation. Through a
proper understanding of the
organisational context and key
stakeholder needs, organisations
can identify and manage the most
important risks and opportunities.
Increased competitive edge
Managing processes through
the plan, do, check, act (PDCA)
cycle allows organisations to
better structure themselves,
allocate resources and optimise

227
YOUR BUSINESS SUMMER 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of YOUR BUSINESS SUMMER 2018
