Voicecom Technologies

We do the Technology you do the Business

The Covid-19 Technology Transformation

vespaman

 

The Covid-19 Technology Transformation

 

The big question on everyone’s mind is where to next?

With the likelihood of us moving to Alert Level 3 in the foreseeable future, what does this look like for your business operations and what economic impacts will we be facing? An even bigger question is are we likely to progress down to Level 2 or could we potentially find ourselves back in Alert Level 4? Economist Tony Alexander has said predictions were difficult to make with any accuracy. “I am advising businesses simply to restructure to a position where they can handle very low customer flows for an undefinable period of time. Then when the upturn comes be prepared to play catch-up for a while.” You can read more about the IMF’s economic predications and comments from some key New Zealand economists here.

There are so many variables that we simply can’t predict exactly what we will be looking at week to week. Basically, there are no certain answers right now so we need to work with what information we have and plan for various scenarios. Something that is certain, is how well you know your business. 

Please feel free to email your request or if you have any questions about The Covid-19 Technology Transformation to support@voicecom.co.nz

What you can control  

Now is the time to review your business plan, look at what you can control and how you want your operations to look in the future. Here’s a list of some aspects you can review and actions you can take: 

  • Review your business plan and SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) 
  • Assess the impact on supply chain & logistics 
  • Forecast cashflow and forecast up to 3 scenarios (worst, expected and best case) 
  • Look at your own health and safety measures 
  • Create a communication plan to keep your staff and customers updated to help minimise their feeling of uncertainty 
  • What systems can you put in place to future proof? 
  • Consider how technology can help your business moving forward 

Effective communication, preparation and planning is the best thing you can do right now. Everything can change rapidly in this period so use this time to make sure all your systems and processes are on point and ready for the next stage of change.  

Coming out of this Stronger 

The global impact of COVID-19 is likely to drastically change the way we do business. The business environment is constantly changing and a time like this, it’s highlighted more than ever. Web based apps have dramatically changed how we book holidays, sell houses, catch taxis, and communicate with each other. Do you have a plan for how your business will adapt to these changes and stay relevant? With obstacles comes opportunity. Transformation is key. Look at this challenge as an opportunity to review and future proof the way you operate. You may want to look at how you can function remotely, communicate and collaborate more effectively and reduce costs (like the need for leasing large premises). 

We can help you with a range of technology to make this happen and can customise a solution to suit your business. 

Remote Work Security Threats 

Security is a huge concern and point of discussion right now with many executives and finance departments having already been targets for fraudulent attacks. Swiftly adapting to working from home has been a good solution however remote workers don’t necessarily have the same firewalls and levels of threat protection at home. This opens your company’s infrastructure up to huge vulnerabilities.  

Ensuring your remote workers at least have a reliable antivirus is critical. In addition to this, multifactor authentication can further protect you. Logistically this can be challenging to manage, especially offsite which is why a managed service provider can take this load off your mind. An MSP can ensure everyone’s devices are protected and updates are made regularly, keeping you and your business secure. If you’re unsure about the security of you staff’s devices, get in touch and we can figure out a solution. 

In these uncertain times, most people are facing some pretty big challenges so remember that a bit of kindness and support goes a long way. Jump on Zoom to catch up with everyone or keep things fun in a group chat in Microsoft Teams. Communication is key – even if it’s just to check in with someone. 

If you’re feeling like you don’t know where to start, give us a call and we can start with the basics like good communication systems. Let’s look at your business needs and how we can get you operating effectively at this time.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232. 

 

COVID-19: Update

 

Alert Level 3 Information https://covid19.govt.nz/latest-updates/alert-level-3-information/ 

COVID-19 Latest Updates https://covid19.govt.nz/latest-updates/ 

Latest Case Data https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19/about-covid-19/latest-data/ 

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

E-Commerce

vespaman

E-Commerce

 

Are you looking for ways to increase your business profile and bring back customers after the Covid19 lockdown ?

During this time, we all need to keep connected with our clients and to keep them informed.

The best ways to do this is to:

  • Make sure you can be found Online
  • Refresh your website
  • Have informative social media content
  • Set up email campaigns.

Please feel free to email your request or if you have any questions about E-Commerce to support@voicecom.co.nz

It is important to stay ahead or jump in front of your competition and prepare your business for the bounce-back.

Voicecom can:

  • Complete a marketing audit on your website
  • Build a new website for you
  • Refresh you’re existing website
  • Improve your web traffic
  • Add E-commerce to your existing website

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232

 

COVID-19: Update

New Zealand will be at Alert Level 3 from Tuesday 28 April.

Essential businesses, and those that support them, will continue to provide the necessities of life for everyone.

  • Stay home. If you are not at work, school, exercising or getting essentials then you must be at home, the same as at Alert Level 4.
  • Work and learn from home if you can. We still want the vast majority of people working from home, and children and young people learning from home. At-risk students and staff should also stay at home, and they will be supported to do so. Early learning centres and schools will physically be open for up to Year 10 for families that need them.
  • Make your business COVID-19 safe. COVID-19 has spread in workplaces, so the quid pro quo of being able to open is doing it in a way that doesn’t spread the virus.
  • Stay regional. You can exercise at parks or beaches within your region, but the closer to home the better.
  • Activities must be safe – keep 2 metres away from anybody not in your bubble.
  • Make minimal trips.
    Keep your bubble as small as possible. If you need to, you can expand your bubble a small amount to bring in close family, isolated people or caregivers.
  • Wash your hands often with soap. Then dry them. Cough and sneeze into your elbow.
  • If you are sick, stay at home and quickly seek advice from your GP or Healthline about getting a test. There is no stigma to COVID-19.
  • We will only be successful if everyone is willing to play their part in finding it wherever it is.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

 

 

Contact Tracing

vespaman

Levels two and three are on their way and it is time to prepare for what that might look like for your business here in Southland. It can feel a little overwhelming, so let’s break down some of the key areas that might help your business to manage all the changes. We will cover contact tracing, what it is and why it’s so important. Two key steps to defining it for your business and lastly some brilliant business IT tools that could save time, money, and possibly even lives.

What is Contact Tracing?

Contact tracing is the ability to trace what kind of contact you have had with which people, how close you have been to them and how long you were in their presence. There are two types of contact tracing: casual and close. Casual is defined as someone you have been in the vicinity of. Close, is someone you might have shared bodily fluid with, or been closer that 2m to, for 15 min or more. For example, you might have shared a drink with someone, or gone into their home to fix something and stayed for more than 15 min chatting to them at a 1m distance.

Please feel free to email your request or if you have any questions about Contact Tracing to support@voicecom.co.nz

Why is this important for my business?

It is possible that we might experience little outbreaks here and there for quite some time to come. We will most likely be required, for health and safety needs, to be able to track our day to day interactions. If this is the case we will need to consider how to manage onsite, offsite, deliveries all sorts of day to day interactions. Protocols and communication will be key moving into this next recovery phase.

Two key Preparation Tips.

  1. The first step is to map out what interactions you are allowed under level 3 and consider how you can mitigate contact.
  2. The next thing is to consider the tech available to you to help ease the pressure. Additional paperwork is going to slow your business in an already stressful time.

Never fear your toolbox is here!

There are lots of tools you can use to keep your business moving forward. For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to work from home, tools like Microsoft 365, Zoom and other online platforms like Hubspot, will be able to provide regular quality communication and transparency with workers. What is very important to remember is that remote work doesn’t always mean your data is safe. Check out our blogs on multifactor authentication and more on network safety.

Tracking Visitors & Deliveries.

Most companies already have access to systems that can put tracking visitors and deliveries in place, they just haven’t discovered it yet. Bundled with your Microsoft 365 or Google Suite subscription is a tool called Forms. This enables you to make simple questionnaires that are available online. Once you have made that form, it automatically generates a QR Code, which you can print out and stick on your entrance way. All available from your laptop or home computer!!

For example, you arrive at your favorite café. On the door there is a QR Code which you scan. It pops up with a form to fill out, and even your order. Once you hit send on the form, it informs the café staff that you have checked in, and what your order is. Once your order is complete, you are sent a message saying you can pop in and pay with payWave. Minimal contact, but all that data is kept for the café owner to use to track you down if there were to be a covid case in your vicinity, keeping you safe.

Non-Contact business.

For those business that are face to face this is a really testing time. However, now is not the time to take your foot off the gas. There are so many tools you can use to transform your business and who knows, possibly even for the better. Once you are online, you are no longer geographically restricted! Talk to your web designer, add a shopping cart or Shopify account. People are in the mode of learning to order from you online means it’s a great time to enrich your database more than ever before. If you are in the wellness, entertainment or education business, consider running live events using Eventbrite or use the paid subscriptions option on Facebook.

For companies needing more sophisticated tracking, Microsoft Power Apps can be used to create custom Apps. You can then track GPS location, time on site, record photos, the sky is the limit. Whatever you do, there will be a way, but never feel like you are on your own.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

  

COVID-19: Update
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:

  • Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
  • Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell
  • Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell
  • Don’t Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

 

Microsoft Teams

vespaman

Microsoft Teams

 

Meet with teams of 10 or 10,000.
Host audio, video, and web conferences with anyone inside or outside your organization or go big with live events.

Please feel free to email your request or if you have any questions about Microsoft Teams to support@voicecom.co.nz

  • Collaborate from anywhere

Never do that frantic, searching-for-files thing ever again.
In Teams you can access, share, and edit Word docs, PowerPoint, and Excel files in real time.

  • Chat from anywhere

Share your opinion, and your personality.
Send gifs, stickers, and emojis in a group chat or in one-to-one messages

  • Meet from anywhere

Instantly go from group chat to video conference with the touch of a button.
Teams of 10 or 10,000 can meet in one place, no matter how many places they’re in.

  • Call from anywhere

Never yell “who just joined?!” ever again.
Use Teams calling, Phone System, Calling Plan 1, or Direct Routing to take the stress out of conference calls.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

 

COVID-19: Update

New Zealand is now at Alert Level 4.

This will save lives. You must stay home.

Level 4 measures include:

  • anyone not involved in essential work needs to stay at home
  • educational facilities are now closed
  • businesses are closed, except for essential services like supermarkets, pharmacies and clinics, and lifeline utilities.

You must reside at the same place for the duration of the time New Zealand is at Alert Level 4. Where you stayed on the evening of Wednesday 25 March is where you must remain.

There are now 546 reported cases who have recovered – More people have recovered than new cases.

The combined total of confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand is 1349.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

Office365 gets a new name

vespaman

Office365 gets a new name


Don’t worry—you don’t need to change anything. Your product services, apps, and features will stay the same, along with the price. Your subscription name will update automatically on or after April 21, 2020.

The product name changes are mostly happening for small-to-medium business users of these products. Microsoft plans to continue to use the Office 365 name for users of Office 365 for Enterprise, Office 365 for Firstline Workers, Office 365 for Education and Office 365 for Government products.

Here’s Microsoft’s plan to swap the names of the products for small-to-medium business users, which will take effect on April 21, 2020:

  • Office 365 Business Essentials will become Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
  • Office 365 Business Premium will become Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
  • Microsoft 365 Business will become Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
  • Office 365 Business and Office 365 Pro Plus will both become Microsoft 365 Apps. Where necessary we will use the “for business” and “for enterprise” labels to distinguish between the two.

The capabilities of the products aren’t changing. It’s only a change in the names, which Microsoft described as a “natural evolution.” The rationale is that the products are connected to various services and are increasingly getting artificial intelligence capabilities.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

  

COVID-19: Update
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:
Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell
Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell
Don’t Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.

Remote Working

vespaman

remote working

Remote Working

We would like to start by extending our thoughts to everyone who has been affected by the impact of COVID-19.

Voicecom Technologies would like to extend their services to all their clients with a free system evaluation to assess their remote working capabilities.

With this evaluation we will advise businesses on what functionalities are available on your system presently, and recommend to what extent the systems can be upgraded to accommodate remote working functionality.

Please feel free to email your request to support@voicecom.co.nz

For any assistance in enabling staff for remote working, please contact Voicecom Technologies. We can provide the tools required to assist businesses with this setup and advise how to implement this safely and securely.

If you are using any of the Microsoft Office 365 suite you already have a suite of collaboration tools perfect for remote teams. Please contact us to assist you with the configuration best suited to your team and the ever-changing landscape of current requirements.

We understand there will be major disruptions to business over the next weeks/months, working together will allow us to mitigate the risks along the way.

Please do not hesitate in getting in touch if you have any questions or doubts relating to your current business set up and future technology requirements.

If you have any questions around backup or disaster recovery we can assist with these too, having a plan in place will reduce some of the stress in an increasingly challenging environment.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.  

COVID-19: Update

As I’m sure you are aware coronavirus (COVID-19) is posing a health risk across the globe. This is impacting businesses and individuals in all aspects of life.

There is currently a travel ban on any non-essential travel, and overseas we are seeing a trend in offices requiring their staff to work from home.

If you have returned from international travel, you will be required to self-isolate (stay at home) for 14 days. This will take effect from Sunday 15 March 2020.

If you are experiencing: cough, fever, and shortness of breath or any flu-like symptoms please contact your health care professional and contact Voicecom Technologies to reschedule any upcoming appointments or meetings.

 

Voicecom Technologies 0800 864 232.